Internetworkers: http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/

[Maria Winslow <maria.winslow AT dexxtra.com>]

I thought someone at MIT proved that the potato salad problem is 
mathematically 
unsolvable. Maybe the carpooling problem will be easier to manage. The great 
thing 
about a carpool is that it could stop for a beer/snack after work :)

Maria

6/14/2002 1:10:52 PM, "Michael D. Thomas" <mdthomas AT mindspring.com> wrote:

>> Regardless, Mike Thomas is ITCHING to
>> revamp his picnic script so folks can collaborate on other transport
>options.
>> please email him hourly until he has posted the new script! ;)
>
>Itching... yes... as if this brewery tour talk was a noxious weed. I must
>scratch or fumigate. Perhaps both.:-)
>
>Those that are interested in providing rides to people please contact me.
>
>Ever in search of dovetails, and inspired by recent dialog about pollution 
>and
>the need for MT, I propose a thought exercise. We (may) have an instance of a
>Carpooling Problem w.r.t the brewery tour. The Carpooling Problem is one of
>coordinating adult humans and perhaps other sub-ordinate car poolers (dogs,
>kids, friendly aliens, etc.). Could the Carpooling Problem be generally
>addressed using Internet technologies in such a way as to lower pollution and
>gain other benefits?
>
>The script that I'm itching for attempts to solve a simple Carpooling Problem
>specific to our brewery tour. You'll be able to see who is willing to lend
>rides from where and what the destinations may look like. Though I'm
>considering redoing it from scratch using XML and XSLT, it is conceptually
>based on the picnic script of years past. That script solves what I term the
>"Potato Salad Problem." How do you keep everyone from bringing Potato Salad 
>to
>a cover dish picnic? The picnic script allowed people not only to post what
>they were bringing, but to also see what others were bringing. Thus, the
>picnics have been largely self-organizing. (Except for the need for us to
>secure funds to pay deposits on the picnic shelter. Required upfront money is
>never elegantly self-organizing.)
>
>The Carpooling Problem is far more interesting and much more socially
>pertinent. The question: could the web (and possibly the Internetworkers
>website) be used to make carpooling more feasible? An excuse that techies use
>to explain why they don't carpool (or use MT) is that they
>work deviant hours. But techie's hours are deviant from the general
>population, not necessarily from other techies. Could some sort of web-driven
>carpooling club work?
>
>Maybe you could even have an XML-car (or a web-services-car,
>we-love-old-movies-car, we-hate-SUVs-car, etc.) for those interested in
>sharing time with others interested in those topics. For good and ill,
>carpooling/PT doesn't only reduce pollution, it also increases social
>interaction. As commute times increase, hours of our days disappear into an
>activity void of social interactions and intellectual challenges. At least
>with PT, you can do a crossword puzzle or maybe play a game of cards. I'm 
>just
>glad that NPR went to talk radio to make car time a little more stimulating.
>Now, if I could just get my heads-up-display Internet Chess Club client so I
>can play chess while driving.... "Rook takes Minivan in passing lane! The
>queen in the convertible threatens to fork your knights, skewer your pawns,
>and pin the bishop to the king!"
>
>As with all of these pesky human-related problems, this isn't just a 
>technical
>question, but also a social question. Assuming that a web app could be built
>to coordinate carpoolers, would anyone use it? Such a system would certainly
>require a fairly large pool of dedicated and disciplined carpoolers.... What
>social dynamics would have to be in place for you (or anyone) to participate?
>
>Cheers!
>
>
>
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--
Maria Winslow
maria.winslow AT dexxtra.com
919-968-7802 tel