Philosophically Stumped.

In class today I felt that the discussion really helped me better understand the main points of Bifo's arguments and critizisms in Precarious Rhapsody. At the begining of class I was unsure at first what I wanted to write down about the book, mostly because I didn't feel like I understood what I was reading. What I did write down however, was something that struck me as, how should I say, different. Bifo states that, "depression is the best condition to access the void that is the ultimate truth." Now I don't fully understand exactly what Bifo is trying to say here. The ultimate truth is the three words that I am having trouble understanding. There have been many different meanings and interpretations of those words, for example Buddhism follows the Four Noble Truths which then manifests to the Eight Fold Path which in turn must be understood to gain understanding of the Ultimate Truth. However, I'm not sure Bifo was talking about Buddhism.

I believe that Bifo is saying that through depression, someone hitting complete rock bottom, they in turn open their minds to the world around them, thus filling the void of uncertainty. Through depression one can attain enlightenment, to borrow a Buddhist concept. Now I can be completely wrong, and probably am, but I feel that it connects to his other point of the frail psyco-sphere. Bifo writes, "the things that an individual remembers (images, etc.) work toward the construction of an impersonal memory, homogenized, uniformly assimilated and thinly elaborated becasue the time of exposure is so fast it doesn't allow for a deep personalization." This is where I start confusing myself, maybe Im reading into something that isn't there but I just feel like he's contridicting himself. Through a lack of personalization and with the emergence of being impersonal, one has the potential to become depressed, leading, to "the ultimate truth".

Now PLEASE help me with this as I have been mulling it over in my head all day with not much luck. So, what are your thoughts on the quote, and/or, my interpretation of it?

The elderly and technology never mix well.

So, apperently our grandparents aren't the only ones who struggle with technology. The other day an elderly Georgian woman, the country, not the state, accidentally cut off Internet capability to "90 percent of private and corporate internet users in Armenia". The story is actually pretty funny so here's the link, it's a very short article.


http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/06/elderly-georgian-lady-disconnects-armenian-internet-for-half-a-d/


They article left me thinking a few things.

1. What would I say if my grandmother cut power to 90% of a small country?
2. Is it fair to give the woman a 3 year sentence?

So, how would you answer?