{"id":83,"date":"2008-04-14T06:21:34","date_gmt":"2008-04-14T06:21:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/leirdal.net\/blog\/?p=83"},"modified":"2018-06-05T08:30:11","modified_gmt":"2018-06-05T07:30:11","slug":"the-blind-men-and-the-elephant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.leirdal.net\/blog\/archives\/83-the-blind-men-and-the-elephant.html","title":{"rendered":"The blind men and the elephant"},"content":{"rendered":"

As we should’ve expected (and maybe did?), the dispute around ODF and OOXML is gearing up. There are probably some out there that thought that NOW this issue is dead. We have two formats, what more is there to discuss. Well, a lot it seems. There are open letters in the media, people are protesting against OOXML and the conflict seems as hard as ever. For example has Gisle Hannemyr<\/a> from the University of Oslo<\/a> written a little answer to a report that came in February. Actually he pretty much rips it apart. For those of you that read Norwegian and is interested in this issue I refer you to his essay "Formater til besvær – Hvor mye koster det å ta i bruk ODF?"<\/a><\/p>\n

His main point is that the report is based on one view of the world, and does not include all the facts. He claims that if you want a better model of the world you need expertise from multiple fields of knowledge. You cannot use only economists and not computer experts if you want to model the impact of some new computer technology on the world. Well, I think I agree with him on that at least.<\/p>\n

His final words are probably most interesting. He refers to a poem called "The blind men and the elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe. That poem is probably based on one or more of several parables that all tell a somewhat similar story. Several blind people feel up different parts of an elephant and make up their mental model of the animal based on their limited view. Afterwards they disagree fervently on what the animal looks like.<\/p>\n

You cannot model something based on only knowledge of a part of the whole. And if you do, your model is highly likely to be wrong.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As we should’ve expected (and maybe did?), the dispute around ODF and OOXML is gearing up. There are probably some out there that thought that NOW this issue is dead. We have two formats, what more is there to discuss. Well, a lot it seems. There are open letters in the media, people are protesting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[11],"tags":[92,82,93,73,24,515],"class_list":{"0":"post-83","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-technology","7":"tag-odf","8":"tag-office","9":"tag-ooxml","10":"tag-oslo","11":"tag-software","12":"tag-technology","13":"czr-hentry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1xqPf-1l","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":106,"url":"https:\/\/www.leirdal.net\/blog\/archives\/106-oslo-has-got-a-new-opera-building.html","url_meta":{"origin":83,"position":0},"title":"Oslo has got a New Opera building","author":"leirdal","date":"2008-07-14","format":false,"excerpt":"There has been a a lot of blogging and pictures from the new Opera in Oslo on several blogs and sites all over the world. Here comes another one. I am not sure if this is better than other pictures, but I felt it was kind of interesting. Another interesting\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Photography"","block_context":{"text":"Photography","link":"https:\/\/www.leirdal.net\/blog\/archives\/category\/photography"},"img":{"alt_text":"opera","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.leirdal.net\/blog\/uploads\/TheNewOperainOslo_8D81\/opera_thumb.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1447,"url":"https:\/\/www.leirdal.net\/blog\/archives\/1447-oslo-kamera-klubb-at-sagene.html","url_meta":{"origin":83,"position":1},"title":"Oslo Kamera Klubb at Sagene","author":"leirdal","date":"2013-07-21","format":false,"excerpt":"It seems that most of my photography lately has been performed on Mondays, but hopefully I can rectify this somewhat now. My vacation has finally started - 3 weeks of summer joy ahead (I hope). Anyway last week Oslo Kamera Klubb visited an area in Oslo called Sagene. About 100\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Photography"","block_context":{"text":"Photography","link":"https:\/\/www.leirdal.net\/blog\/archives\/category\/photography"},"img":{"alt_text":"Halo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.leirdal.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/5D38608-20130715.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.leirdal.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/5D38608-20130715.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.leirdal.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/5D38608-20130715.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.leirdal.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/5D38608-20130715.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.leirdal.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/5D38608-20130715.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1120,"url":"https:\/\/www.leirdal.net\/blog\/archives\/1120-variable-nd-filters.html","url_meta":{"origin":83,"position":2},"title":"Variable ND-filters","author":"leirdal","date":"2012-08-28","format":false,"excerpt":"I tried shooting with a Light Craft Workshop Fader ND Ultra Mark II (Alternative: B&H) today before I went to work. I did not get the best light due to heavy clouds, and these images have been edited only on an iPad. Expect better images to appear at a later\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Photography"","block_context":{"text":"Photography","link":"https:\/\/www.leirdal.net\/blog\/archives\/category\/photography"},"img":{"alt_text":"Waterfall, Aker river, Stilla, Oslo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/leirdal.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Variable-ND-Filter-LCW-Fader-Ultra-Mark-II-2-resize-550x260.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/leirdal.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Variable-ND-Filter-LCW-Fader-Ultra-Mark-II-2-resize-550x260.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/leirdal.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Variable-ND-Filter-LCW-Fader-Ultra-Mark-II-2-resize-550x260.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1656,"url":"https:\/\/www.leirdal.net\/blog\/archives\/1656-photography-sprint.html","url_meta":{"origin":83,"position":3},"title":"Photography sprint","author":"leirdal","date":"2013-09-10","format":false,"excerpt":"The last outdoor event of the summer with Oslo Kamera Klubb was their annual photography sprint. You got an assignment and one hour to execute it. Afterwards you had to deliver one picture (straight from the camera) for the jury to decide. A part of this\u00a0task was the slight issue\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Photography"","block_context":{"text":"Photography","link":"https:\/\/www.leirdal.net\/blog\/archives\/category\/photography"},"img":{"alt_text":"Waiting","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.leirdal.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/5D30353-20130902.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.leirdal.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/5D30353-20130902.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.leirdal.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/5D30353-20130902.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.leirdal.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/5D30353-20130902.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.leirdal.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/5D30353-20130902.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":125,"url":"https:\/\/www.leirdal.net\/blog\/archives\/125-mediasone-kiosks-displayed.html","url_meta":{"origin":83,"position":4},"title":"Mediasone kiosks displayed","author":"leirdal","date":"2008-12-01","format":false,"excerpt":"I work at a Company called Computas. We have been developing a new search interface for a multimedia kiosk called \"Mediasone\" (=Media zone) this autumn. The development is not finished, but the hardware of the kiosks was publicly displayed on Friday. It looks like this might be a great hit\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Technology"","block_context":{"text":"Technology","link":"https:\/\/www.leirdal.net\/blog\/archives\/category\/technology"},"img":{"alt_text":"The new Mediasone kiosk to be installed at Deichmanske Library in Oslo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/leirdal.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/12\/mediasone-200x125.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2061,"url":"https:\/\/www.leirdal.net\/blog\/archives\/2061-oslo-in-black-and-white.html","url_meta":{"origin":83,"position":5},"title":"Oslo in black and white","author":"leirdal","date":"2015-03-30","format":"gallery","excerpt":"I have really done a lot of iPhonography this winter so I\u2019ll continue to show some of my photos from high above. \u00a0","rel":"","context":"In "Photography"","block_context":{"text":"Photography","link":"https:\/\/www.leirdal.net\/blog\/archives\/category\/photography"},"img":{"alt_text":"The royal castle in black and white","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.leirdal.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/IMG_6179-20150105.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.leirdal.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/IMG_6179-20150105.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.leirdal.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/IMG_6179-20150105.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.leirdal.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/IMG_6179-20150105.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.leirdal.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/IMG_6179-20150105.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leirdal.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leirdal.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leirdal.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leirdal.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leirdal.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.leirdal.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2444,"href":"https:\/\/www.leirdal.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83\/revisions\/2444"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leirdal.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leirdal.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leirdal.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}