Rants & Raves
Network Effects
In "Fighting the Network War" (Wired 9.12, page 148), you propose that governments should include non-governmental agencies in intelligence gathering. They should not.
Consider the International Committee of the Red Cross, which I represent in Washington, DC. The ICRC works in 50-plus areas of conflict or tension throughout the world. Merely the perception that we could be part of an intelligence-gathering outfit leads to regular intimidation, threats, and worse. It might well be a factor in several unexplained killings of Red Cross workers in Africa and elsewhere. That perception also amplifies the problem of getting access to civilians in war zones. ICRC is regularly denied access by suspicious warring parties. With the number of civilian war victims on the rise worldwide, we cannot afford anything that makes already precarious security conditions worse - or deadly. The lives of Red Cross workers and those who need our assistance depend on a clear understanding that our role is to help, not to snoop.
Urs Boegli
International Committee of the Red Cross, Washington, DC
As a long-term advocate of decentralization for sociological and scientific purposes, I applaud "Divided We Stand" (Wired 9.12, page 152), which could have been titled "Divided We Foil." Market forces augmented by government fees and regulations have decimated a stronghold of decentralization - the rural economy. In the past 30 years, Wisconsin alone has lost more than 70 percent of its cheese factories (a de Gaullean-inspired plot?), and self-contained farms are dwindling at an alarming rate. My rural analytical microbiology laboratory has barely survived the increase in government license fees from $25 to over $10,000 a year, but centralized bureaucracy prospers. Thank you for your article, Oliver Morton.
Mary Leuther Glass
leutherlab@aol.com
Adam L. Penenberg's glib attempt to put a friendly face on the surveillance state ("The Surveillance Society," Wired 9.12, page 156) misses one vital point: access. True, citizen access to camcorders can "hold the state accountable," though those who most need this protection are usually those least able to afford it. Nevertheless, Penenberg breathlessly describes how forthcoming advancements in wireless technology and institutional data mining will reshape surveillance forever, pausing now and again to remind us that this is a side effect, not a goal. Interestingly, his examples suggest this side effect couldn't possibly be an accident.
To assume that access to camcorder technology will act as a deterrent to abuse is absurd. If I, as a private citizen, call a cell phone company or a transit authority to run a scan on someone who just robbed me, I'll meet a range of responses from a polite suggestion that I call the police to outright hostility. But if someone with a grudge accuses me of being a terrorist, law enforcement suddenly has access to all this and more, in some cases even without a court order - and it becomes my problem to prove I'm innocent. Don't worry, though, I've got my trusty camcorder; oops, they confiscated it when I was shoved into the squad car. Now what?
The assertion that we should just grin and learn to live with it is ludicrous. Access to technology is not the issue; access to the fruits of that technology (i.e., the databases) is what will determine the haves and the have-nots. Currently, anyone without a civic or government job is in that second category - which sounds like a textbook definition of concentration of authority.
Rich Pizor
richpizor@mac.com
The Autistic Spectrum
Being the father of a 30-year-old son with high-functioning autism, I greatly appreciate the in-depth work you have done ("The Geek Syndrome," Wired 9.12, page 174). My wife and I have recognized many signs of geekitude in our own personalities for years - your articles just confirmed our perception.
Perhaps the extraordinary potential for creativity in people with high-functioning autism or Asperger's syndrome lies in their limited "theory of mind": They are less bothered by social conventions, and as a result they are capable of trying things that others would think impossible.
Extraordinary talents are also expressed outside science - in music, drawing, and painting. Unfortunately, many of these parents don't have a "bright" child with high-functioning autism or Asperger's syndrome; their child with autism is severely handicapped. That's why there is a dire need for appropriate services, in particular early intervention.
My son's creativity expresses itself in the invention of an imaginary city he calls Urville - not only in drawings but in the history and sociological organization of life. You can have a glimpse at perso.libertysurf.fr/URVILLE.
Paul Trehin
Secretary General, World Autism Organization
trehinp@aol.com
Your article about autistic spectrum disorder was eagerly read by the public because there is so little available about this neurological/biological/medical disorder. This is a worldwide epidemic. ASD has been recognized in the US only since 1994, and only then in children.
My husband, a graduate of Brown University with a degree in psychology, was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome in 1996, and Tourette's at age 69. Because there was no information for me and my family anywhere in the US, we searched elsewhere and found support from the United Kingdom.
Today we are an organization called Families of Adults Afflicted with Asperger's Syndrome (www.faaas.org). My son, our webmaster, and I began FAAAS because we knew there were other families searching for similar answers for their ASD adult relatives. We also have an international listserv with members from 19 countries.
This article was so important to so many people.
Karen E. Rodman
Director/Founder, Families of Adults Afflicted with Asperger's Syndrome
faaas@faaas.org
Busting the Copyright Buster
In "May the Source Be With You" (Wired 9.12, page 78), Lawrence Lessig flatly states that "No code lives for 10 years." Hello? I wrote the Diskeeper source code in 1986 and it is still a big seller today, 15 years later. And has Lessig never heard of Unix, still in broad use 30 years later? His complaints about the unavailability of source code for educational purposes are baseless. Fast research quickly turns up a technical journal or two with code samples illustrating detailed explanations of the techniques. And is he unaware of the how-to books lining the shelves of bookstores everywhere, each with a CD-ROM full of source code tucked inside?
Craig Jensen
craig@executive.com
The most interesting aspect of "May the Source Be With You" is that despite Lawrence Lessig's view that copyright protection is too broad, he still manages to put a copyright notice at the bottom of his article.
Bret Parker
New York, New York
The Innovator's New Dilemma
In "No Apologies" (Wired 9.12, page 52), Phil Zimmermann is questioned about whether he is sorry for inventing PGP in the event that it was used by the September 11 terrorists. I wonder why he was singled out.
You should also be asking the Wright brothers, and the inventors of any other piece of technology that the terrorists could have used in putting together their evil plans. Perhaps they used a telephone? OK, put Alexander Graham Bell in the can for this one.
Technologists should hardly feel blame when someone perverts their technology for wrongdoing. Don't blame those who try to do good for the actions of those who try to do evil!
Alan Purchase
alanpurchase@hotmail.com
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