Consumerium development wiki - User contributions [en]

Consumerium:Philosophy

2019-03-23T00:07:34Z

N8chz: Undo revision 49137 (vandalism, bomb threat) by 192.42.116.22 (talk)

Simple is beautiful, natural and good. Or is it some other way around?

Philosophy boils down to that if we combine '''information''' about production processes, '''buying power''' and '''compassionate hearts''' then something good will come out of it.

Consumerium does not seek to artificially alter the functioning of [[market economy]], lazy as we are, we leave that to the politicians.

Consumerium simply aims to make things more transparent to the [[consumer]] so s/he ''can'' see further and exert '''[[moral purchasing]] power''' with the same $$$ as before. It is up to the consumer to decide what to do with this enhanced view into economic processes and increased power, if anything.

[[Product]]s in the common case consist of three things: [[Material]], [[Information]] and [[Energy]]. To merge or forge or transform ''materials'' is actually ''embedding information'' into the ''material'' which takes ''energy'' to do.

We would like in particular to avoid [[governance]] problems that arise when we trust our own judgement too much, permit bad examples from elsewhere to be mimicked without justification, allow conflicts of interest, etc.

Talk:Consumerium and pubwan

2010-05-26T10:15:12Z

N8chz:

This would like be difficult to understand even if it were written in Finnish for me --[[User:Juxo|Juxo]] 15:52, 23 Apr 2004 (EEST)

An attempt at a more legible explanation:

http://scratchpad.wikia.com/wiki/Pubwan

User talk:N8chz

2004-10-31T17:17:51Z

N8chz:

[http://geocities.com/n8chz/ Pubwan] is a nice set of links. Nice work. You should add [[Recyclopedia]] (a superset of [[Wikipedia]] that has a much better management paradigm) and [[Metaweb]] (working on new tools to process things like the [[Consumerium:intermediate page]], in fact that idea came from them), and other [[essential projects]] and [[interesting projects]] we have listed.

It would be really ideal if you created a bunch of articles on these topics in particular:

*[[appropriate technology]] - an issue we've got into here lately, see [[audio]] and [[Consumerium buying signal]] and [[User:DanKeshet/scratchpad]] and the debate over [[Hardware requirements]] and the [[terminal device]]s.

*initial pubwan offering - any good [[self-funding]] or [[pilot]] ideas? How can this grow into [[healthy signal infrastructure]] ?
*large scale cataloging of package deals - like [[buying coops]]? We call these [[faction]]s and support [[institutional buying criteria]] they share
*leveling the data mining playing field - we call this [[research wiki]]
*[[appliances]]
*[[community planning]]
*[[housing]]
*"environment" is something that should not exist, we are talking about specific [[comprehensive outcome]]s for various [[ecoregion]]s and species, and [[w:public bad]]s like [[deforestation]] or [[extinction]].
*[[trailer park]] and [[semi trailer]] are intriguing - like a book bus?
*recruiting the [[Consumerium:contributor]] - which you call "information volunteer"

Please, though, we have enough abstract terminology! We don't need to talk about "virtual objects" and other such non-terms here. We need if anything to focus on the concretes, so your input at [[Consumerium User Stories]], [[best cases]], etc., is welcomed particularly.

----
Hi N8chz,

Great to see you here. I've always been so happy to see your edits to voting systems articles on Wikipedia.

Peace,

[[User:DanKeshet|DanKeshet]]
----
Welcome to [[Consumerium]] N8czh. [[Pubwan]] is of high interest to us here at consumerium. Expecially the link to http://www.upcdatabase.com/ that you've provided might prove enormously valuable to [[Consumerium:Itself]]. I hope you enjoy contributing to [[motivation|our cause]] --[[User:Juxo|Juxo]] 13:30, 13 Mar 2004 (EET)
----
''*large scale cataloging of package deals - like [[buying coops]]? We call these [[faction]]s and support [[institutional buying criteria]] they share''

Actually, what I (Lorraine Lee, aka n8chz) had in mind here is simply the linearization of nonlinear pricing schemes. I understand that pricing is not a primary concern of Consumerium. Prices are said to contain information, though. I can see how you do not want Consumerium to degenerate into a "shop bot."

:Linearization of non-linear price schemes? Here in Finland where I live we have mandatory standardised pricing labeling in stores ie. there are the prices per litre or per kilogram in all labels, this makes price comparison much simpler. There might be some interest in doing [[price premium]] comparisons automatically, say [[import]]ed [[transport|flying]] [[tomato]]es vs. nuclear [[greenhouse]] [[tomato]]es vs. [[renewable energy]] greenhouse [[tomato]]es, but we really don't want to get involved into price data security issues right now. --[[User:Juxo|Juxo]] 13:58, 21 Mar 2004 (EET)

''*recruiting the [[Consumerium:contributor]] - which you call "information volunteer"''

My mama told me never to volunteer information. I don't see that strategy resulting in Consumerium or pubwan.

::[[Wikipedia]] proves people will contribute if they care. It doesn't prove that anything worthwhile results. And the [[sysop vandalism]] and [[sysop vigilantiism]] could be worth here if we figure out the [[Consumerium Process]] wrong. One mistake they made at Wikipedia was not figuring out how they would ever get a print version out at the end!

''Please, though, we have enough abstract terminology! We don't need to talk about "virtual objects" and other such non-terms here. We need if anything to focus on the concretes, so your input at [[Consumerium User Stories]], [[best cases]], etc., is welcomed particularly.''

Sorry if I have confused. I too am confused, as I lack the vocabulary to describe the models I visualize, so I look up things. Sometimes the result is disappointing.

::Well, we argue a lot about abstract terms here, for good reasons. We have to have an abstraction everywhere there's a choice. That's how coders think. So a [[Consumerium buying signal]] has an abstract name like "signal" since it might be [[print]], [[audio]], [[video]] displayed, compiled into a whole lot of such signals in a [[book]], or even be used to brief people walking around encouraging and helping people to buy only [[green light]] products, and etc. So there is clearly an abstract signal which shoves all these people towards one type of product and away from another - that's "[[moral purchasing power]]" and it will move them in a different direction than plain old [[advertising]]. We can justify the abstraction by the power it gives.

:::Of your proposed signals, I prefer most your idea of compiling a whole lot of them in a book. That practice is sometimes referred to as [[aggregation]].
:::I found a technical paper on this at http://www.gsm.uci.edu/~bakos/aig/aig.html, and it is also the basis of my proposal that interested persons try to de-package (informationally, at least) what I term "package deals," also known as "bundles."

:::<blockquote>There might be some interest in doing [[price premium]] comparisons automatically, say [[import]]ed [[transport|flying]] [[tomato]]es vs. nuclear [[greenhouse]] [[tomato]]es vs. [[renewable energy]] greenhouse [[tomato]]es</blockquote>

:::I have a considerable amount of interest in the [[price premuim]] concept, since bundles of premiums are in effect what is offered in what you term a [[service economy]].

:::<blockquote>but we really don't want to get involved into price data security issues right now.</blockquote>

:::I do, but that is pubwan, not consumerium. I must admit that I'm a little concerned that you see price data as a security issue. I view it as purely a [[transparency]] issue. It is my view that it is the many, not the few, who are [[stakeholder]]s in price data, in the aggregate.

:::Pax, Lori ([[N8chz]])

::If you want the terminology, you may find [[Recyclopedia]] useful, as it has some subjects censored at [[Wikipedia]] that are essential to [[Consumerium]] and similar projects.

Talk:Amount

2004-10-15T19:59:54Z

N8chz:

I applaud the adoption of SI.
Does the consumerium movement endorse a "standard" unit of currency?

User talk:Yuna

2004-07-08T20:05:53Z

N8chz:

Welcome to [[Consumerium]] Lady Yuna. I hope you find this a good place to contribute to our discussion on how we should set up the "production stage wikis", which is a heated issue --[[User:Juxo|Juxo]] 14:08, 25 Jun 2004 (EEST)

:And of course we [[trolls]] hope you will form or join a [[faction]] so that the squabbling may become so heated as to actually bake something.

Welcome Yuna. Nice to have a place to talk to you. I recommend, I do nwever prescribe, I just recommend you to sign your contributions. Three ~ do it. Four make a timestamp. -- [[User:MattisManzel|MattisManzel]] 23:12, 6 Jul 2004 (EEST)
----
What are the production stage wikis? Sounds interesting

Talk:Recipes

2004-06-10T14:51:39Z

N8chz: link of possible interest

http://eatdangerously.com/recessionrecipes/

Household appliance

2004-06-10T14:49:32Z

N8chz:

It is hoped that appliances can be a fruitful area of research.

http://www.media.mit.edu/ci/papers/whitepaper/ci13.htm#counterintelligence

Counter intelligence envisions use of RFID, and hopefully abuse thereof.

Talk:Point of purchase

2004-06-02T15:57:44Z

N8chz:

Does the consumerium mission consist entirely of supplying information
(in the form of a [[healthy buying signal]], I presume) at the [[point of purchase]], or does the [[movement]] aspire to [[data capture|capture data]] at this important location?

UPC barcode

2004-06-02T15:52:59Z

N8chz:

Internet UPC Database http://www.upcdatabase.com/main.html

Talk:Jail

2004-06-02T15:33:56Z

N8chz:

Does there exist anywhere in the wikiverse something analogous to having "ops" on IRC?

Talk:Individual buying criteria

2004-05-12T15:34:04Z

N8chz:

There's also non-medical health criteria (like someone who believes that something is bad for them or their family even if a doctor doesn't agree, such as just refusing factory food on grounds you don't know wht's in it), and even [[legal criteria]] (if you are under some obligation to buy only certain types of things, which is usually the case if you are buying for a company or some organization), and probably more... we need some [[user story]] attempts here: vignettes that describe how Consumerium would really be used in practice to guide certain decisions.
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Would the following be apropos vis a vis Consumerium?

http://www2.iro.umontreal.ca/~paquetse/cgi-bin/wiki.cgi?Create_Normative_Specifications_For_Resource_Allocations

:Not under that name, which suggests it's about policy. But certainly you could treat the creation of such "specifications" as part of [[institutional buying criteria]] and it is absolutely relevant to other questions like [http://recyclopedia.info/wiki/wiki.phtml?title=monetary_reform monetary reform].

:For example, an institution might choose not to demand or purchase goods that it must compete for against destitute individuals.

::Would this practice of non-competition differ from the ''typically confidential'' non-competition clauses commonly seen in written contracts?

:::Only in that an institution would probably broadcast that it was refusing to compete and raise prices of scarce goods - or, perhaps better, would let poorer people participate and gain economies of scale when institutions buy things.

::::Or the attached strings would include a "no [[reverse engineering|reverse engineer]]" clause

Consumerium and pubwan

2004-04-22T14:39:44Z

N8chz:

This is offered in the spirit of "compare and contrast,"
as was AnewGoAndPubWan at WikiWorld.

Consumerium seems to focus primarily on matters of conscience,
whereas pubwan seeks transparency
for its own sake.

normative criteria

This is offered not as a suggested Consumerium activity,
but is a red herring.
It is a well-known fact that authoritarian concepts
such as norms and competitive concepts like criteria
are decidedly off-topic for Consumerium.
It is hoped, nevertheless, that this feeble attempt at
elucidation of the concept
of normative criteria can provide
some insight on the nature of Consumerium.

The word "normative" in this context
should be taken as
"normative as contrasted with positive,"
NOT
"normative as contrasted with abnormative."<a href="#eno">1</a>
The concept of a normative/positive
dichotomy is lifted from Langham's
mercilessly preachy, mind-bendingly boring, but nevertheless
pregnant tome ''Price Theory''.
It's uncertain from whence he lifted it, but it seems
to be in common use in numerous disciplines.
Maybe that means we can blame trolls.
In any event, without further adieu...

To distill my (mis?)conception of the normative/positive
dichotomy in as few words as I can, I would
venture that "normative" is to "positive"
as "[[w:de jure]]" is to "[[w:de facto]]."
As I recall, Langham in his characteristically pugnacious
style compared "normative" to something
along the lines of "wishful thinking"
and "positive" to "empirical."
The present author, of course, wishes to remain Agnostic.

The apparent cultural tendencies of Consumerium,
like those of the present author, seem to indicate
an admiration for many ideas some would
regard as normative.
If normative is (?) to subjective as
positive is to objective, this might
explain the tolerance, or even encouragement,
of factionalization.

The idea that selection (or design) criteria
can be normative may have applications to [[EFA]].
The MOO (multi-objective optimization) method
roughly fleshed out in the EFA piece
seeks to "rank order preferences"
in two dimensions which we might
call "signum" ("more is better" vs. "less is better") and
(high vs. low) "priority."
In the Consumerium EFA piece, we denote
degrees of signum as "min" or "max,"
and degrees of priority as "hi" or "lo."
[[User:N8chz|I]] have dubbed this (WLOG?) the "maxhi schema."
"Maxhi" corresponds roughly
to the [[w:Newspeak]] expression
"doubleplus good."

The idea that norms are subjective would seem to
imply that different people assign both
different signa and different priorities to
different selection objectives.

It is the present author's guess that
disagreement over priorities would
be found to be more common than disagreement
over signa, were a population of people
to encode their personal normative preferences
using the maxhi schema.
Correspondingly, one might expect
controversies over signal (adjective form of signum?) issues
to be more along "factional" lines.

[[User:N8chz|I]] propose considering
a "user template" for coding normspecs
(normative specifications).
This template should have certain qualities...

* A blank one would be simply a list of variables.
Hopefully variables with ordered domains
are not too classicalist a concept to be palatable to egalitarian-ish factions.
In the spirit of MOO, variables in this context can
also be called "objectives."

* The master template should encode all
equations describing relations between
variables. Since Consumerium implements
Media Wiki, which in turn (at least in Wikipedia)
implements a TeX-like representation of
mathematical notation, this could be(?)
implemented in the short run, no?
Can we assume mathematics is palatable to Consumerium?

* It should be possible to submit large amounts
of subjective (personal) normative information
into the public domain in a way that does not
compromise people's legitimate demands for
privacy. Database "views" may facilitate
this process, but a more vigilant form of
data security may be needed.

* The database schema should facilitate
detection of certain patterns in normative
data points, especially areas of consensus.
For example, a broad consensus on a "min" value for a signal
dimension of several objectives might lead to
a tentative list of "social bads."

* In the event that a modicum of (expletive deleted) classicalism
is palatable, areas of non-consensus
may have potential for what economists call
"[[w:gains from trade]]."
An interesting question is whether there is
a non-cynical way of "exploiting" such
discoveries.
Another is whether non-analytical methods
already in use by "everyone"
(i.e. the amoral but superintelligent Invisible Hand)
represent a "[[w:Pierre Marie Arouet de Voltaire|best of all possible worlds]]"
solution to the aggregate MOO, in which
case Consumerium and pubwan alike are
mere exercises in intellectual masturbation.
Is it true that Consumerium is based on a
hypothesis that such solutions, while
optimal, may be "unhealthy?"

* A primitive [[taxonomy of factions]] may be
derivable through distance vectors or
some other quick and dirty (and SQL-friendly?) method.

* Hopefully such normspecs can be
used to define selection criteria
for EFA-based database queries from
databases that are both empirically
researched and incomplete-information-aware.

<a label="eno">1Actually the present author delights in the abnormative.</a>

World Bank

2004-04-22T14:30:43Z

N8chz: added to * list

The '''World Bank''' is thought by many people to be the single most destructive institution on Earth (the [[WTO]], [[IMF]], [[BIS]], [[UN Security Council]], [[currency markets]], [[commodity markets]], [http://www.usemod.com/cgi-bin/mb.pl?CarCulture car culture], [[television]] and [[Internet]] being competing [[bad thing]]s that many think are worse).

It is the de facto [[public investment bank]] for the entire planet, just as the [[BIS]] and [[IMF]] operate as a sort of de facto [[central bank]], which between them set the policies (based on [[GDP]]) that do maximum damage to life while causing maximum circulation of money.

The World Bank approves and funds extremely destructive projects in [[China]] and [[Congo]] and [[Brazil]], which expand roads that lead to [[deforestation]] and [[extinction]]. The damage done by these projects is incredible, astonishing even, reducing [[nature's services]] to all people. For those people killed, of course, the services provided are now near zero (some space for the body or [[atmospheric CO2 absorption capacity]] for the ashes) and maybe funerals and lawyers to process wills increase [[GDP]] - all the '''Bank''' cares about.

A fairly large number of people believes that the '''Bank'''ers are guilty of more than one [[crime against humanity]], and should simply all be put on trial. ''See [[w:anti-globalization movement]] for more on its opposition.''

Former economists at the Bank have sometimes left their jobs to take part in protests against it, [[Joseph Stiglitz]] being the most obvious example.

Talk:Institution

2004-04-17T17:10:44Z

N8chz:

Who are these purples who look to the [http://www.whirledbank.org/ World Bank]?

Interesting projects

2004-04-17T16:32:51Z

N8chz:

==Not-for-profit Projects==

If you are not sure if a new link belongs here, please check '''[[Links|Other Links]]''' for other alternatives.

See first the [[essential projects]] that are doing what we are doing, and that we have little choice but to work with and improve.

==possible sources of [[Research Wiki]] input ==

===[[GFDL corpus]]===

*[[CorpKnowPedia]] - (Running [[MediaWiki]], under [[GFDL]])

*[[Recyclopedia]] is creating a free and open content encyclopedia of social change, social justice and environmental justice information.

* [[OurAnswer]] is a method for the people to respond to [[business leaders]] and [[politicians]]. -(Running [[MediaWiki]], under [[GFDL]])

* [[Disinfopedia]] is a collaborative project to produce a directory of public relations firms, think tanks, industry-funded organizations and industry-friendly experts that work to influence public opinion and public policy on behalf of corporations, governments and special interests. And yes, it's in the [[GFDL]] part of the world (Running [[MediaWiki]], under [[GFDL]])

*[[Wikipedia]] - The free encyclopedia, all content is under [[GFDL]]. - (Running [[MediaWiki]])

*[[w:Wiktionary|Wiktionary]] - A spin off from wikipedia. The free dictionary and thesaurus in every language if it gets done someday. [[GFDL]] also. Not much happening there now. - (Running [[MediaWiki]], under [[GFDL]])

*http://wikibooks.org - Yet another great idea being put forward by WikiMedia Foundation. Wikibooks is dedicated to developing and disseminating free, open content textbooks and other classroom texts - (Running [[MediaWiki]], under [[GFDL]])

* [[Cookbook]] - One of the wikibooks that is of particular interest is the cookbook. Includes information on [[vegan]] and [[vegetarian]] food as well as other moral purchasing. - (Running [[MediaWiki]], under [[GFDL]])
=== not [[GFDL]] ===

* http://www.theyrule.net/ - Topic map style visual presentations of interrelations of [[Companies]] [[Executives]] and stuff in the US mostly. Static mapping so they have an advisory about probably being out-of-date.

* [http://now.ohah.net/en/Earth_Reforesting_System "Earth Reforesting System"] - not sure if this is going to work, but, at least they started with mediawiki, so maybe they are just waiting for others to chip in, just like Consumerium did. Mostly in Japanese.

* http://www.environmentaldirectory.net/ - lists over 13.000 organisations dealing with environmental issues in the US

* http://www.thetransitioner.org/wiki/tiki-index.php - an attempt to build "a Collective Intelligence economy" They seem to [[User:N8chz|one observer]] fixated on currency issues. - [[Alternative wiki-implementations|TikiWiki]], Copyright unknown
----
==Misc.==

* http://www.aflcio.org/corporateamerica/paywatch/ - Annoy yourself by looking up how much US CEOs' get compensated

* http://www.ipjustice.org A project that lobbies against [[Digital Rights Management]] and misuse of Intellectual Property.

* http://globalgreens.org - mailing lists automatically set up for any Green Party - or other groups obeying [http://globalgreens.info Global Greens Charter]

* http://crit.org - annotation software to 'mark up' any site on the web

* http://smartmobs.com - discussion of mobile technologies for politics

* http://slipperycat.com - attempt to nail down ontology for game business - shows what a simple industry looks like from low level code up to production. - a '''stub''' at the moment

*http://www.2action.com/main.asp - a commercial vendor of [[worn device]] software for meeting and sales support - what does their UI look like? What words mean what? We should always study carefully this kind of example of a decision support system

----
'''See also:'''
* [[Interesting organisations]] - Institutions and organisations that provide [[reference]] or possibly [[content]]
* [[Interesting companies]] - Commercial links
* [[Strange projects]] for amusing, off topic sites

Talk:Individual buying criteria

2004-04-04T18:03:36Z

N8chz:

Consumerium:Contributor interests

2004-04-04T17:04:54Z

N8chz: 3 link adds

'''Consudev:Contributor interests''' are not the [[essential projects]], [[interesting projects]], [[hardware requirements]] or [[protocol requirements]]. Just because two or more people share an interest in something doesn't mean that [[Consumerium Services]] must become a testbed for it! See [[Consumerium Concepts]] for what directly impacts the services themselves.

''Disclaimer: [[Consumerium:Contributor]] [[Consumerium:Consumerians by fields of interest|interests]] are declared voluntarily and do not imply any membership in the [[Consumerium Social Club]] or any [[faction]] supporting or promoting any of the interests or technologies below. [[Consumerium]] isn't a place for [[pro-technology propaganda]]. No sanction will apply to those who do not declare their interests, or don't care to contribute to any [[community point of view]] on them. The [[Lowest Troll]] will bite anyone on the leg who tries to advance technologies or concepts just because some contributors like them, as opposed to proving they are necessary and actually meet [[performance requirements]] and [[protocol requirements]].''

----

by subject(s) of interest:

===applied math===

===[[efficient frontier analysis]]===
*[[User:N8chz|N8chz]]

===office information systems===

===history===
History of trade, [[international trade]], [[globalization]], history of economics, history of equities
*[[User:Juxo|Juxo]]

===[[recycling]]===
*[[User:Juxo|Juxo]]

===data entry===
*[[User:N8chz|N8chz]]
*[[User:Juxo|Juxo]]

===data capture===
Company interrelation mining from the internet would be of great interest. This information could not directly be included but used to guide [[Consumerium:Researcher|Researcher]]s more efficiently.
*[[User:N8chz|N8chz]]
*[[User:Juxo|Juxo]]

===distributed database===
I don't think we are going for distributed database approach, but multi-wiki import-export and synchronization is of interest, which is sort of related to distributed databases
*[[User:N8chz|N8chz]]

===macroeconomics===
[[Commodity]] markets, Stock markets, Pensions funds, Currency markets, [[Employability]]
*[[User:Juxo|Juxo]]

===microeconomics===
[[Individual buying criteria]], [[institutional buying criteria]], [[preferences|consumer preferences]], [[Features]], [[Consumerium Services]]

*[[User:Juxo|Juxo]]

===information asymmetry===
What is [[w:information asymmetry]]
*[[User:N8chz|N8chz]]

===price discrimination===
What is [[w:price discrimination]]?
*[[User:N8chz|N8chz]]

===social studies===
[[Employability]], [[Workers' rights]]
*[[User:Juxo|Juxo]]

===volunteer recruiting===
*[[User:N8chz|N8chz]]
*[[User:Juxo|Juxo]]
**activities: Holding a discussion/information session at the [http://www.prodemokratia.net/suomensosiaalifoorumi/english.html Finnish Social Forum]
**Planning to distribute posters/ads to [[fair trade]] shops around [[Finland]]

===Food===
[[Cookbook]] (Wikibook.org project), Kitchenblogs...
*[[User:Juxo|Juxo]]

===Wiki software development===
*[[User:Juxo|Juxo]] (I'm not really technically orientated, but I try to pitch in

===Trolling===
*[[142.177.X.X]] - Designated by the majority of this autocracy called the [[Development Wiki]] to be The Troll Leader of The [[Trollherd]]

Talk:Individual buying criteria

2004-04-04T16:47:43Z

N8chz: question re ontopic

Efficient frontier analysis

2004-04-04T16:29:08Z

N8chz: attempt at a fairly nontechnical intro to subject

efficient frontier analysis

The efficient frontier is a [[w:convex hull]] of the a set of data points.
It is a concept that has been in circulation for a long time, and has been used in a wide variety of disciplines.
For this reason, it is known by many names, and many nomenclatures for describing its various intricacies.
Synonyms are numerous, and include:

* efficiency frontier
* efficient set
* Pareto optimal set
* non-dominated set
* convex hull
* multiple objective optimization (MOO)

Efficient frontier analysis (EFA) is used to negotiate "optimal" compromises between "competing" objectives.
The classic textbook definition of EFA is found in [[financial]] textbooks and is based on the "tradeoff" between
risk (called "beta" or covariance between a given issue and "the rest of the market") and reward
(called yield) expected from various available issues of financial paper (stocks, bonds etc.)
In the textbook example, it is assumed that investors wish to minimize beta (i.e. risk) and maximize yield.
In such textbooks, beta is the abscissa (horizontal axis) and yield is the ordinate.
The convex hull of the data points consists of those points that can't be enclosed by connecting other points (dots) with line segments.
The portion of the convex hull that is of interest when one is interested in maximizing the vertical axis variable while minimizing the other
is the upper left (possibly referred to as "northwest") portion.
An intuitive test of whether a particular point is in this upper left frontier
would be to "move the origin" to the point in question.
If the point is "non-dominated" within the larger set,
then there will be no points in the fourth (southeast) quadrant after moving the origin in this way.
Think of "non-dominated" as the opposite of "dominated."
If one candidate's parameters are "superior in every way" to another's, one might say the former "dominates" the latter.
The EFA method applies to optimization problems in other fields, too.
A two variable EFA might define the efficient set as the upper right, lower right or lower left convex hull depending on which variables one wishes to minimize or maximize.
When negotiating between more than two objectives, of course, the number of efficiency frontiers is more than four.
Needless to say, EFA relies on a number of assumptions:

* The variables being analyzed are quantitative (well ordered).
* The design criteria unambiguously prefer either larger or smaller values for any particular variable.

The applicability of EFA to Consumerium activities may be limited, or even irrelevant.
There seems to be a decided preference for non-quantitative over quantitative criteria in describing Consumerium norms and priorities.
The reasoning behind this seems to include a desire to emphasize an ethical agenda rather than ask
shallowly commercial questions such as "is the price of X commensurate with its 'specifications?'"

[[User:N8chz|The present author]] has included this information on EFA in Consumerium's pages, anyway, because it seems reasonable to believe that
some criteria of interest to Consumerium may be approximated by "yes or no" type questions...

* Does X incorporate animal products?
* Are documented deviations from International Law associated with X?

For the sake of argument, let's assume that the preferred answer to both these questions is "no."
We can associate the word "no" with the number 0 and "yes" with 1.
In this case we have the "order property," and consider the lower left frontier efficient.
If there are no data points for which the answers are unkown, then there are four possible locations in the graph.
If the location (0,0) is inhabited, then its inhabitants would comprise the efficient set.
If it is uninhabited, then either (1,0) and (0,1) are uninhabited, in which case the entire set is efficient (and also inefficient, of course).
Otherwise, the efficient set consists of the (1,0) and (0,1) points '''combined'''.

In many cases, the answer to yes/no questions (or for that matter questions with numeric answers) can be "unknown."
This possibility must be accounted for.
One might by default assume that "maybe" belongs between "yes" and "no,"
but the positioning of "maybe" depends on the situation.
For example, for research activities, one might wish to identify and patch "holes" in Consumerium's knowledge base.
In such a case, an efficiency-based "queueing system" for picking factoids for further investigation, the "maybe" value might be prioritized above the other two.
A description of such a strategy is given in [[User:N8chz|my]] essay "efficient shopping lists:"

http://geocities.com/n8chz/esl.htm

Another use Consumerium might have for EFA would concern information volunteered to Consumerium (or to the public domain at large) by entities, concerning their own products.
In such a scheme (certainly in the public domain), which "variables" of interest are made public can vary between suppliers.
If Consumerium holds "transparency" as a "good" (as seems to be the case), supplied values should perhaps be preferred over unsupplied in some cases.
In the previous sentence, the word "transparency" refers to a general preference for more (public and accurate) information over less.

This is one reason why I think Consumerium should consider not running on wiki alone, but consider including a database facility.
A database can offer the ability to index columns with ordered domains, and create a truly endless variety of ad-hoc queries,
as well as the ability to save and refine (and most importantly, share) these queries as "views." Creation of these queries can mix and match
all manner of...

* identification of variables one wishes to minimize or maximize
* whether to rank "null" cells (often signifying unknown data) above or below "non-null" ones
* what design objectives to prioritize over others

Queries can be fine-tuned to a variety of purposes and Consumerium activities, while the data in the underlying base tables at any given time represents the current "state" of Consumerium research.
Keeping these base tables free of redundancies, contradictions, and general disinformation can become a formidable challenge if [[distributed database]] methods are chosen,
but a distributed database may allow...

* a less centralized project structure.
* possible opportunities to avoid having to deal with main$tream financiers to finance large projects within Consumerium, by simply keeping projects of the "server" type smallish.
* possible opportunities to leverage existing methods for [[file sharing]] and [[distributed computing]] à la Seti@Home.

Consumerium talk:Consumerians by fields of interest

2004-03-27T20:13:45Z

N8chz:

[[User:N8chz|I]] am introducing this shameless replication of a Wikipedian concept in an effort to...

* clarify the nature and extent of Consumerium in a way some may find less abstract than a Mission Statement.

* take an informal inventory of humyn resources potentially available to a project of Consumerium's nature, whatever that is.

If the Consumerium finds any of these topics to be off-topic, it is requested to waive non-subtractivity and summarily remove them from the list. This should facilitate the first objective without a huge compromise of the second, unless of course my view of humyn nature is even more overly optimystic than even I had thought. Please forgive me for deficiencies in my understanding of Mediawikian outlining protocol.
----
Or is this all redundant given [[Consumerium Concepts]]?

Consumerium talk:Consumerians by fields of interest

2004-03-27T20:04:44Z

N8chz:

Consumerium:Consumerians by fields of interest

2004-03-27T20:04:17Z

N8chz: needs outlining

Consumerians by subject(s) of interest:

applied math

efficient frontier analysis (N8chz)

office information systems

data entry (N8chz)

data capture (N8chz)

distributed database (N8chz)

microeconomics

information asymmetry (N8chz)

price discrimination (N8chz)

social studies

volunteer recruiting (N8chz)

Talk:Collating

2004-03-20T18:29:58Z

N8chz:

Do you have a scheme for collating information about mergers and the like in real time?

User talk:N8chz

2004-03-20T18:24:04Z

N8chz:

Talk:Product Group

2004-03-20T17:59:03Z

N8chz:

Is this essentially taxonomy?

Talk:Features

2004-03-12T19:56:47Z

N8chz:

As a consumer, one of the most important things I appreciate, and would like to see generalized, is for food products to be entirely traceable. Upstream. Downstream.

Consumers should be given the opportunity to know everything about a product if requested. Frequently requested info should be provided on labels. Unfrequent request should be available somewhere, and no consumers asking for it should be dismissed.

It goes further than the current usual labelling of "best before" or "guaranteed without preservative", or "content in fat of a serving", which is certainly interesting, but not sufficient to offer full satisfaction.

Consumers should be given other relevant information such as
* when buying beef meat : what type of animal is it (was it young meat beef or an old milk cow), which race, how old (a year old or 4-5 old), which food was it fed with (use of meat, how many months per year in pastures), name and adress of the breeder, name and address of the slaughterhouse
* when buing wine : is that a mixing of several vats ? is it a mix of species ? what is the name of the producer ? Are the producer, the one putting the wine in bottles, the one raising the wine, one or several ?
* when buying flour : is it gmo free, which pesticides, herbicides, fongicides where used by the farmer

Only with numerous info is it relevant to make proper decisions, not only in terms of safety, but also for a more global involvment, such as deciding to buy or not to buy meat from another region, or to buy meat from this slaughterhouse or not.

It should be easy with meat, for a steak is not often mixed with another steak. In some developped countries, one of the first act after the birth of a cow, is to pierce its ear with a permanent label, which will help follow precisely the animal and all what occur to it (if info is appropriately reported), from the birth to the sale. It is not as easy for a pack of flour, resulting from a mix of grains, which themselves didnot existed when the crop was started, and which cannot be individually traced.

But, that is a major issue. The consumer have the right to know what he is consuming and processus must take this right into account. Traceability must also go back. Whenever a problem arise at the last step of use, authorities must be able to track the problem up, as quickly and efficiently as possible. When a health issue arise, such as when food poisonning is reported in a school canteen, it must be possible to retrieve information in 24 hours, to know exactly where the cans came from, where the industrial process got wrong, then to go back down the process again, in order to remove from shops and supermarkets ALL the cans which are likely to be spoilt, but ONLY these cans

In short, it is organising the whole agricultural and food production processus to ensure all actors (the producers, the transformers, the sellers, the controllers, the consumers) are given the right tools and relevant, comprehensive and reliable information for the best decisions. It is in consumers hands though.

:Do not forget the [[resource keeper]]s, those doing or affected by [[extraction]], and those affected by [[waste disposal]], and those involved in providing [[energy]]. These are quite important in economies. [http://natcap.org Natcap says, anyway]. And so do [[trolls]].
----
Regarding features related to foodstuffs, I would like to suggest a database table to map UPC's (or better yet, whatever is the primary key internal to the Consumerium) to the NDB (nutrition data base) number assigned to (mostly) generaically identified foodstuffs by the USDA in their Nutrition Database, which can be downloaded from their web site. Pax, n8chz

User:N8chz

2004-03-12T19:46:52Z

N8chz:

Greetings Consumerium!

I cannot begin to express my gratitude for the existence of consumerium, as it is the type of thing I have been searching for for quite some time. I have articulated my desire for something along the lines of Consumerium. For the lack of a better word, I called it pubwan. However, since Consumerium, unlike pubwan, is a work in progress, I defer to the Consumeria and will likely take my pubwan development efforts into the Consumerium.

Pubwan:

http://geocities.com/n8chz/