1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:18,653 *35C3 intro playing* 2 00:00:18,653 --> 00:00:23,039 Herald-Angel: So please welcome Michelle for her talk about the urban organism 3 00:00:23,039 --> 00:00:33,744 hacking in Hong Kong. *applause* 4 00:00:33,744 --> 00:00:37,644 Michelle: So thank you for coming today. First of all, you could be anywhere right 5 00:00:37,644 --> 00:00:43,850 now and you decided to come here, so, I really appreciate it. This talk will 6 00:00:43,850 --> 00:00:47,649 engage the practices and protocols of hacking in the context of Hong Kong, and 7 00:00:47,649 --> 00:00:52,440 the relationship of that with the socio- cultural aspects of architecture and 8 00:00:52,440 --> 00:00:58,120 urbanism. But why architecture and urbanism? For a brief background, I'm 9 00:00:58,120 --> 00:01:02,870 trained as an architect. But after about 10 years of corporate architecture, I 10 00:01:02,870 --> 00:01:08,960 needed to kind of expand my tentacles. So now I build buildings to maintain that 11 00:01:08,960 --> 00:01:13,150 technical proficiency. And I work in creative media which allows me to have 12 00:01:13,150 --> 00:01:18,690 more instant gratification, and a more personal contact with individual people. 13 00:01:18,690 --> 00:01:29,430 And I teach in the faculty of Design Environment at a university in Hong Kong. 14 00:01:29,430 --> 00:01:33,250 So the Metropolis I'm speaking of refers to Hong Kong. If it wasn't obvious 15 00:01:33,250 --> 00:01:39,180 already. It is a city of contradictions, a cultural pastiche of a colonial system, 16 00:01:39,180 --> 00:01:45,230 Chinese traditions and with globalized modernity. So if the city slogan, Asia's world 17 00:01:45,230 --> 00:01:50,450 city, it maintains itself as a entrepôt, or in other words, the intermediary 18 00:01:50,450 --> 00:01:55,970 between China and the rest of the world. So before, we were trading opium, tea, 19 00:01:55,970 --> 00:02:00,470 sugar, textiles, and which now has transitioned to focus more on the 20 00:02:00,470 --> 00:02:07,520 financial sector, so cocaine, insurance and stocks. For many of those just passing 21 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:12,120 through Hong Kong which is frequent and obvious for anyone coming over to Asia. 22 00:02:12,120 --> 00:02:17,319 There are several factors that make it such an exciting prospect. So the hyper 23 00:02:17,319 --> 00:02:22,420 density here is always a fascination. This isn't super relevant, but the image on the 24 00:02:22,420 --> 00:02:26,999 left is from the Leandro Ehrlich, it's called "The Room". It's a surveillance 25 00:02:26,999 --> 00:02:30,650 camera, many surveillance cameras on one room and the other one does a 26 00:02:30,650 --> 00:02:39,790 juxtaposition with our typical facades in Hong Kong. So the exciting prospects: One 27 00:02:39,790 --> 00:02:44,480 is the proximity to Chinese manufacturers. So it's close enough where you can hop 28 00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:49,739 over to Shenzhen, so the manufacturer hub, for just a few hours. You could just take 29 00:02:49,739 --> 00:02:54,060 a day trip. So if we have a MOSFET emergency, you can run over there within 30 00:02:54,060 --> 00:02:58,640 an hour, and grab everythin you need and go back. But, we are also just outside of 31 00:02:58,640 --> 00:03:05,189 a great firewall. We don't have any of those issues, or, not most. And it's 32 00:03:05,189 --> 00:03:09,349 culturally accessible, that's number two. You won't feel incredibly left out with no 33 00:03:09,349 --> 00:03:14,799 Chinese language skills. You will still be a little bit left out, but not completely. 34 00:03:14,799 --> 00:03:20,919 You can still function and operate there happily. And then three is the stimuli. As with 35 00:03:20,919 --> 00:03:26,129 any metropolis, there's a factor of hyper activity that has this distinct scent of 36 00:03:26,129 --> 00:03:30,549 infinite possibilities. Anything can happen. And this is the difference that I 37 00:03:30,549 --> 00:03:34,290 feel most because you can make anything happen there if you're just willing to pay 38 00:03:34,290 --> 00:03:39,249 a little bit. Sometimes it's not a lot of money and I'll go into this detail later 39 00:03:39,249 --> 00:04:06,739 actually. Excuse me. So in this socio- cultural cornucopia, what gives way to 40 00:04:06,739 --> 00:04:12,340 these contradictions and complexities, is a notoriously wide income gap, the soaring 41 00:04:12,340 --> 00:04:17,989 costs of real estate and as well as the pressure towards commercialism. The more 42 00:04:17,989 --> 00:04:21,150 we raise ourselves into the clouds, exploring the limits of the upwards 43 00:04:21,150 --> 00:04:27,030 trajectory, it also creates wider separations from one another, and in that 44 00:04:27,030 --> 00:04:33,280 segregation, it creates uniformity. The defining characteristics of any post- 45 00:04:33,280 --> 00:04:40,040 modern city is how control is leveraged in the hands of the bureaucracy. Urban 46 00:04:40,040 --> 00:04:44,770 policy, especially in Hong Kong, is a stringent arrangement serving only the 47 00:04:44,770 --> 00:04:49,280 private and the powerful. And without going into the boring details, but for the 48 00:04:49,280 --> 00:04:56,300 most part, the applied label here is called *crony capitalism*. So technological 49 00:04:56,300 --> 00:05:00,950 changes in the quality of public space make it increasingly more evident that the 50 00:05:00,950 --> 00:05:07,120 urban realm is a temporary experience that has imploded by the changes in the social 51 00:05:07,120 --> 00:05:13,420 contract. The enjoyment of public space is normally governed by authority: public 52 00:05:13,420 --> 00:05:18,170 transportation, parks, and even the most mundane section of the pavement; some are 53 00:05:18,170 --> 00:05:25,000 the responsibility of an organization. In this respect, the city relinquishes itself 54 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:30,870 as a home or a collective space, but rather a temporary flow of people, information, 55 00:05:30,870 --> 00:05:36,530 and commodities. So did you know? The parks in Hong Kong is nothing like the 56 00:05:36,530 --> 00:05:41,890 parks in Germany. We have signs that say, no smoking, no drinking - OK, fine - no 57 00:05:41,890 --> 00:05:49,750 busking, no bicycles, no skateboards, no hawking, so basically no fun. The pavements 58 00:05:49,750 --> 00:05:53,110 aswell, if you've been to Hong Kong, or you see in the video, the pavements are 59 00:05:53,110 --> 00:05:59,990 about 1.2m wide before you reach the façade of a building next to you. That's 60 00:05:59,990 --> 00:06:04,800 because they are keen on maximizing 100% site boundaries which reach up to there. 61 00:06:04,800 --> 00:06:09,210 That's why we are all closed in because the pavement in front of every building is 62 00:06:09,210 --> 00:06:13,620 typically owned by the business in front of it. So that is actually their section 63 00:06:13,620 --> 00:06:20,590 of the pavement, not yours but it's theirs. So while each technological 64 00:06:20,590 --> 00:06:26,220 revolution allows us to offset mundane tasks, we've also been offsetting the 65 00:06:26,220 --> 00:06:32,120 responsibility of monitoring these machines to large scale institutions. 66 00:06:32,120 --> 00:06:37,090 Technology has been an extension of ourselves for a long time but very few pay 67 00:06:37,090 --> 00:06:43,230 mind of what part of us that amputates. The quote from Gary Taubes where he writes 68 00:06:43,230 --> 00:06:48,491 about sugar, like candy, the sugar: "It's a substance that causes pleasure with a 69 00:06:48,491 --> 00:06:53,340 price that is difficult to discern immediately, and painful only years and or 70 00:06:53,340 --> 00:07:01,750 decades later." That's from the case against sugar, 2016. And if we consider 71 00:07:01,750 --> 00:07:08,400 cities moving more into the virtual realm, into cyber urbanism with smart technology, 72 00:07:08,400 --> 00:07:14,150 we're heading into a world that is shackled by algorithmic conformity. For 73 00:07:14,150 --> 00:07:19,800 one example, by mass implementation of self driving cars. And within these 74 00:07:19,800 --> 00:07:25,970 networks of organized complexities, we were never meant to be in concrete boxes, 75 00:07:25,970 --> 00:07:32,580 hovering in the sky, hermetically sealed from one another. For thousands of years, 76 00:07:32,580 --> 00:07:38,040 our genetic programming had us living in tribes. And while the world seemed to 77 00:07:38,040 --> 00:07:44,480 shrink in distance, with steam engines, airplanes, and the Internet, the space 78 00:07:44,480 --> 00:07:51,530 with and between each other expanded even more. So machines replaced our fingers, 79 00:07:51,530 --> 00:07:56,620 and we no longer needed each other to meet our needs, but instead on a system. 80 00:07:56,620 --> 00:08:02,780 *pause* 81 00:08:02,780 --> 00:08:14,300 Hopefully, I set the stage now for this very dystopian Blade Runner view-esque of 82 00:08:14,300 --> 00:08:21,740 the city. So a certain level of uniformity is inevitable. And to me, uniformity is 83 00:08:21,740 --> 00:08:28,030 not so bad if we can translate this to cooperation. And to begin our detailed 84 00:08:28,030 --> 00:08:32,190 understanding of similarities before we implicate and find the changes within the 85 00:08:32,190 --> 00:08:38,360 cracks. We have this inherent quality in us, the small children, with such joy in 86 00:08:38,360 --> 00:08:43,020 playing with switches and boxes, pushing buttons, and identifying objects as mine 87 00:08:43,020 --> 00:08:46,640 and yours. But because of this innate desire to make changes to our 88 00:08:46,640 --> 00:08:54,739 environments, and leave a mark in this world. So our ability to make collective, 89 00:08:54,739 --> 00:08:58,430 (Two images disappeared, sorry) So our ability to make collective, 90 00:08:58,430 --> 00:09:05,050 inflexible cooperation in large numbers is our strength in this world. And I mean 91 00:09:05,050 --> 00:09:08,990 that's why we're all here in this amazing event, built by so many hands that are 92 00:09:08,990 --> 00:09:14,200 sometimes organized and sometimes not. Together, we're finding a balance between 93 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:20,040 the ecological and the engineered, or the organic versus the designed. And to me, 94 00:09:20,040 --> 00:09:24,230 the metaphorical link between the city and hacker spaces also have something in 95 00:09:24,230 --> 00:09:30,590 common with termites, ants, birds, mussels, and mold. It's the experimental, 96 00:09:30,590 --> 00:09:56,985 harmonic composition that arises from spatial self organization. 97 00:09:56,985 --> 00:10:02,960 So it shows something that's difficult to miss, once you crossed your path. It's a horde of 98 00:10:02,960 --> 00:10:07,620 termites animating a still branch, both building and destroying the physical 99 00:10:07,620 --> 00:10:12,830 environment at the same time. And I enjoy observing termites and ants for their 100 00:10:12,830 --> 00:10:18,340 emergent complex co-operative, yet primitive behaviour. And so in this line 101 00:10:18,340 --> 00:10:22,510 of thinking, the macro and micro of our environments. And that is one of the 102 00:10:22,510 --> 00:10:26,990 aspects that draws me to hacker spaces because they too are part of this greater 103 00:10:26,990 --> 00:10:31,860 concept of collective, distributive action. Although part so to this very 104 00:10:31,860 --> 00:10:46,920 messy human factor called the hacker community. So, Dim Sum Labs, Hong Kong's 105 00:10:46,920 --> 00:10:53,320 first and only hackerspace. Started off like most hacker spaces, with a few people 106 00:10:53,320 --> 00:10:58,610 getting together in informal places to chat about all things geeky. And then the 107 00:10:58,610 --> 00:11:03,420 official location was secured in 2011 with about 10 different cofounders in a 108 00:11:03,420 --> 00:11:08,380 commercial building in Sheung Wan which is near the center. So super convenient for 109 00:11:08,380 --> 00:11:16,600 people to access, but also means, there's a scarcity of space. It's kind of a funny 110 00:11:16,600 --> 00:11:25,400 name. The red part means Dim Sum, touch your heart, literally. But Dim Sum 111 00:11:25,400 --> 00:11:29,320 naturally refers to a particular cuisine or an activity in Hong Kong where you can 112 00:11:29,320 --> 00:11:35,050 potentially spend hours nibbling on things in bamboo steamer baskets and whatnot. And 113 00:11:35,050 --> 00:11:38,740 when lots of people join together, you have this very diverse opportunity to 114 00:11:38,740 --> 00:11:51,300 taste and experiment so many different things. It's cute, right? (Oh, I lost another 115 00:11:51,300 --> 00:12:07,620 image. So is the image of Dim Sum. And I'm going crazy now.) OK. So, as I described 116 00:12:07,620 --> 00:12:11,730 earlier, our proximity to China, because of our limited space, because of the 117 00:12:11,730 --> 00:12:16,300 context where money is king and we are fools in this court, it shapes the culture 118 00:12:16,300 --> 00:12:21,380 of our space in ways like affording ourselves really cheap equipments and 119 00:12:21,380 --> 00:12:28,180 components. For example, our laser cutter was 4000 RNB, which is about 500 Euro, 120 00:12:28,180 --> 00:12:33,930 and components, so it's about a 1000 resistors for half a Euro. But instead, we 121 00:12:33,930 --> 00:12:38,610 spend the rest of the money on rent instead. And also, what changes the 122 00:12:38,610 --> 00:12:42,170 culture is very transitional atmosphere of people that move onto their 123 00:12:42,170 --> 00:12:47,080 journeys, their hobbies, or their lifestyle. And in Hong Kong, like the rest 124 00:12:47,080 --> 00:12:52,779 of the world outside of Germany, hacking has a very different connotation than we'd 125 00:12:52,779 --> 00:12:57,390 prefer. So as I define it, it is the intellectual activity of exploring an 126 00:12:57,390 --> 00:13:03,740 object, system or protocol beyond its intended means. Of course, most people 127 00:13:03,740 --> 00:13:25,440 don't see it that way, which is why (oh, get out of here termites, okay) which is 128 00:13:25,440 --> 00:13:31,500 why there is a book called "The Field Guide to Hacking". It's a handshake, if you 129 00:13:31,500 --> 00:13:37,800 will, to the greater community. How can we encourage others to hack, without showing 130 00:13:37,800 --> 00:13:42,350 them how? So the book contains a collection of projects in an instructable 131 00:13:42,350 --> 00:13:47,340 manner, sort of. Essays and snapshots of the activity in our nebulous community, 132 00:13:47,340 --> 00:13:51,720 And is ordered into 6 sections, each prefaced by essays by someone who can 133 00:13:51,720 --> 00:13:59,790 explain some peripheral topics of hacking. It begins with a foreword by Mitch Altman 134 00:13:59,790 --> 00:14:04,740 because if you're going to talk about community, how can you not involve Mitch? 135 00:14:04,740 --> 00:14:10,300 And if anyone doesn't know who he is, he also yearly organizes a hacker's trip to 136 00:14:10,300 --> 00:14:16,170 China, so many of you have come to visit some labs in Hong Kong which is amazing. 137 00:14:16,170 --> 00:14:20,230 Some of the projects, we start off with something very simple, like a button badge 138 00:14:20,230 --> 00:14:27,930 that you can solder yourself, with links to github repository and all your 139 00:14:27,930 --> 00:14:33,460 components that you need to do it, and potentially teach you how to solder it. Some 140 00:14:33,460 --> 00:14:38,440 projects are a little more functional. This is the kilowatt countered that we 141 00:14:38,440 --> 00:14:44,700 have in our space where we monitor the use of electricity in the space. And that also 142 00:14:44,700 --> 00:14:52,450 helps if someone has left the air con on and it's empty, so we know. Some of the 143 00:14:52,450 --> 00:14:58,770 products are a little more polemic. This is Neomi "SexyCyborg" Wu. She's quite well 144 00:14:58,770 --> 00:15:05,340 known. If you follow her on Twitter and if you want to check her Twitter, you'll find 145 00:15:05,340 --> 00:15:10,649 out yourself. *general laughter* And there are some projects that are a little more 146 00:15:10,649 --> 00:15:17,670 artistic. So this is fields by me and Savio. There's one here which maybe I'll 147 00:15:17,670 --> 00:15:25,500 show you later if I have time. Mine is not very instructional but I teach you how to 148 00:15:25,500 --> 00:15:31,120 hack it and how it works which I suppose is more important. And then the essays not 149 00:15:31,120 --> 00:15:35,060 only provide the spike from the sea of projects, but also a gesture for those who 150 00:15:35,060 --> 00:15:39,450 would like to know more about hacking but perhaps not participate into it, 151 00:15:39,450 --> 00:15:45,310 participate in it physically. So this is when I write a little bit about urbanism, 152 00:15:45,310 --> 00:15:50,920 and surveillance capitalism. This is from Dr. Daniel Howe who teaches a class on 153 00:15:50,920 --> 00:15:56,279 hacktivism at the school of creative media in the city university whose essay ponders 154 00:15:56,279 --> 00:16:03,330 the relationship between artistic freedom and expression in Hong Kong. And Scott 155 00:16:03,330 --> 00:16:08,209 Edmunds who founded the Bauhinia genome project. He works on a different kind of 156 00:16:08,209 --> 00:16:13,779 code. It's a four letter code of DNA. And while cultivating a stronger relationship 157 00:16:13,779 --> 00:16:22,950 between locals and Hong Kong's history, by way of citizen science. And on 158 00:16:22,950 --> 00:16:27,560 inclusivity, Sarah Fox writes about technology and recognition with respect to 159 00:16:27,560 --> 00:16:34,430 the feminist space. And then we round it all off with Luis Filipe R. Murilo who 160 00:16:34,430 --> 00:16:38,710 writes about this from an anthropologyst perspective and empirically as a former 161 00:16:38,710 --> 00:16:46,591 member of Dim Sum Labs. So I hope that throughout this talk and the book, that it 162 00:16:46,591 --> 00:16:50,990 provides some insight into the backdrop of some of the issues that face Dim Sum Labs 163 00:16:50,990 --> 00:16:55,890 every day. It's not the easiest task to have people on the other side of the world 164 00:16:55,890 --> 00:17:02,050 to have this empathetic sharing of our Zeitgeist, but we try. Some of the things 165 00:17:02,050 --> 00:17:05,900 that have been asked to me, is where can I find the book? So there's the website, 166 00:17:05,900 --> 00:17:12,760 and there's the email. The next question is actually, can I buy the book? Well, not 167 00:17:12,760 --> 00:17:18,610 really, because I ran out, and because the publisher is called Dim Sum Labs Press 168 00:17:18,610 --> 00:17:24,190 which isn't just me. So if anyone knows a publisher that would like to help me? 169 00:17:24,190 --> 00:17:28,199 Because right now I'm just printing it from Taobao. And if there's going to be 170 00:17:28,199 --> 00:17:31,900 another version, I kind of need more content. So if you want to be part of 171 00:17:31,900 --> 00:17:36,360 this, and you are kind of part of the community, please let me know. Contact is 172 00:17:36,360 --> 00:17:47,110 there. So this is not really a conclusion, but I'm just going to assume it is. Hong 173 00:17:47,110 --> 00:17:51,120 Kong has become part of this geopolitical experiment. So we are on this precarious 174 00:17:51,120 --> 00:17:56,040 edge between maintaining its openness, in this sense where individuals can maintain 175 00:17:56,040 --> 00:18:01,270 their cultural roots, and are osmosis with Shenzhen or China, a city where it lives 176 00:18:01,270 --> 00:18:05,150 under the guise of China's rules and regulations, but as well as, breaking 177 00:18:05,150 --> 00:18:11,530 beyond its limitations in the physical and the social sense. In Hong Kong, the type 178 00:18:11,530 --> 00:18:15,810 of travelers that I come across, always have the same fascination towards the 179 00:18:15,810 --> 00:18:20,030 city. It's this kind of magical wonder as one travels up the escalator in the center 180 00:18:20,030 --> 00:18:25,100 of the city, leaning over the edge just to catch a glimpse of the sky as the towers 181 00:18:25,100 --> 00:18:31,080 are leaning towards each other. It's amazing on one hand. Because it's a 182 00:18:31,080 --> 00:18:35,080 massive scale of structures that we built with this comparatively tiny hands, and 183 00:18:35,080 --> 00:18:39,660 it's similar with electronics and whatnot. We are encapsulating and embedding our 184 00:18:39,660 --> 00:18:45,460 perspectives within these artifacts that perpetuate around us. But I also see it as 185 00:18:45,460 --> 00:18:52,630 relinquishing our dominion. We are complicit to our own detriment by not 186 00:18:52,630 --> 00:18:57,010 really addressing who our environments belong to. So in all respects: the 187 00:18:57,010 --> 00:19:08,440 physical, the temporal, and digital strata that our streets are paved upon. 188 00:19:08,440 --> 00:19:18,688 That's it. *applause* 189 00:19:18,688 --> 00:19:22,400 Herald-Angel: Thank you very much, Michelle. We now have time for Q and A's, 190 00:19:22,400 --> 00:19:28,221 and I can see that we already have one question from the microphone number 2. 191 00:19:28,221 --> 00:19:30,900 Microphone 2: So, thank you for your talk. 192 00:19:30,900 --> 00:19:41,439 What would you say to a *inaudible* *laughter* 193 00:19:41,439 --> 00:19:47,351 Michelle: I'm thinking of how to say this. Number one, you can't just calm, there's 194 00:19:47,351 --> 00:19:53,820 plenty of Europeans there, you'll fit right in. Number two, there's - I just 195 00:19:53,820 --> 00:19:58,000 tell you - there is a way you can get your own visa because it's very easy to start a 196 00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:03,820 business in Hong Kong. And then you can kind of hire yourself and give yourself a 197 00:20:03,820 --> 00:20:06,370 visa. M2: Thank you. 198 00:20:06,370 --> 00:20:11,180 Michelle: Don't tell anyone I said that. Herald-Angel: Just between you and the 199 00:20:11,180 --> 00:20:15,299 internet. And speaking of that, do you have any questions from the internet, 200 00:20:15,299 --> 00:20:22,260 Signal-Angels? No, no, it's no. So, there's still two microphones and we have 201 00:20:22,260 --> 00:20:27,180 time for questions. So please if you have it, we have a question from microphone 202 00:20:27,180 --> 00:20:30,710 number 1. Microphone 1: Well, it's not a question, 203 00:20:30,710 --> 00:20:35,592 it's more, there is a publisher called "No Starch Press", and it's for geeky stuff. 204 00:20:35,592 --> 00:20:40,000 So if you are looking for one, I would suggest that one. 205 00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:47,150 Michelle: Ah, I did look at them. I haven't gotten that far, yet, because as I 206 00:20:47,150 --> 00:20:54,940 pointed out, I kind of doing everything myself, so. But if you know a contact. 207 00:20:54,940 --> 00:21:00,050 M 1: Will have a look. H: And microphone number 2. 208 00:21:00,050 --> 00:21:11,210 M 2: Where do you see the difference contact between Hong Kong and in Europe? 209 00:21:11,210 --> 00:21:16,090 Michelle: The fundamental activity of hacking, I think, is not that different. 210 00:21:16,090 --> 00:21:20,950 As in, we are all people trying to explore things: What cool thing can come out 211 00:21:20,950 --> 00:21:28,540 of the stuff around us? The difference, I find most, is how we spend our time, and 212 00:21:28,540 --> 00:21:32,790 how generous we are with ourselves. Because if you live in a very commercial 213 00:21:32,790 --> 00:21:39,370 city that is dominated by this mentality of finance, and money, and how do I pay 214 00:21:39,370 --> 00:21:44,530 rent, and whatever, then your time becomes money, and you do feel, or you get the 215 00:21:44,530 --> 00:21:48,429 feeling that people don't want to extend so much because they're too busy with 216 00:21:48,429 --> 00:21:52,330 work, or they have to go to dinner, or they just have better things to do, than 217 00:21:52,330 --> 00:21:59,520 to basically volunteer in a space. H: And question from Microphone number 1 218 00:21:59,520 --> 00:22:05,160 Microphone 1: Hi, question: How famous are hacker communities in Hong Kong, or the 219 00:22:05,160 --> 00:22:09,190 region in general? So if I would be looking for an alternative to the Chaos 220 00:22:09,190 --> 00:22:14,420 Computer Congress here, what would I be looking for in Asia, like, if not Hong 221 00:22:14,420 --> 00:22:18,910 Kong, then Singapore, or Tokio, like Asia. Michelle: Can you rephrase your question? 222 00:22:18,910 --> 00:22:21,400 I don't know.. Microphone1: So, question is, if I'm 223 00:22:21,400 --> 00:22:29,590 looking for a hacker event in Asia. What do I look for? Which city, what event? 224 00:22:29,590 --> 00:22:34,290 Michelle: We don't have very many hacker events in Asia. There is some in 225 00:22:34,290 --> 00:22:41,670 Singapore, and I suppose the Tokyo Maker Fair is pretty cool in terms of like 226 00:22:41,670 --> 00:22:47,900 artifacts and stuff. But we don't have as much of this community because hacking is 227 00:22:47,900 --> 00:22:54,710 very much so a Western concept, and the way a lot of Asia, if we include China and 228 00:22:54,710 --> 00:23:00,300 the rest of it, it's not necessarily considered hacking. I mean if you 229 00:23:00,300 --> 00:23:04,650 understand the way Chinese do things, if we bring in the concept of Shanzhai, they 230 00:23:04,650 --> 00:23:08,710 don't think that's hacking. That's kind of just part of the culture. That's what you 231 00:23:08,710 --> 00:23:15,799 do to make things work for yourself. So it's a little more dispersed and it's not 232 00:23:15,799 --> 00:23:19,919 under the umbrella term that is easy to find here. 233 00:23:19,919 --> 00:23:24,041 M 1: Shenzhen Maker Fair? Michelle: Oh yeah, Shenzhen Maker Fair is 234 00:23:24,041 --> 00:23:26,720 also really cool. Herald-Angel: We have a question from 235 00:23:26,720 --> 00:23:33,160 number 2. M 2: Meeting here *inaudible* it's really cool 236 00:23:33,160 --> 00:23:38,580 How do you reach outside the community, beyond the hackerspace, beyond the 237 00:23:38,580 --> 00:23:44,220 industry. How this works. Around Hong Kong, if you do it? How do you do it? 238 00:23:44,220 --> 00:23:48,210 Michelle: You mean reaching the community outside of the hacker space? 239 00:23:48,210 --> 00:23:59,630 M 2: Artists *inaudible* Michelle: So I'm hoping that's what the 240 00:23:59,630 --> 00:24:08,240 book accomplishes. Since I have pushed it through a non-profit architectural design, 241 00:24:08,240 --> 00:24:15,130 yeah, non-profit, so that's reaching a different network. Unfortunately, by doing 242 00:24:15,130 --> 00:24:19,830 that, and same with architects and education, hacking and hacker spaces is 243 00:24:19,830 --> 00:24:27,220 kind of this counterculture underground thing where it's cool now. So that's 244 00:24:27,220 --> 00:24:32,120 another thing I have to negotiate because I don't want it to be just a trend, or a 245 00:24:32,120 --> 00:24:37,929 toy that someone says like, your alternative version of whatever, but more 246 00:24:37,929 --> 00:24:41,530 as a way of life, way of thinking type thing. 247 00:24:41,530 --> 00:24:47,059 Herald-Angel: We still have time for more questions. There is a question from 248 00:24:47,059 --> 00:24:51,569 Microphone number 2. Microphone 2: Hello from a fellow Hong Kong 249 00:24:51,569 --> 00:24:59,680 citizen. So I'm just wondering what the *inaudible* Hong Kong is *inaudible* politically? 250 00:24:59,680 --> 00:25:10,030 *inaudible* just an example. Michelle: If you say, do you mean 251 00:25:10,030 --> 00:25:15,549 politically like, just directly against China and Hong Kong then I wouldn't say so 252 00:25:15,549 --> 00:25:23,710 much. Because the current member base is not very local, and they have their own 253 00:25:23,710 --> 00:25:32,000 politics to establish. Although, if you consider politics as in Open Source then 254 00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:41,060 there are people that do that. It's a very vague answer, I'm sorry. 255 00:25:41,060 --> 00:25:44,930 Microphone: The question i've had, the number of educational programs... 256 00:25:44,929 --> 00:25:47,204 I'm just, I couldn't keep on reading the 257 00:25:47,204 --> 00:25:49,109 *inaudible* from Hong Kong. 258 00:25:49,109 --> 00:25:55,650 I don't think hacking, or learning about coding is such a marginal thing, it seems 259 00:25:55,650 --> 00:25:59,490 that it is the trend... It's that a lot of rich Hong Kong parents, they are very 260 00:25:59,490 --> 00:26:03,796 eager to put their kids into learning coding and stuff, maybe there is something 261 00:26:03,796 --> 00:26:09,280 there that spaces can look into? Michelle: I agree with that idea that it's 262 00:26:09,280 --> 00:26:18,200 very big now to... kids' camps and coding and whatnot, although I still believe that 263 00:26:18,200 --> 00:26:24,130 because you're introducing these kits to a child, that you develop this and this is 264 00:26:24,130 --> 00:26:28,730 what happens, that they still maintain that mindset. And what I'm hoping is that 265 00:26:28,730 --> 00:26:32,830 they have... they can change their thinking into: What do I need this kit for 266 00:26:32,830 --> 00:26:38,100 when I can mix up all these other things that are outside of it. So it's... that 267 00:26:38,100 --> 00:26:42,580 idea's based on the educational system in Hong Kong as well, where, you know that 268 00:26:42,580 --> 00:26:47,350 it's mostly about regurgitation and less about critical thinking. So that's what 269 00:26:47,350 --> 00:26:53,829 I'm kind of pushing them more towards, in terms of actually doing it in education. 270 00:26:53,829 --> 00:26:58,010 I try to do it with my students but I can really only do so much. 271 00:26:58,010 --> 00:27:04,160 Herald-Angel: Please don't be shy. There is still time for questions and I'm quite 272 00:27:04,160 --> 00:27:10,100 sure that Michelle has more to offer you in terms of dialogue. So get up behind the 273 00:27:10,100 --> 00:27:14,530 microphones if you have any questions. And also do we have any questions from the 274 00:27:14,530 --> 00:27:20,220 internet? No, no questions from the Internet. You, Michelle, you brought along 275 00:27:20,220 --> 00:27:24,080 a thing that you have on the table. Do you want to share it with us? 276 00:27:24,080 --> 00:27:29,419 Michelle: This is just in case I talk too fast and I didn't finish my presentation. 277 00:27:29,419 --> 00:27:33,936 Then I brought this thing. So this is the book that I was talking about. It's covered 278 00:27:33,936 --> 00:27:37,799 in stickers because it is my copy. So there's two pieces of copper on 279 00:27:37,799 --> 00:27:41,306 the front of the limited edition version. I'm sorry you didn't get one. 280 00:27:41,306 --> 00:27:42,710 The limited edition version. 281 00:27:42,710 --> 00:27:46,627 And in the back there's supposed to be a PCB embedded into it. 282 00:27:46,627 --> 00:27:53,590 So how it works is that as you draw a line with a graphite pencil connecting the two 283 00:27:53,590 --> 00:27:57,960 pieces of copper it changes the frequency of the sound that's coming out from the 284 00:27:57,960 --> 00:28:07,030 back PCB. So then this version was turned into a through hole mount version so it 285 00:28:07,030 --> 00:28:13,150 can be presented at Seoul or Hong Kong. So this is the through hole version. So I 286 00:28:13,150 --> 00:28:20,480 guess I'm just going to play with it for you a little, wind this up. Also this was 287 00:28:20,480 --> 00:28:25,220 built because the Dim Sum Lab's logo is a cha siu bao, so a barbecue pork bun, on a 288 00:28:25,220 --> 00:28:29,990 5-5-5 IC timer, so this whole thing is built on, is based on that 5-5-5. 289 00:28:29,990 --> 00:28:35,640 Just to be *inaudible*. *device emits sound* 290 00:28:35,640 --> 00:28:39,880 So this is volume... *Michelle adjusts volume on the device* 291 00:28:39,880 --> 00:28:45,090 Then we can change the pitch... *Michelle changes pitch from high to low* 292 00:28:45,090 --> 00:28:51,780 And then the *inaudible* *device emits sound* 293 00:28:51,780 --> 00:28:55,858 And then we have switches that can change it from a continuous manner 294 00:28:55,858 --> 00:29:09,134 to a step fashion... *device emits changed sound* 295 00:29:09,134 --> 00:29:11,400 Yes, that's kind of it. *laughter* 296 00:29:11,400 --> 00:29:18,753 *Applause* 297 00:29:18,753 --> 00:29:20,780 Herald-Angel: Thank you very much, Michelle. 298 00:29:20,780 --> 00:29:22,720 And I think we should give Michelle another round of applause 299 00:29:22,720 --> 00:29:24,110 for her excellent presentation. 300 00:29:24,110 --> 00:29:26,380 *Applause* 301 00:29:26,380 --> 00:29:29,671 *postroll music* 302 00:29:29,671 --> 00:29:49,000 subtitles created by c3subtitles.de in the year 2020. 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