Beth's brain

IMG_0588, originally uploaded by cambodia4kidsorg.

I once read that in an early draft of the Matrix, the humans were originally linked together as a giant parallel processor. However, the studio had the Wachowski Brothers change this to batteries because ordinary people would understand bodies-as-energy better than distributed computing.

But that clearly isn't stopping IT professionals in the real world. Pictured above: Beth Kanter documents what appears to be an early stage experiment in harnessing human brains to computers to enhance nonprofit tech!

RED PILL UPDATE:

Wanna know the real story?  Check out Beth's description of her visit to Portland's Free Geek, a nonprofit that "looks at two problems: e-waste and access to technology and throws them at each other in a way that saves the earth and gets computers into the hands of people who would not otherwise have them."  In the piece she includes a cool music video (with said head) and meditates on the critical issue of tech recycling, a problem that we as a nation have been dealing with mainly by hiding it in landfills or, what's worse, passing it on to other, poorer countries.

One sentence, though, particularly caught my eye:  "I'd make jewelry out of the parts, but don't have time."  I can relate.  For examples of creative computer recycling by folks who do have time (and, in contrast to me, actual talent!), check out my blog on spirituality and material culture as well as Beth's Flickr page and the work of Diana Eng.