Zimbabwe is cutting three zeros from its currency. That leaves only around 250 Zimbabwean dollars for one American dollar.
The situation is in some way horribly tragic. Some twenty years ago, Zimbabwe was one of the richer countries in Southern Africa. President Mugabe had an excellent relationship with the productive white big farmers - so excellent actually, that one couldn't help asking oneself what was going on. In 1978 he had led a guerilla war against the black Prime Minister, bishop Abel Muzorewa, with the excuse that Muzorewa's government wasn't truly representing the black. Muzorewa's government did in fact involve a lot of white pressure groups, so, yes, one could easily argue that the black still didn't have the real power.
However, with the white farmers still there long after Mugabe won the elections of 1980, one could easily argue that he didn't truly represent the blacks either. That was probably what he tried to correct with the forced removal of white farmers from 1999 onwards.
The problem was that he forgot that the important thing was not to represent one group of people or another, but the good of the country as a whole. The small farms that replaced the big ones are often run by inexperienced people, and the grain production of Zimbabwe has dwindled. Since 2005, land in Zimbabwe has been largely nationalised - a move world history tells us is not always a wise one. Stalin's collectivisations and Mao's The Big Leap just to mention two, both led to widespread starvation.
It may be cynical, but I think it is more tragic when a country, which once was rich, suddenly turns poor, than when a country, which has been poor for a long period stays poor.
Let's hope Zimbabwe does not stay poor though. It still has the power to rise.
31 July 2006
30 July 2006
What's so Good with Doping?
One thing I never seen written down is why doping is so bad. Everyone knows it is bad, but why?
Surely it isn't just because it is "cheating". If everyone was allowed to use any substances they wanted, no one would cheat, and we would get excellent results in the sports.
However, the athletes do not want doping allowed - not the clever ones anyhow. If they were allowed to use any substance, they would end up with doses that far exceed what is good for them long term. The result would be short lived athletes who win for a short time and then die fairly soon from the drugs they have taken.
In 1904 a marathon runner collapsed after the event, and had he taken more drugs than he had, he might not have recovered at all. There have since surely been many other cases like that.
The cynicism of it is that no smart athlete wants doping to be allowed in general, but any athlete can be tempted to take drugs himself.
Surely it isn't just because it is "cheating". If everyone was allowed to use any substances they wanted, no one would cheat, and we would get excellent results in the sports.
However, the athletes do not want doping allowed - not the clever ones anyhow. If they were allowed to use any substance, they would end up with doses that far exceed what is good for them long term. The result would be short lived athletes who win for a short time and then die fairly soon from the drugs they have taken.
In 1904 a marathon runner collapsed after the event, and had he taken more drugs than he had, he might not have recovered at all. There have since surely been many other cases like that.
The cynicism of it is that no smart athlete wants doping to be allowed in general, but any athlete can be tempted to take drugs himself.
28 July 2006
Your Favourite Pharmacist
In the exciting world of cycling, it turns out that the winner of this year's Tour de France may have used a little too much of substances that aren't really supposed to be used during that competition.
This potentially adds an interesting angle to the game.
You can support your favourite cyclist. You can also choose to support your favourite team, if you prefer that. Or if you prefer to identify with nations, you can support people from a particular country.
If they only published all results from the doping tests, you could support your favourite drug or pharmacological company as well.
This potentially adds an interesting angle to the game.
You can support your favourite cyclist. You can also choose to support your favourite team, if you prefer that. Or if you prefer to identify with nations, you can support people from a particular country.
If they only published all results from the doping tests, you could support your favourite drug or pharmacological company as well.
27 July 2006
Dangerous Success
There is a strange debate in Taiwan (台灣). Their problem is that they have too much successful contacts (!) with mainland China (中国大陆). Trade between the countries means that Taiwan gets richer. But at the same time, it becomes more dependent on their biggest enemy. What if the mainland suddenly starts exercising pressure on Taiwan through trade sanctions? The only way to avoid that risk, is to avoid the trade to start with. And lose business opportunities. And become poorer. And of course becoming poorer won't help Taiwan staying independent of mainland China.
It is probably not too bold a guess to assume that Taiwan and mainland China will get very close together in the future regardless of any present political will to do so or not.
It is probably not too bold a guess to assume that Taiwan and mainland China will get very close together in the future regardless of any present political will to do so or not.
Excuse Us...
I have heard complaints about "muslims" not standing up and clearly saying that they do not agree with the bombings of the World Trade Center or the suicide bombers in Israel. Surely, people have whispered, this means that "muslims" support this kind of acts.
I am not a muslim, so I cannot clarify that.
However, I'll do my bit as far as I can.
As a citizen of a country in the richer part of the world, I apologize to everyone in the third world for the richer countries obstinacy in the World Trade Organization talks.
As a Christian, I apologize for the crusades during the Middle Ages.
As a European, I apologize for the Opium wars against China.
I apologize for the holocaust.
I apologize for Communism and its horrible consequences for millions of people.
I apologize for the Vietnam war.
I apologize for Jack the Ripper, who was as European as I am.
I apologize for the hunt of Khoi-San people in Namibia.
I apologize for apartheid in South Africa and Rhodesia, and I apologize for the race laws of the USA.
I apologize for the Ku Klux Klan.
I apologize for inflicting two World Wars on the world.
I apologize for the nuclear disaster in Chernobyl (Чорнобиль).
I apologize for the ecological catastrophe of the disappearing Aral lake.
I apologize for Stalin's Great Purge.
I apologize for the concentration camps during the boer war.
I apologize for the internment of American citizens of Japanese and German origin during the second world war.
I apologize for the IRA, the ETA, the RAF and all their innocent victims.
I apologize for the imprisonment of Oscar Wilde.
And I apologize for Big Brother on television.
If you, dear reader, is a muslim, and if you hear other Christians or Westerners apologize for all crimes of other Christians and Westerners, I think it is your duty to stand up and say that you do not agree with the bombings of the World Trade Center or the suicide bombers in Israel.
If you don't hear of any other Christians or Westerners taking responsibility for all crimes of all Christians and Westerners, I frankly don't think you need to do it for other muslims either.
I am not a muslim, so I cannot clarify that.
However, I'll do my bit as far as I can.
As a citizen of a country in the richer part of the world, I apologize to everyone in the third world for the richer countries obstinacy in the World Trade Organization talks.
As a Christian, I apologize for the crusades during the Middle Ages.
As a European, I apologize for the Opium wars against China.
I apologize for the holocaust.
I apologize for Communism and its horrible consequences for millions of people.
I apologize for the Vietnam war.
I apologize for Jack the Ripper, who was as European as I am.
I apologize for the hunt of Khoi-San people in Namibia.
I apologize for apartheid in South Africa and Rhodesia, and I apologize for the race laws of the USA.
I apologize for the Ku Klux Klan.
I apologize for inflicting two World Wars on the world.
I apologize for the nuclear disaster in Chernobyl (Чорнобиль).
I apologize for the ecological catastrophe of the disappearing Aral lake.
I apologize for Stalin's Great Purge.
I apologize for the concentration camps during the boer war.
I apologize for the internment of American citizens of Japanese and German origin during the second world war.
I apologize for the IRA, the ETA, the RAF and all their innocent victims.
I apologize for the imprisonment of Oscar Wilde.
And I apologize for Big Brother on television.
If you, dear reader, is a muslim, and if you hear other Christians or Westerners apologize for all crimes of other Christians and Westerners, I think it is your duty to stand up and say that you do not agree with the bombings of the World Trade Center or the suicide bombers in Israel.
If you don't hear of any other Christians or Westerners taking responsibility for all crimes of all Christians and Westerners, I frankly don't think you need to do it for other muslims either.
26 July 2006
Protection at All Costs
China is not happy with Israel's killing of four UN workers, including one Chinese national. One can understand them. One also wonders about the consequences. Israel has the right to start a war to protect itself after two of its soldier's were kidnapped. However, doesn't this mean that China has the right to bomb Jerusalem to protect its citizens from being killed by Israel?
But, as mentioned before, the way to get peace, is when people refrain from exercising their rights.
But, as mentioned before, the way to get peace, is when people refrain from exercising their rights.
An Old Irish Bog
They have found an old scripture in an Irish bog. It is ironic that it is a copy of the Book of Psalms, as the Russian word for God is "bog" (бог).
That stem appears in less reverent places in modern English.
During the Middle Ages, there was a sect in Bulgaria called bogomils, богомилы. The word бог conveniently meant "god", just like in modern Russian, and мил meant "sweet" (modern Russian милый) or "love", so the meaning would be something like "Godlovers".
The bogomils interpretation of Christianity was unusual. They believed Jesus was born man, and only became God through his baptism. They also seemed to have denied that God was omnipotent in the face of the power of evil. They denied most miracles, and they did not use crucifixes, as you were not supposed to make any picture of God.
It was not a time when unusual theories were taken lightheartedly, and as their ideas spread, they were despised by the established churches and called "heretic". Nowadays a person with unusual ideas is called a "blogger".
As the bogomils were known heretics, the term bogomil, in spite of its innocent original meaning, became synonymous with "strange". The last part of the word was dropped, and in today's English what remains of the word is used to describe the strange habits of a "bugger".
(The link above goes to an article, which calls the manuscript "Irish Dead Sea Scrolls". That is a silly thing to write of course. The Dead Sea scrolls contained plenty of original writing. The Book of Psalms is always the Book of Psalms and nothing more. Nor less.)
That stem appears in less reverent places in modern English.
During the Middle Ages, there was a sect in Bulgaria called bogomils, богомилы. The word бог conveniently meant "god", just like in modern Russian, and мил meant "sweet" (modern Russian милый) or "love", so the meaning would be something like "Godlovers".
The bogomils interpretation of Christianity was unusual. They believed Jesus was born man, and only became God through his baptism. They also seemed to have denied that God was omnipotent in the face of the power of evil. They denied most miracles, and they did not use crucifixes, as you were not supposed to make any picture of God.
It was not a time when unusual theories were taken lightheartedly, and as their ideas spread, they were despised by the established churches and called "heretic". Nowadays a person with unusual ideas is called a "blogger".
As the bogomils were known heretics, the term bogomil, in spite of its innocent original meaning, became synonymous with "strange". The last part of the word was dropped, and in today's English what remains of the word is used to describe the strange habits of a "bugger".
(The link above goes to an article, which calls the manuscript "Irish Dead Sea Scrolls". That is a silly thing to write of course. The Dead Sea scrolls contained plenty of original writing. The Book of Psalms is always the Book of Psalms and nothing more. Nor less.)
25 July 2006
Giving without Clumsiness
The WTO talks collapsed again. The sad thing is that everyone has the same goal - to get more resources to everyone, but the ideas on how to achieve it are very different.
It would have been so much easier, if one still could have believed in the simple theory: give a poor country money, and it will become rich.
It doesn't work like that, unfortunately. At least not only like that. Giving money without any conditions on how it is used often leads to corruption, as the person or institution receiving the money may be tempted to pocket some of for themselves. And giving money with conditions means that you remove authority from the country, which isn't very nice. Giving large quantities of food to a country hurts the local food industry, which has more expensive (not free) products, which they cannot sell. If the aid becomes too important, it will pay more for the local population to try to get access to aid than to produce something themselves.
The conclusion of this is not that one shouldn't give money to poor people or poor countries. The conclusion is that it isn't easy to do so in a way that is useful.
It would have been so much easier, if one still could have believed in the simple theory: give a poor country money, and it will become rich.
It doesn't work like that, unfortunately. At least not only like that. Giving money without any conditions on how it is used often leads to corruption, as the person or institution receiving the money may be tempted to pocket some of for themselves. And giving money with conditions means that you remove authority from the country, which isn't very nice. Giving large quantities of food to a country hurts the local food industry, which has more expensive (not free) products, which they cannot sell. If the aid becomes too important, it will pay more for the local population to try to get access to aid than to produce something themselves.
The conclusion of this is not that one shouldn't give money to poor people or poor countries. The conclusion is that it isn't easy to do so in a way that is useful.
24 July 2006
Don't go away!
I never understood why regions wanted independence. A decent country is a country where anyone can live happily. If you want to build a country that only suits the people of your own culture, you build a wall against the rest of the world. If you want to leave a country which is built around a culture that isn't yours, you will cowardly leave other citizens of that country to their fate. If you want to show courage, stay and fight for all the citizens. Don't waste time moving borders between friends.
Imagine if India had never left the British Empire. Imagine if they instead of babbling about "independence" had said:
"We like this. We like you Brits. We like you so much that we want to send our own MPs to London, elected according to one man - one vote. We want you to spend as much on roads and the school system in Andhra Pradesh as you do in Wales. Per person. No, you cannot go away. You cannot grant us independence. You conquered us fair and square. Now you have to keep us - and give every Indian the same rights as every citizen of the British Empire."
Or if Tchad had never left France:
"You French are excellent people. Just make sure you give our farmers as much subventions as you do to our compatriots in Périgord. And don't forget to build that TGV line to Algiers to bring our products quickly to our clients."
But one of the most peculiar independence movements I know of started in Concord, Massachusetts, 1775. There were people of the same native language, who were unable to discuss properly with each other, and instead started killing each other in a bloodshed that lasted for eight long years.
The really strange thing is that there still today are people, who are proud of that lack of standard communication skills more than 200 years ago.
Imagine if India had never left the British Empire. Imagine if they instead of babbling about "independence" had said:
"We like this. We like you Brits. We like you so much that we want to send our own MPs to London, elected according to one man - one vote. We want you to spend as much on roads and the school system in Andhra Pradesh as you do in Wales. Per person. No, you cannot go away. You cannot grant us independence. You conquered us fair and square. Now you have to keep us - and give every Indian the same rights as every citizen of the British Empire."
Or if Tchad had never left France:
"You French are excellent people. Just make sure you give our farmers as much subventions as you do to our compatriots in Périgord. And don't forget to build that TGV line to Algiers to bring our products quickly to our clients."
But one of the most peculiar independence movements I know of started in Concord, Massachusetts, 1775. There were people of the same native language, who were unable to discuss properly with each other, and instead started killing each other in a bloodshed that lasted for eight long years.
The really strange thing is that there still today are people, who are proud of that lack of standard communication skills more than 200 years ago.
Snake Soup
Unusual ideas are much more interesting than correct ones. There is now a charming theory that primates evolved as an answer to the evolution of poisonous snakes. The charming thing is not so much that it is ridiculous, but that there definitely is a small grain of truth in it. Out of the billions and billions of factors that have made us what we are, there certainly also is the advantage our good eyesight gives us when it comes to spotting snakes.
To claim that it would be the only reason for our evolution, would be more ridiculous than charming of course, but to add the snake factor as a spice to our evolution soup makes it all the more tasty.
To claim that it would be the only reason for our evolution, would be more ridiculous than charming of course, but to add the snake factor as a spice to our evolution soup makes it all the more tasty.
Its Right to Land
One of the things that always puzzled me was the concept that "a country" has the "right" to a particular piece of territory. Surely a country is no more and no less than its citizens? So how could the good Soviet citizens of Vladivostok contribute to the Soviet Union's "right" to incorporate Armenia or Estonia, regardless of the opinions of the citizens of those regions? Did the people walk around the streets of Vladivostok and mutter spells that gave the country the Soviet Union some metaphysical "right" to Estonia? Were those spells more efficient that the spells of the Estonians? Whose magic was strongest?
A recent example of this magical right is Kosovo. People in Belgrade seem to walk around casting spells on international law to make it include a right of Serbia to include Kosovo.
The main reason for Serbia's "right", however, seems to be the battle of Kosovo at Косово поље, Бој на Косову, 1389, which is such an important part of Serbia's history, that the place has to remain Serbian forever. It is difficult not to think that with that logic Waterloo should be French. And British. And Prussian. Breitenfeld should be Swedish. Trafalgar should be British. And Verdun should be American.
A recent example of this magical right is Kosovo. People in Belgrade seem to walk around casting spells on international law to make it include a right of Serbia to include Kosovo.
The main reason for Serbia's "right", however, seems to be the battle of Kosovo at Косово поље, Бој на Косову, 1389, which is such an important part of Serbia's history, that the place has to remain Serbian forever. It is difficult not to think that with that logic Waterloo should be French. And British. And Prussian. Breitenfeld should be Swedish. Trafalgar should be British. And Verdun should be American.
Living Hieroglyphics
After all those years we are finally getting back to our roots. Less than 200 years ago Champollion cracked the hieroglyphics, and now a population of the supposedly extinct northern bald ibis is found.
The birds will get satellite tracking devices, so one will be able to tell where they migrate to. These clever birds have presumably migrated for thousands of years, and no one has yet figured out where to.
I get so jealous. Why doesn't anyone give me a satellite tracking device? On the other hand I have something the northern bald ibis doesn't have. I have hair. Not much perhaps, but some.
(To say that Champollion cracked the hieroglyphics is of course an over simplification, like all well known facts. Before him there had been several people around who had made some correct guesses, notably Thomas Young, and many people have since added and contributed to the knowledge of that script. I thought I'd just mention that, so you don't think there are things you know, which are true.)
The birds will get satellite tracking devices, so one will be able to tell where they migrate to. These clever birds have presumably migrated for thousands of years, and no one has yet figured out where to.
I get so jealous. Why doesn't anyone give me a satellite tracking device? On the other hand I have something the northern bald ibis doesn't have. I have hair. Not much perhaps, but some.
(To say that Champollion cracked the hieroglyphics is of course an over simplification, like all well known facts. Before him there had been several people around who had made some correct guesses, notably Thomas Young, and many people have since added and contributed to the knowledge of that script. I thought I'd just mention that, so you don't think there are things you know, which are true.)
23 July 2006
Hot Dogs
Canicule, the French word for "heat wave", comes from a Latin word for small dog, something that also denotes Sirius. This is somewhat strange, as we usually associate Sirius with winter. In Northern Europe it can be seen only during the winter months. However, it is there even when it cannot be seen. It is in August that the little dog accompanies the sun and rises and sets at the same time as the warmest celestial body in our immediate neighbourhood.
For those Icelanders out there, I can inform you that a heat wave is far from pleasant. But the inconveniences are sometimes unexpected ones. One of them is that you have to have air conditioning or at least a fan 24 hours a day, and the noise can drive you crazy. Try to listen to the soft sound of a string quartet during a heat wave, and you see what I mean.
For those Icelanders out there, I can inform you that a heat wave is far from pleasant. But the inconveniences are sometimes unexpected ones. One of them is that you have to have air conditioning or at least a fan 24 hours a day, and the noise can drive you crazy. Try to listen to the soft sound of a string quartet during a heat wave, and you see what I mean.
Happy Birthday!
This is fairly obvious, but my mate in the white shack never admits it: The yuan has the right exchange rate. Not that 7.9820 would be better than for example 8.3140 or 7.2172, but it is equally good. The world is a market economy (whether we like that or not) and if the exchange rate is fixed, the prices will change. If the exchange rate is floating, prices may stay fixed within their currency.
No one expects a special currency for Nebraska to adjust all Nebraskan prices and wages at the same time.
When my mate talks about the need to revalue the yuan, the main message is for his compatriots: I fight to protect you against foreign evil.
Whether that fight serves any purpose except on voting day is a different matter.
No one expects a special currency for Nebraska to adjust all Nebraskan prices and wages at the same time.
When my mate talks about the need to revalue the yuan, the main message is for his compatriots: I fight to protect you against foreign evil.
Whether that fight serves any purpose except on voting day is a different matter.
Avian Flue Defeated by Oblivion
There have been new reports about avian flue.
But they no more make the front page. When the first cases appeared in Europe some months ago, they got front page news for about every single country. "Bird flue in France!" "Bird flue in Belgium!" "Bird flue in Luxemburg!" As if the bird flu had set up a forgery central, where it created fake immigration documents to manage to get from one country to another.
However, it is difficult to generate interest with a headline like "352nd case of Bird flue in France!" So now this illness that has the potential to kill millions is relegated to back pages.
Consequently the zoos that hid away all their birds during the news outbreak some months ago, have now started to bring them out in public again. Plenty of news - high risk. No news - no risk.
But they no more make the front page. When the first cases appeared in Europe some months ago, they got front page news for about every single country. "Bird flue in France!" "Bird flue in Belgium!" "Bird flue in Luxemburg!" As if the bird flu had set up a forgery central, where it created fake immigration documents to manage to get from one country to another.
However, it is difficult to generate interest with a headline like "352nd case of Bird flue in France!" So now this illness that has the potential to kill millions is relegated to back pages.
Consequently the zoos that hid away all their birds during the news outbreak some months ago, have now started to bring them out in public again. Plenty of news - high risk. No news - no risk.
22 July 2006
Peace as a Weapon against the Enemy
There was a peace demonstration today.
The peculiar thing with peace demonstrations is that they almost always favour one side. Country A attacks country B. Somewhere in the world a peace demonstration appears that wants A to retreat. Country B retaliates and invades country A. A new peace demonstration appears which wants B to retreat. Both those demonstrations are very worthy.
However, it is less worthy when the people in the two demonstrations are different people.
The peculiar thing with peace demonstrations is that they almost always favour one side. Country A attacks country B. Somewhere in the world a peace demonstration appears that wants A to retreat. Country B retaliates and invades country A. A new peace demonstration appears which wants B to retreat. Both those demonstrations are very worthy.
However, it is less worthy when the people in the two demonstrations are different people.
Couragous Stupidity
"Courage" is one of those strange words. It is an entirely positive word, while "cowardice" is simply bad. And none of them is superseded in our judgement by "common sense".
"He is really courageous." Wow! That is great guy!
"He is a real coward." I definitely don't want anything to do with him.
"He has a lot of common sense." Eh... yes... And so what?
This is because courage is a meme. It is good for society as a whole if some people are mad enough to rush into half lost fights. If one out of two survives and the gain is substantial, society wins.
So a society which cultivates "courage" as something positive will thrive.
But a society that simply admires boring things like common sense will die of lethargy.
"He is really courageous." Wow! That is great guy!
"He is a real coward." I definitely don't want anything to do with him.
"He has a lot of common sense." Eh... yes... And so what?
This is because courage is a meme. It is good for society as a whole if some people are mad enough to rush into half lost fights. If one out of two survives and the gain is substantial, society wins.
So a society which cultivates "courage" as something positive will thrive.
But a society that simply admires boring things like common sense will die of lethargy.
Speaking for Your Lord
Hassan Dahir Aweys has called for a holy war. Considering God is omnipotent according to the monotheist religions, and all creation is there to his glory, aren't all wars holy?
Still, one has to admire Hassan's audacity to use God's name in this way. If his God turns out to be unhappy with it, Hassan may get into trouble.
Still, one has to admire Hassan's audacity to use God's name in this way. If his God turns out to be unhappy with it, Hassan may get into trouble.
21 July 2006
Disastrous homogeneity
There is only one thing that frightens me with globalisation. I do not fear capitalist oppression of poor people or sweat shops or foreigners taking each other's jobs. That will sort itself out. People are aware of the problems and try to fix them. And the alternative to globalisation - economic isolation, is even worse. Kim Jong-il (김정일) might not agree with me on that one, but you cannot have everyone to agree all the time.
No, the thing that frightens me is the loss of cultures. Just a few hundred years ago, there were great civilisations that could live undisturbed by their neighbours and the rest of the world. They could evolve as they wanted, experiment with their societies and sometimes succeed and sometimes fail. The art of Mali and Turkey was completely different, as few Mali people had ever been to Turkey, and the Turks saw little reason to travel to Mali. During this time we had an explosion of differences across the globe. You could develop your art for centuries unharmed by foreign influence.
With globalisation and the internet all that goes away. There are probably no more than at most a few hundred persons who have never heard music with electric guitar and drums. So new music that can only be written by an ear that is unpolluted by electric guitars, like Mozart's and Bach's, will never be written again.
When we all have heard what everyone has heard, where will the diversity go?
No, the thing that frightens me is the loss of cultures. Just a few hundred years ago, there were great civilisations that could live undisturbed by their neighbours and the rest of the world. They could evolve as they wanted, experiment with their societies and sometimes succeed and sometimes fail. The art of Mali and Turkey was completely different, as few Mali people had ever been to Turkey, and the Turks saw little reason to travel to Mali. During this time we had an explosion of differences across the globe. You could develop your art for centuries unharmed by foreign influence.
With globalisation and the internet all that goes away. There are probably no more than at most a few hundred persons who have never heard music with electric guitar and drums. So new music that can only be written by an ear that is unpolluted by electric guitars, like Mozart's and Bach's, will never be written again.
When we all have heard what everyone has heard, where will the diversity go?
Mono-Cultural Awareness
The word "culture" is an example of whorfian consequences. It was said that the Hopi Indian's were unable to perceive time as "we" do, as they lacked dedicated words for certain time concepts.
That theory was complete bovine fertilizer, as the Hopi do have expressions for exactly the same time concepts as we do. The words just happen to be used in different contexts as well. It's like 下, which means both "down" and "next" and 上, which means both "up" and "previous" in Chinese. It is not stranger than an Englishman who doesn't think of fish every time someone mentions a "school".
The word "culture" is really whorfian, however, even though it goes the other way round. It is a word that doesn't mean anything, but as it happens to exist, people talk about it.
People talk about the "culture" of Belgium, as if Eddy Merckx had had more in common with Hieronymus Bosch than with Miguel Indurain, and as if Queen Elizabeth II had had more in common with Jack the Ripper than with Margarete II of Denmark.
If you want to excuse slavery in a country - just use the magical word culture, as in "it is just part of their culture", and everything is forgiven.
The person who brags with his inter-cultural awareness is usually someone who is completely unable to recognise the minds and moods of individuals.
That theory was complete bovine fertilizer, as the Hopi do have expressions for exactly the same time concepts as we do. The words just happen to be used in different contexts as well. It's like 下, which means both "down" and "next" and 上, which means both "up" and "previous" in Chinese. It is not stranger than an Englishman who doesn't think of fish every time someone mentions a "school".
The word "culture" is really whorfian, however, even though it goes the other way round. It is a word that doesn't mean anything, but as it happens to exist, people talk about it.
People talk about the "culture" of Belgium, as if Eddy Merckx had had more in common with Hieronymus Bosch than with Miguel Indurain, and as if Queen Elizabeth II had had more in common with Jack the Ripper than with Margarete II of Denmark.
If you want to excuse slavery in a country - just use the magical word culture, as in "it is just part of their culture", and everything is forgiven.
The person who brags with his inter-cultural awareness is usually someone who is completely unable to recognise the minds and moods of individuals.
La beauté
Le pauvre Ronsard! Il avait oublié le plus important. Quand il a écrit "Cueillez, cueillez votre jeunesse : Comme à cette fleur la vieillesse Fera ternir votre beauté", il a oublié à ajouter "et la mienne…"
Bilingual Superstition
I am close to one hundred years old... Well, I'm anyhow closer to 100 than to 200 years old.
And yet I have so far never met any single person who speaks more than one language. Sure, I have met thousands of people who speak one language, and who in addition have the ability to order a pint of beer or discuss nuclear physics in one or several more languages. However, I have never met anyone who has been able to completely assimilate two cultures. Who not only speaks grammatically correctly and without an accent, but who also senses all the subtleties of another culture. Someone who knows the children television shows of his generation in another country, who remembers the thrilling final in the national football league, when he was seven years old, and who knows which food was served at children's parties when he was a child.
A language is as complicated as human brains can manage. We tend to fill language up to the brink with complications and information, so it is as rich a tool as possible. Euphuistic expressions are abundant, even though there always are a few people who don't understand them. That is the reason no one speaks two languages perfectly. The brain is a chalice which perfectly fits one language - there is no room for two perfect languages. However, luckily there is plenty of room in the cupholder to add large chunks of a bunch of other languages as well.
And yet I have so far never met any single person who speaks more than one language. Sure, I have met thousands of people who speak one language, and who in addition have the ability to order a pint of beer or discuss nuclear physics in one or several more languages. However, I have never met anyone who has been able to completely assimilate two cultures. Who not only speaks grammatically correctly and without an accent, but who also senses all the subtleties of another culture. Someone who knows the children television shows of his generation in another country, who remembers the thrilling final in the national football league, when he was seven years old, and who knows which food was served at children's parties when he was a child.
A language is as complicated as human brains can manage. We tend to fill language up to the brink with complications and information, so it is as rich a tool as possible. Euphuistic expressions are abundant, even though there always are a few people who don't understand them. That is the reason no one speaks two languages perfectly. The brain is a chalice which perfectly fits one language - there is no room for two perfect languages. However, luckily there is plenty of room in the cupholder to add large chunks of a bunch of other languages as well.
20 July 2006
Annoying Stupidity
Few things are as annoying as stupid liberals. One thing would be a liberal who doesn't realise he is stupid. Or a stupid person, who doesn't realise he therefore is conservative.
Let the Catastrophes Come!
We don't know for sure what killed the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. But we can be pretty certain that without that huge environmental catastrophe, none of us would have been here today. So why are we afraid of global warming?
One Size Fits All
The ultimate proof that there is no God is The Golden Rule. You know the one 孔子 blurted: "What you do not want others to do to you, do not do to others." Or as our Lord himself put it: "Do to others as you would have them do to you." No God could possibly have said anything that stupid. I tried to follow this rule and gave a box of excellent Cuban cigars to my seven year old daughter. For her birthday, my wife gave me a set of sport bras. One of my mates, who is president of a major superpower, gave democracy to some country or other.
The Necessity of God
There must be a God. He is not needed to explain life, the universe and everything. But things would be so boring if he wasn't there. I love praying and listening to his answers. Usually he tells me jokes about two Irishmen in a pub. He is such a laugh!
God's Spirit
Animals have a soul. Their soul is created by God in close collaboration with our perception of what must hide behind a face with two eyes, a nose and mouth. Ronald McDonald doesn't have a soul. What? He has a face with two eyes, a nose and a mouth, you say? Yes, but God wasn't involved in his creation.
Blissful Computers
Animals don't have a soul. What humans think is a soul is just a built in safeguard against realising that life isn't fun. Animals don't think about whether life is fun or not, so they don't need a soul - lucky bastards!
Short
Some truths are so complicated that one needs more words to explain them, than what fits in a short article, an essay or even a book. That's why this post stops here.
Stand by Your Rights and Lose Them
They all do the right thing. The Hezbollah does only things that are right and excusable in their situation. Israel does only what they have the right to do. The Lebanese government, to the extent that it does anything at all in this war, handles everything correctly according to laws and common ethics.
The problem is that there will be no peace in the Middle East until at least one part stops doing what they have the right to do.
Sometimes the inevitable result of everyone standing by their rights is havoc.
The problem is that there will be no peace in the Middle East until at least one part stops doing what they have the right to do.
Sometimes the inevitable result of everyone standing by their rights is havoc.
The Power of Enthusiasm
There are enthusiasts in the world. They are the leaders. The people we follow. They are invariably wrong. They are invariably blinded by their own belief in what they say. The hesitating people, the people who consider different options and weigh for and against, are much closer to the truth, and no one believes them.
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