My response to Jeff Lowder's blog, Black Swans … or Oil Victims?

My friend and former Director, creates a good mental picture, of the (not intended to be) Black Swan, in his blog posting Black Swans … or Oil Victims? Maybe it would help with their decision making, if every oil company had a photo of one of those, pathetic-looking, oil-coated birds, hanging in their board room?

I too read and was rather impressed with the book, The Black Swan, and author Taleb's thorough view of the subject matter. I was especially impressed how he weighted his decisions towards the Black Swan event in his stock market trading days, and how well it translates into so many other areas of our lives. I second your recommendation of the book.

Also, your cybergeddon comments are apropos. I have many times considered the responsibility with being granted access to the Internet. Thinking of the quote, "With great power, comes great responsibility", and applying that to the power granted, when any individual or group, is given access to the Internet, and all that it has become. (I speak as one who was along for the walk, since the Internet was a toddler.) Also, considering free speech, and free access to information, (my nod here, to the Electronic Frontier Foundation - http://www.eff.org/). I would ask you (all) to consider where the line should be drawn, when providing access to the Internet. Another way to consider this would be, should we, or should Internet service providers, be responsible for creating safe access zones? I am thinking in particular of the obvious, (giving children access), and the less obvious, (commerce and banking access), for protection from all the evils on the net, while allowing the good. After all, those who know security, (and it doesn't matter if it is physical or cyber-security), will tell you, the less points of ingress/egress, the easier and less expensive, to secure the area from threats. So why are we still, in the 21st century, depending on every individual, to know and provide for, their own security, when connecting to the Internet? And all the while, those who created the information highways, and superhighways, are not (apparently) held responsible? Is there some better ground? (Notice I do not say "higher ground".) Where those who are given access, are A) held responsible for their actions, and B) protected from those who are not responsible for their actions, and while still allowing for free speech? I feel like we are missing some special ingredient here. Perhaps we need some major brainstorming, on the subject? Why can't we have "irresponsible free zones" on the internet, like we have better protection around certain areas? (I'm thinking of many levels, from the gated neighborhoods, to the walled compounds, to the buried in the mountains in Colorado.)