Posts
I already mentioned that we're in a big Einstein year this year. So here are a few links on the issue: Berner Einstein Jubiläum, World Year of Physics and the related site of the Federal Polytechnic and finally, the Pirelli Relativity Challenge which awards the best multimedia work that explains special relativity theory to the layperson! I am certainly looking forward to that.
(Links by way of Basler Zeitung (subscription))
13/01/2005
12/01/2005
Happy Birthday!
In an earlier post, I complained about not having had an Uncle Vince to be my moral & intellectual guide through adolescense. While that may be true in a strict sense, it's not quite so correct figuratively speaking. With this post, I would like to pay homage to and congratulate a very dear old Aunt who is still resident in her own home at 11 Falkenstrasse, Zürich. She is celebrating her 225th birthday today, and she's as fit & sprightly as she was in her teens.
So, what's with this uncles & aunts stuff (dear nephews & nieces of mine, please stop reading now)? Why do they often play a unique rôle in a kid's adolescence? Well, I think the special rôle is due to an aunt's (uncles always included) special mix of closeness and distance. The closeness is given by the fact that an aunt is always family, hence trustworthy and - other than friends - in for the long run. The distance bit is usually given by a certain age difference, a physical remoteness as in not living in the same household, and generally, you don't have to cramp your style with an aunt. Which you very often have to with siblings, because of an inevitable degree of rivalry. Parents? They are usually out of the game, anyway.
So, could all this be applied to a newspaper as well? To the degree that a newspaper subscription is a pretty one way affair, you bet! The NZZ has a great deal to do with who I am & how I think today. But maybe, a bit of that adulation is related to the fact that the editors occasionally have the good grace of publishing some of my dribble. I still fondly remember the day when the publication of my article critical of the grossly indecent valuation of the shares of the Swiss National Bank coïncided with a 12% drop in the share price of that venerable institution. Boy, did I ever get hate mail - and I loved it!
So, happy birthday, my dear Aunt, and may you have many more generations of faithful nieces & nephews in spirit!
So, what's with this uncles & aunts stuff (dear nephews & nieces of mine, please stop reading now)? Why do they often play a unique rôle in a kid's adolescence? Well, I think the special rôle is due to an aunt's (uncles always included) special mix of closeness and distance. The closeness is given by the fact that an aunt is always family, hence trustworthy and - other than friends - in for the long run. The distance bit is usually given by a certain age difference, a physical remoteness as in not living in the same household, and generally, you don't have to cramp your style with an aunt. Which you very often have to with siblings, because of an inevitable degree of rivalry. Parents? They are usually out of the game, anyway.
So, could all this be applied to a newspaper as well? To the degree that a newspaper subscription is a pretty one way affair, you bet! The NZZ has a great deal to do with who I am & how I think today. But maybe, a bit of that adulation is related to the fact that the editors occasionally have the good grace of publishing some of my dribble. I still fondly remember the day when the publication of my article critical of the grossly indecent valuation of the shares of the Swiss National Bank coïncided with a 12% drop in the share price of that venerable institution. Boy, did I ever get hate mail - and I loved it!
So, happy birthday, my dear Aunt, and may you have many more generations of faithful nieces & nephews in spirit!
09/01/2005
The name's Cheese - John Cheese
Did you know that John Cleese's father's name was actually Reginald Francis Cheese? I kid you not!
There's quite an intense interview with him in the January issue of Esquire (the British edition, of course). I never really found John Cleese uproariously funny, in a peculiarly funny kind of way. And now I know why (I think): In this interview, he comes out as a "technical comedian", an introvert who much rather considered a career in academic psychology or law: "I was precise with the use of words and I thought clearly in categories". So he is really working hard at being funny: "I am always quite surprised how cavalier a lot of comics are about their approach to the thing. They don't realise how difficult it is." And later, he explains that "I was always much more motivated by the fear of being bad than by the desire to be good." Amazing. I wonder how much of that is actually true ... but it's certainly a good promotional effort for his new commercial website.
Ah, and here's something Bush-related: When asked what he thinks he will always be remembered for, he goes: "Maybe some people will say 'He's the guy who assassinated George Bush' - probably that. Actually, I wouldn't assassinate Bush, I would assassinate Cheney - can you rewrite that for me, please?"
There's quite an intense interview with him in the January issue of Esquire (the British edition, of course). I never really found John Cleese uproariously funny, in a peculiarly funny kind of way. And now I know why (I think): In this interview, he comes out as a "technical comedian", an introvert who much rather considered a career in academic psychology or law: "I was precise with the use of words and I thought clearly in categories". So he is really working hard at being funny: "I am always quite surprised how cavalier a lot of comics are about their approach to the thing. They don't realise how difficult it is." And later, he explains that "I was always much more motivated by the fear of being bad than by the desire to be good." Amazing. I wonder how much of that is actually true ... but it's certainly a good promotional effort for his new commercial website.
Ah, and here's something Bush-related: When asked what he thinks he will always be remembered for, he goes: "Maybe some people will say 'He's the guy who assassinated George Bush' - probably that. Actually, I wouldn't assassinate Bush, I would assassinate Cheney - can you rewrite that for me, please?"
08/01/2005
Hyperinflation!
The Economist has a fascinating little piece (by subscription) on the world's leading currency, which is threatened by hyperinflation.
But don't go on a bank run just yet, you Americans out there (it'll be the ? soon anyway if the $ decline continues)! The Economist is talking about airmiles outstanding world wide. Apparently, unredeemed airmiles amount to over $ 700'000'000'000, and that's more than the $ M0 (a subset of M1)!
It seems that miles are sold by carriers (mainly to credit card operators) for a little under $.02 and to the consumer, they are worth between $.01 and $.1 a mile. So, "printing" this currency is a highly attractive source of cash to cash strapped carriers, which is why the amount of outstanding miles has been growing by 20% p.a. over the last decade. Every monetarist on the planet will tell you that in that kind of environment hyperinflation is inevitable, especially since the $ value of a real airmile has been dropping drastically over the past decade with the arrival of discount carriers.
Apparently I have had a very acute sense of that hyperinflationary threat without even knowing, because I never let my airmiles account balance with Swiss get out of hand. Just like the folks in the 1930s who were running to the bakery to buy a loaf of bread with their bags full of millions "worth" of their cash salary payment ...
But don't go on a bank run just yet, you Americans out there (it'll be the ? soon anyway if the $ decline continues)! The Economist is talking about airmiles outstanding world wide. Apparently, unredeemed airmiles amount to over $ 700'000'000'000, and that's more than the $ M0 (a subset of M1)!
It seems that miles are sold by carriers (mainly to credit card operators) for a little under $.02 and to the consumer, they are worth between $.01 and $.1 a mile. So, "printing" this currency is a highly attractive source of cash to cash strapped carriers, which is why the amount of outstanding miles has been growing by 20% p.a. over the last decade. Every monetarist on the planet will tell you that in that kind of environment hyperinflation is inevitable, especially since the $ value of a real airmile has been dropping drastically over the past decade with the arrival of discount carriers.
Apparently I have had a very acute sense of that hyperinflationary threat without even knowing, because I never let my airmiles account balance with Swiss get out of hand. Just like the folks in the 1930s who were running to the bakery to buy a loaf of bread with their bags full of millions "worth" of their cash salary payment ...
Les Paladins
Yesterday night, I went to see Jean-Philippe Rameau's Les Paladins at the Basle Theater. Overall, it was an ok performance, certainly worth seeing, even though I cannot share the widespread enthusiastic praise for it. My benchmark Rameau performance is still Les Indes Galantes in the 2003 production with William Christie & Les Arts Florissants at the Opernhaus Zürich. Almost two years later, I still vividly remember the closing tableau of that amazing show.
More details? Gladly! I like the often dadaistic screen setting. Dada is not quite obvious in the opening screen, but later on, they play with it quite a lot.
The "sound" produced by Konrad Junghänel with local baroque ensemble La Cetra is very sparkling and dynamic. Unfortunately it was a little bit on the thin side, but that is probably due to the fact that the house was virtually packed.
The choreography is very much in line with the aforementioned dadaistic direction, thus errs on the slapstick side. Notable nonetheless was a ballet solo with a bar table. Very imaginative!
More details? Gladly! I like the often dadaistic screen setting. Dada is not quite obvious in the opening screen, but later on, they play with it quite a lot.
The "sound" produced by Konrad Junghänel with local baroque ensemble La Cetra is very sparkling and dynamic. Unfortunately it was a little bit on the thin side, but that is probably due to the fact that the house was virtually packed.
The choreography is very much in line with the aforementioned dadaistic direction, thus errs on the slapstick side. Notable nonetheless was a ballet solo with a bar table. Very imaginative!
Seen from above
05/01/2005
Dürrenmatts Gericht(e)
I'll definitely be there! This Friday at lunchtime, there is going to be a Science Lunch presentation about my preferred novelist's frequent setting of a tribunal in conjunction with a meal, or dish, which, again, is the same word in German: das Gericht. This should be equally interesting for lawyers and gourmets alike.
03/01/2005
The case against Plato
Would you believe it? I actually finished Popper's Open Society and Its Enemies, at least volume 1 thereof. Admittedly, I didn't read it fully, because I dispensed with the scientific apparatus, which amounts to almost half of the book - fortunately, it's endnotes!
As expected, it was highly educational, and only the introductory chapters were slightly tiring. My major takeaway is that the present conflict with islamic fundamentalism is not at all a religious problem - it is the much older strain of civilisation that closed societies under the islamic banner face when confronted with western open societies. I think Popper would agree with that qualification, since those societies are largely tribally organised and hardly recognise the fiat nature of law. If what little I know about islamic law is true, then there are a few key changes necessary for those societies to become open, in my view: a) The attempt at a literal interpretation of the Qur'an as a source of law would have to be abandoned. b) The classification of non-muslim countries as a zone of war where treachery by muslim is permitted, needs to be abandoned. c) The death penalty against apostasy needs to be abandoned.
But I am getting well ahead of myself - that's not at all what the book is about. Popper shows that Plato's highly influential Republic is a very cunningly devised piece of propaganda that Plato has written to antagonise revolutionary changes that were afoot in the Athenian society in his time (classically summarised in Pericles' funeral oration). His aim was to construct an ideal constitution to which every change would be detrimental and thus must be avoided by all means. To cut a very detailed argument extremely short, this requires a totalitarian state which puts the interest of the state above that of the individual, and ultimately, only the philosopher king can know what that interest is, and he may, or even ought to, lie about it to the general public.
Popper shows that when a traditionally closed society with its tribal organisation based on mythical norms comes under stress either by strong growth or external relations (trade), or both, then it cannot survive in its traditional form. Either it opens up by introducing what Popper might call rational political technologies (I haven't seen it put together quite like that), or it has to go down the totalitarian path. Most islamic societies are at this junction today.
What can we do? On top of dealing sensitively with immediate security concerns, we need to understand the islamic mindset and - in the Socratic way - try to nudge its evolution towards openness, thereby returning the favour of those arab scholars who have preserved the texts of the ancient greeks and given them to christianity in the middle ages, thus triggering renaissance and all that followed suit (you'll forgive me my naïve model of history, will you). But by no means must we succumb to the temptation of reducing the openness of our societies because of security concerns, because this would be playing into the hands of the platonic proponents of the closed society. The process that led us to our openness is reversible!
But you'll have to read for yourself. I have just ordered the second volume.
As expected, it was highly educational, and only the introductory chapters were slightly tiring. My major takeaway is that the present conflict with islamic fundamentalism is not at all a religious problem - it is the much older strain of civilisation that closed societies under the islamic banner face when confronted with western open societies. I think Popper would agree with that qualification, since those societies are largely tribally organised and hardly recognise the fiat nature of law. If what little I know about islamic law is true, then there are a few key changes necessary for those societies to become open, in my view: a) The attempt at a literal interpretation of the Qur'an as a source of law would have to be abandoned. b) The classification of non-muslim countries as a zone of war where treachery by muslim is permitted, needs to be abandoned. c) The death penalty against apostasy needs to be abandoned.
But I am getting well ahead of myself - that's not at all what the book is about. Popper shows that Plato's highly influential Republic is a very cunningly devised piece of propaganda that Plato has written to antagonise revolutionary changes that were afoot in the Athenian society in his time (classically summarised in Pericles' funeral oration). His aim was to construct an ideal constitution to which every change would be detrimental and thus must be avoided by all means. To cut a very detailed argument extremely short, this requires a totalitarian state which puts the interest of the state above that of the individual, and ultimately, only the philosopher king can know what that interest is, and he may, or even ought to, lie about it to the general public.
Popper shows that when a traditionally closed society with its tribal organisation based on mythical norms comes under stress either by strong growth or external relations (trade), or both, then it cannot survive in its traditional form. Either it opens up by introducing what Popper might call rational political technologies (I haven't seen it put together quite like that), or it has to go down the totalitarian path. Most islamic societies are at this junction today.
What can we do? On top of dealing sensitively with immediate security concerns, we need to understand the islamic mindset and - in the Socratic way - try to nudge its evolution towards openness, thereby returning the favour of those arab scholars who have preserved the texts of the ancient greeks and given them to christianity in the middle ages, thus triggering renaissance and all that followed suit (you'll forgive me my naïve model of history, will you). But by no means must we succumb to the temptation of reducing the openness of our societies because of security concerns, because this would be playing into the hands of the platonic proponents of the closed society. The process that led us to our openness is reversible!
But you'll have to read for yourself. I have just ordered the second volume.
02/01/2005
Déjà lu - Neidkultur als Leitkultur?
Es heisst,
dass wir Könige auf Erden,
die Ebenbilder Gottes seien.
Ich habe mich
daraufhin im Spiegel betrachtet.
Sehr schmeichelhaft
für den lieben Gott ist das nicht.
Friedrich II., kolportiert von Cicero
Entlarvend sind die Ergüsse des Vorzeige-Journalisten des Hauses Ringier in seiner Cicero-Kolumne zum Thema Feudal-Kapitalisten. Dies insofern, als dass er zeigt, wonach er offenbar nur noch lechzt: Vielleicht merken die Bürger schon auf: Wer in Talkshows (...) gegen selbstherrliche Wirtschaftsmächtige vom Leder zieht, bekommt spontanen Applaus, zornigen Applaus! (Hervorhebung des Autors)
Weitere Ausflüsse kontinentaler Neidkultur konnten heute im deutschen Fernsehen beobachtet werden: Ein Autoprogramm über den neuen Phantom von Rolls-Royce wurde mit dem vollkommen überflüssigen Hinweis beschlossen, dass auch ein Auto, dass soviel kostet wie ein Haus, nur vier Räder hat und zum Fahren benutzt werden kann. In einer ansonsten überaus voyeuristischen Sendung über St. Moritz, wo sich zu dieser Jahreszeit üblicherweise die Schickeria versammelt, durfte ähnliche Gesellschaftskritik nicht fehlen. Allerdings haben die geschätzten Journalisten, wie in der medienschaffenden Branche nicht unüblich, Gerechtigkeit einmal mehr mit Gleichheit verwechselt.
Auf diesen Aspekt kontinentaler Leitkultur verzichte ich dankend.
dass wir Könige auf Erden,
die Ebenbilder Gottes seien.
Ich habe mich
daraufhin im Spiegel betrachtet.
Sehr schmeichelhaft
für den lieben Gott ist das nicht.
Friedrich II., kolportiert von Cicero
Entlarvend sind die Ergüsse des Vorzeige-Journalisten des Hauses Ringier in seiner Cicero-Kolumne zum Thema Feudal-Kapitalisten. Dies insofern, als dass er zeigt, wonach er offenbar nur noch lechzt: Vielleicht merken die Bürger schon auf: Wer in Talkshows (...) gegen selbstherrliche Wirtschaftsmächtige vom Leder zieht, bekommt spontanen Applaus, zornigen Applaus! (Hervorhebung des Autors)
Weitere Ausflüsse kontinentaler Neidkultur konnten heute im deutschen Fernsehen beobachtet werden: Ein Autoprogramm über den neuen Phantom von Rolls-Royce wurde mit dem vollkommen überflüssigen Hinweis beschlossen, dass auch ein Auto, dass soviel kostet wie ein Haus, nur vier Räder hat und zum Fahren benutzt werden kann. In einer ansonsten überaus voyeuristischen Sendung über St. Moritz, wo sich zu dieser Jahreszeit üblicherweise die Schickeria versammelt, durfte ähnliche Gesellschaftskritik nicht fehlen. Allerdings haben die geschätzten Journalisten, wie in der medienschaffenden Branche nicht unüblich, Gerechtigkeit einmal mehr mit Gleichheit verwechselt.
Auf diesen Aspekt kontinentaler Leitkultur verzichte ich dankend.
01/01/2005
MMV
The year MMV CE - which I trust you have started well enough and which will contain a favourable mix of events for you, I hope - will be a year of commemorating the 100th anniversary of Albert Einstein's relativity theories (which he developed when he was living in Switzerland btw.). In our day and age of conflicting absolute certainties, remembering that may be a good idea. Di meliora ...
Unfortunately, since MMV is also the 50th anniversary of Einstein's death, we will invariably be treated to lots of Einstein trivia. To witness, see the current issue of Cicero (German).
Oh, and Albert: He does!
Unfortunately, since MMV is also the 50th anniversary of Einstein's death, we will invariably be treated to lots of Einstein trivia. To witness, see the current issue of Cicero (German).
Oh, and Albert: He does!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)