And just as a footnote to my post about Mr. Cruise’s eloquent demonstration of his self-delusion; Julian Baggini asks: Is Cruise Really So Crazy? Well of course, the answer is no, when you consider that the Vatican has a Chief Exorcist, who is clearly as deluded as Tom Cruise. It’s just that the roots of Father Gabriele Amorth’s delusion go back a lot longer. That’s why it’s called a religion and not a cult. Otherwise, not too much to choose between them, I’d say. As Ophelia says of Father Amorth’s writings: "This is nasty, bad, harmful stuff, and the Vatican should be ashamed of itself. It never is, but it should be."
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Confounding the Stereotype
Johann Hari has an interesting interview with Nathan Shaked, Mr. International Gay for 2007. He’s not what you might think.Oh, and after you’ve read that, you should check out his interview wih Peter Tatchell, a secular saint.Leave a comment
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Aarrgghh!
Here’s another short clip of Dr. Brian Cox. Here, he’s trying to explain, desperately, what a wave is to someone else (who I take it is the film director) who simply doesn’t understand what Cox is trying to say. At one point this person seems to think that when he surfs, it’s the water that moves forward to the shore, and that’s the wave. I blame Meeja-studies for churning out people like this who haven’t a fucking clue about even the simplest of science. We’re all doomed.Leave a comment
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Arachnophobia and Other Fears
I empathise entirely with Dr. Brian Cox.5 responses to “Arachnophobia and Other Fears”
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I got the wave explanation when he said, ‘disturbance’; it made sense then. And he’s kind of cute in a sweet, distracted way. I want to make him eggs benedict for breakfast and polish his Nobel medals.
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I got the wave explanation when he said, ‘disturbance’; it made sense then. And he’s kind of cute in a sweet, distracted way. I want to make him eggs benedict for breakfast and polish his Nobel medals.
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I find it really terrifying when I see people such as Brian Cox and Gareth Malone (currently to be seen on the Beeb trying to teach boys how to sing). They both look about 17 years old…
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I was watching Malone last night as well and marveling at how ballsy he is when he doesn’t look like he even shaves yet. Hat’s off to him, I really admire his passion.
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I was watching Malone last night as well and marveling at how ballsy he is when he doesn’t look like he even shaves yet. Hat’s off to him, I really admire his passion.
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The Value of Diversity
Philip Ball, over at the Homunculus blog, has a nice post on the value of diversity in human groups. Well worth reading.Having a team composed of people who have a track record of all taking the same approach to getting the job done can be a less successful strategy than having a team composed of more diverse individuals. Basically, diversity trumps ability; and research exists to show this. As I mentioned the last time I wrote about this:I know from my own experience that the most exhillarating (as well as at times, the most frustrating) team I ever worked with was one that, by design, was set up to be as diverse as possible. When we learned how to manage our diversity, we were extremely productive, and came up with great results.As Ball says:Encouraging diversity is not then about being liberal or tolerant (although it tends to require both) but about being rational.Or as we put it to our employers: you shouldn’t support diversity in the workplace because it’s about being liberal or tolerant, but because it makes good business sense…2 responses to “The Value of Diversity”
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Geoff,
At my last staff appraisal I took some time to discuss exactly why I feel myself to be a "diversity skeptic". My problem is that, so often, the type of diversity we most need, and which is not tolerated, is intellectual diversity. I’m sure you recall a wonderful commercial enterprise we were both involved in which paid enormous lip service to diversity, and had people of every shade, gender, sexual orientation and so on in the management team, who were completely of one mind on every material issue. Unfortunately, the brethren of our customers (sharing the same conservative Dutch mindset) were not represented anywhere (not quite true – we had one who at least understood the mindset, but he was consciously sidelined, presumably on the grounds that he was "not collegial"), with the predictable result that it became a train wreck destroying the careers of many (but not the perpetrators of the outrage!).
Real tolerance should have a cost – it is painful, but the civilising of disagreement (particularly on those things we care most passionately about) is what keeps us intellectually honest.
On another type of diversity, I got Charles Mann’s "1491" for Christmas (good overview in the Atlantic here), and one of the most tragic aspects of his tale of mankind’s greatest die-off is that, however careful and enlightened European explorers might have been (and, heaven knows, that’s not how you would characterise what they *did* do), the spectacular loss of life to epidemics was a catastrophe waiting to happen. Only aseptic discussions and preparations, followed by innoculations of the aboriginal American population (the sort of thing only rich 21st century societies can do) could have prevented it. There is an fascinating discussion of how the friendly reception of the Pilgrim Fathers was a result of the survivors of a Hepatitis epidemic trying to obtain allies to protect themselves from neighbouring tribes. The problem was that the original group of humans entering the Americas had too little diversity in their immune systems – it is only through intermarriage with other immigrants that their descendents have obtained protection from incoming diseases. A fascinating book about remarkable cultural achievements, which forces one to thing very carefully about the whole concept of "pristine wilderness".
Cheers,
Robert -
Hi, Robert,
I quite agree that diversity comes in many forms, and often it’s only the visible forms (gender, race) that are focused on and ‘ticked off’ on the company’s diversity checklist. Remember the "diversity iceberg" image, where the majority of the diversity attributes lie hidden below the waterline? Out of sight, out of mind, all too often.
You say: "…enterprise we were both involved in…" Do I take it that you have also moved on to other pastures? Hope you’re happy, wherever you are. Oh, and thanks for the book recommendation. Sounds interesting – I’ll check it out…
Cheers, Geoff
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Gobsmacked by Goskomstandard
The PSD Blog has a bizarre little tale about fire extinguishers in Tajikistan. Kafka would be proud…Leave a comment
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Good News, Bad News
Ballardian has an entry with both good and bad news.The good: J. G. Ballard has written his autobiography, Miracles of Life, and it will be published next month.The bad: he has been diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer. This may be his last book.Leave a comment
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The LHC
This video of CERN’s Large Hadron Collider conveys something of the excitement and wonder I feel about science and our exploration of the universe around us.(hat tip to the Bad Astronomer)Leave a comment
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Statistics and Lies
Ben Goldacre, over at the Bad Science blog, makes a book recommendation. It’s Darrell Huff’s 1954 classic: How to Lie with Statistics. He is prompted to do so by some sloppy journalism in The Daily Telegraph. Goldacre uses the techniques outlined in Huff’s book to show that the conclusions reached in the Telegraph story bear absolutely zero correspondance with truth. There’s a surprise.I’ve already got another of Huff’s books (How to take a chance: The laws of Probability); I’ll definitely be adding How to Lie with Statistics to the library. It will sit between my other Huff book and Mark Monmonier’s How to Lie with Maps as the perfect bridge.Leave a comment
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The Chess Player
It seems as though the newspapers have been full of stories about the death of Bobby Fischer this week (I count eight in The Guardian alone), and I’m slightly at a loss to understand why. Perhaps it’s the horrendous contrast between his sheer genius at chess, and the fact that he was so piss-poor at playing the game of being a human. It may be that we look at examples like Fischer where the gift of genius comes at the cost of simple humanity and give heartfelt thanks that we were not cursed with such a gift.Reading some of this week’s articles about Fischer written by writers on the game of chess, I was also somewhat reminded of Charles Harness’ short story The Chess Players (found in his book The Rose). It’s about a group of chess players who critique the abilities of one of their number, completely oblivious to the fact that he is, in fact, a pet rat. The only important thing, in their eyes, is whether he is any good as a chess player.Leave a comment
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Rants and Raves
I’ve just come across a blog apparently written by a gay Kenyan man. What took me aback somewhat was the entry where he says that commenting on politics was outside of his blog philosophy. Part of me says that I can understand that, but part of me screams that nothing, but nothing, is ever outside of politics. It’s what we are as humans. Politics may be described as religion, or society, but at ground zero – it’s politics. It’s how humans rub up against other humans both physically and mentally.Leave a comment
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Ice Ice Baby
And, following a link from the last post, I found this excellent marriage between music and image that made me smile…One response to “Ice Ice Baby”
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That was cool. I forgot how I like that song too.
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Nothing Changes
I did rather like this, in a bittersweet sort of way. Bowie’s song always takes me back to the hormones and the time that forged me, and this reworking, while at one remove makes me realise the power that everyone has through software editing these days, at another makes me realise that never a truer phrase was spoken than: plus ça change…Leave a comment
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Geotagging Photos
I’m rather taken with the concept of geotagging my outdoor photos. At the moment, I have to do this manually using software applications that use either Google Earth or Microsoft’s Virtual Earth. While, as I predicted, cameras with built-in GPS receivers are coming onto the market, I don’t want to throw away my investment in a Canon 300D just for that.
But now I see that ATP has brought out a rather nifty little pocket device to add GPS data into photos taken with any digital camera. This may herald a new type of device becoming available. I rather think though that I will wait for the second generation of these devices. At the moment, the ATP device only handles SD memory cards directly (I use CF memory cards). It’s clearly a device aimed at the consumer market – I suspect that it will only handle images taken in JPEG format; I rather doubt that it will handle the RAW formats favoured by professional photographers.
3 responses to “Geotagging Photos”
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I use a Garmin Gecko 201 GPS and GPicSync (http://code.google.com/p/gpicsync/) to geotag my photos. Also, check out Geosetter (http://www.geosetter.de/), which seems to also support RAW files.
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Jose, thanks for the comment. I see that the Gecko is more expensive than the APT device. Of course, it does more, but unlike my brother, I don’t hike for miles in uncharted wildernesses, so the tracking capability of the Gecko is not something that I need. I like the concept of the APT device – it may do only one thing, but allegedly does it elegantly and simply.
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True, I do not use my GPS for anything else but photo geotagging. Still, I do sometimes find it useful to store the tracks of where I have been and sometimes create a placemark. I find the method employed by the APT device very interesting and easy to use. Do check reviews first. There are 2 things which one should always pay attention to when purchasing GPS devices: Accuracy and Battery Life. My Gecko GPS drains batteries in no time, but the accuracy is very good (In terms of fixing on satellites and position), even with WAAS disabled. I was tempted to get the Sony GPS-CS1, but two friends told be that while the battery life was good its accuracy was not that good.
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The Report on Saudi Arabia
The New Humanist Blog draws our attention to the report on Saudi Arabia produced by the UN’s Committee on Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. The report contains the responses from a Saudi delegation to various questions posed by the Committee. I notice that apparently Saudi Arabian women are not allowed to study geology at university, it does seem rather an odd thing to prohibit. There are some lovely bits of deadpan reporting. For example, why women are forbidden to drive in Saudi Arabia:"With regards to the issue of driving, in the early stages of Islam, there were no cars, and women rode camels or donkeys, and participated in all walks of life. This was history, and could not be forgotten. The matter was not related to Sharia. However, the problem was not related to the laws of the State, it was a matter for society. When people and the mentality were ready, then women would be allowed to drive cars. Once there was a need for women to drive, then it would be permitted. The Government was worried about women, and this was why those who were responsible were against the idea of women driving cars."Even the act of a woman going out is hedged about with some suspicious verbiage:"Saudi society was different in terms of its inter-dependence – the family was very tight, and mothers were considered to be the guardians of their children. The best proof was that if any woman wished to go out and needed permission from her husband, then this was for her own protection, and not to constrain or restrict her movements."Then we have the independence of women when it comes to health issues:"Regarding health, there was a misconception that a woman could not sign a consent document agreeing to a surgical procedure, and this was entirely wrong. An adult, mentally-sound woman could consent to procedures on her body, except if the procedure related to reproduction or infertility, in which case the consent of the male guardian was required. A mother could also give consent to medical procedures performed on her children."I do love the sound of that phrase: "the male guardian". It rather undermines the whole impression that they try to give of equality between the sexes. But the concluding remarks of the delegation’s chairman (yes, of course it was a man, what did you think?) should put all our minds at rest:"Saudi Arabia would like to emphasise the fact that it respected women, and protected their rights, and stood against anyone violating these rights. The concept of human rights in a society like that of Saudi Arabia was a concept that could be relatively new, but in reality, all the values of human rights which were encompassed in conventions, with the exception of some reservations such as homosexual marriage, which was not accepted, were accepted by Saudi Arabia.Well, it’s clearly all hunky-dory, then.2 responses to “The Report on Saudi Arabia”
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All is well. Those delicate feminine flowers are being cared for, and the pesky gays are kept firmly out of sight. What more could possibly be needed in the perfect world?
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Indeed. Your comment puts me in mind of Serenity, which I’ve just watched. Hmm – maybe a blog entry is stirring…
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The Pope Is Catholic – and Other Non-Surprises
So the Vatican’s newspaper denounces Harry Potter? Not entirely unexpected. But then, the thing is, that some of us know that it’s a work of fiction, while allegedly celibate men who wear funny hats expect us to believe in far stranger, and more twisted, things as a matter of fact. What a strange world we live in.Leave a comment
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Health Warning
Sidaction, the French organisation that campaigns for AIDS awareness, has this rather striking warning, which has overtones of Hieronymous Bosch.2 responses to “Health Warning”
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They’d never allow this one here – but it’s very striking. Much more thought provoking than the feeble stuff they come up with normally.
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Well, the 1980’s "tombstone" ads that aired in the UK had a certain oh-shit factor, surely?
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Musical Interlude
Bach’s Prelude for Cello from Suite No. 1 – beautifully played on acoustic guitar.(hat tip to Kottke.org)Leave a comment
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Banks Matters
Here’s a heads up: Iain M. Banks has a new SF novel out next month: Matter. And the publisher, Orbit, has the prologue of the book available on their web site. The plot is set in the Culture universe that Banks has developed over the course of many of his SF novels.Leave a comment
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Delusion Central
What hath the old fraud Ron Hubbard wrought? Well this piece of self-delusion, for a start…Leave a comment
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