Le Monde 100: Brave New World

While Diary of a Young Girl shows how humanity finds a way of transcending its base animalistic nature, Brave New World looks shows how it can overcome our base computeristic nature.

Until our individuality recognizes and manifests itself, our brains are just big wet computers with inputs, processors, and outputs. The beginning years of our lives are when we do the heavy lifting of setting up our internal computers. Neuroscientist Michael Merzenich goes into great detail the plasticity of our brains and the way we take in information in this TED talk:

So, the OUTPUT of our brains are very susceptible to the INPUT that, not only gets processed through the machine of its wetware, but goes into the constructing of the processor itself!

In Brave New World, the leaders of society understand the power of conditioning and craft their entire society into conditioning babies and children to build values for the benefit of the state. The genius behind conditioning is building brains to have wants or desires that may be against their own benefit. I was going to write "own self interests," but that's incorrect. Their self interests are the very things that have been tampered with!

This makes me think of the current war between NYC Mayor Bloomberg and the soft drink companies (BIG SODA). One thing that Huxley left out of the equation between the individual and government was the presence of corporations. In Brave New World, the media outlets were controlled by the government, effectively crafting all the communication and propaganda to their wants. In America, a majority of advertising is owned by corporations, who have their bottom lines behind their motivations for advertising. Thus, we live in a culture, where consumerism is the key tenet and portion-sizes hold the highest virtue. Bloomberg has been lambasted by supporters of Big Soda as being a vanguard for the Nanny State for putting a ban on any containers larger than 16 ounces. They claim that its a ban on soda. But, is it really? There is nothing preventing someone from buying an unlimited amount of soda if they wish. But, in the battle against obesity, which is one of our nations biggest health problems, should the government ignore the concepts of conditioning and allow soda companies to profit from man's instinctive desire to consume? The situation with Bloomberg has turned into an inverse Brave New World with the government fighting the conditioning of the public.

 If you don't think that portion size is a corporate tool, look at the difference from the original fountain drink in 1955 to what the KID size is now to what's available for a single consumer:

Diabetes, anyone?

Le Monde 100: Diary of a Young Girl

When Diary of a Young Girl came out, there was a whole lot of nay-saying as to the credibility of the claim that this book was written by a girl from the age of thirteen to fifteen years old. This was primarily done by Holocaust deniers and ex-Hitler Youth types, persons of their own limited credibility. However, when reading Anne Frank's diary, one may find one's self legitimately asking if that it could be possible that someone so young could be so incredibly self-aware and so powerfully articulate. For instance, this passage:

"I was suffering then (and still do) from moods that kept my head under water (figuratively speaking) and allowed me to see things only from my own perspective, without calmly considering what the others- those whom I, with my mercurial temperament, had hurt or offended- had said, and then acting as they would have done."

This sounds like something a beta version cyborg programmed to write from the perspective of a young girl would come up with. If you read that passage in Brent Spiner's voice, it may sound quite at home.

But, there seems to be a recurring theme that appears throughout Le Monde 100. Like a tiny sapling pushing through the thickest concrete, the humanity of the individual will assert itself, even in the smallest ways, when society attempts to erase it. In his book Man's Search for Meaning, Victor Frankl, a psychologist who survived the concentration camps, noted that the deprivation of certain basic needs push men towards a state of animal instinct. Every waking thought gradually becomes overwhelmed with the procuring of those needs, depriving the brain of the focus to self reflect, which is the hallmark of what separates men from beasts. Victor and his fellow prisoners would be allowed cigarettes, which they would purposefully not smoke as they would be used in barter and social interaction. It would be a disturbing sight for the prisoners to see one of them smoking his own cigarettes because it would mean that the smoker had now given up on his humanity and would always die not long afterward.

Anne Frank was put in a similar position. Along with food, clothing, and shelter, man needs to be social. Locked in an attic with a handful of people, Anne's social needs were severely constricted. Her humanity asserted itself by turning inward and exploring in great detail herself and the few interactions she had had in her life as well as the minutia of the social relationships in the attic.

This inward exploration was confirmed when the unabridged version of her diary was released in the early Nineties. Here we find Anne going into great graphic detail about her vagina, nuanced aspects of her sexuality including her early exploration of lesbianism, and menstruation, which all was a bit of a shock as I had originally read the abridged version in the Eighties, which included none of that.

One could see why her father Otto, who compiled the notes would not choose to include those parts for general release. However, they reveal a lot about the human condition under duress as well as solidify their authenticity.

This human imperative was allowed to bloom in the soil of her leisure. This is important. Aristotle refused to allow farmers, skilled tradesmen, and women from entering the Academy as he felt they did not have the necessary leisure time required for true self reflection as they would be involved in fulfilling basic needs, such as growing food, building homes, and rearing children.  For Aristotle, to teach them the disciplines of self-reflection would be a disservice to them as they would not properly be able to give them mental room necessary to be useful. That's why you always see a lot of lounging in old paintings of philosophers. Anne Frank basically developed her own Academy spreading her mental wings in the open space of time even though she was constricted in her physical place.

That is how we can explain the credibility of her eloquence.

Le Monde 100: The Name of the Rose

"You are more like me than you realize."

In the insatiable quest for certainty,  humans have to negotiate with reality as well as what we tell ourselves is reality.

              The obvious boggle in this chain of interaction is the fact that ALL reality must pass through the filter of what we tell ourselves, making it quite easy for us to interpret things through the further filters of our biases. This is the main tool used by the "treacherous heart."

             Take skepticism. Skepticism is not a position one takes in the world, but rather a methodology. Skeptics pride themselves on being completely objective and without bias in evaluating claims about "reality." The group of people primarily associated with skepticism are scientists as they apply scientific method to their belief systems in order to determine a objectivity without the use of presumptions and "common sense." However, there is a trap to wearing the mantle of skepticism in the fact that it can bring credibility to hidden biases through "selective skepticism."

             In the article "The Myth of Consistent Skepticism: The Cautionary Case of Albert Einstein," Todd C. Riniolo and Lee Nisbet discuss the ways that our hidden natures may cause us to make claims in the face of strong evidence to the contrary: "We all look for evidence that is consistent with our beliefs. In short, we tend to believe what we wish to be true, but we do so 'objectively.' Specifically, we typically do not seek out discrediting evidence for our current beliefs with the same vigor that we look for supportive evidence . Psychologists call this a confirmation bias."

              This is when conservatives only watch Fox News and liberals only listen to NPR. The article writes that a true skeptic would  "would apply the methods of skepticism to all claims consistently and evaluate the evidence in an unbiased manner (i.e., without double standards)" and "should obviously use discrediting information to modify beliefs."

               One would think that Albert Einstein as the most famous scientist that ever lived would be a walking testament to consistent skepticism. However, outside of theoretical physics, he allowed his sympathies and feelings to intrude on his beliefs. Under Nazism, Einstein ignored the political propaganda of the state and harshly criticized the actions of the regime, namely the oppression of liberty. He supported Socialism, specifically the model created by the Soviet Union and trumpeted their virtues. 

               However, as time passed, the reports of human rights being smashed by the Soviet empire started to trickle west. Did Einstein maintain his objective attitude toward this political system that he held dear? The article continues:

               "Einstein refused to join or endorse an international commission headed by John Dewey to investigate the Moscow Show Trials (a consistent skeptic would seek both confirmatory and discrediting evidence) and would subsequently write to Max Born that “there are increasing signs the Russian trials are not faked, but that there is a plot among those who look upon Stalin as a stupid reactionary who has betrayed the ideas of the revolution” (quoted in Born 1971, p. 130). Born would later comment that most people in the West at the time believed the trials “to be the arbitrary acts of a cruel dictator.” Einstein, however, relied upon information from people he described as “those who know Russia best.”

               As painful as the commission might have been for Einstein, as a scientist he should of known that the same methods he used to examine particles and waveforms apply just as effectively to political systems. Yet, he was perfectly fine to allow his confirmation bias dictate reality for him. 

               This is what happens when we think of intellectual things with our emotions. In The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco, the Catholic monks that cared for the greatest library in Christendom went to great lengths to prevent access to of one of Aristotle's books. The reason was quite succinnct:

"the work of our order and in particular the work of this monastery, a part- indeed, the substance - is study, and the preservation of knowledge. . . Preservation of, I say, not search for, because it is property of knowledge, as a human thing, that it has been defined and completed over the course of centuries, from the preaching of the prophets to the interpretations of the fathers of the church." 

              Confirmation bias is a preservation of knowledge, not a search for it. 

              To truly search for the knowledge of reality, one must search inside themselves to find the will to face it.

Le Monde 100: The Blue Lotus

There has been a lot of Tintin hoopla lately in America with the Peter Jackson movie released a few months ago. I've always liked the idea of Tintin. But, honestly, the Tintin books were what I had flip past in order to get to the Asterix books, seeing that they were both originally in French and the same size and fairly steeped in geekery.

After reading The Blue Lotus as a grown person, the revelations of societal mores and the boundaries of political correctness are really the only thing I can think about.

Herge was quite outspoken and heavy-handed about racism (here toward Asians) yet he still portrayed Asians in a way that would be unacceptable by today's standards.


For instance, Herge's philosophy is quite clear here:

However, in the very next panel, we are following the exploits of this guy:

I'm sure Herge would never have drawn  anything offensive if he was aware of it. Culturally, our awareness of race and propriety emerges gradually. It must have been an awkward transition for Europeans to shift their value system away from a colonialist perspective that was something that was less self-centered. Tintin was in the heart of this change. I mean just look at this twenty-something's luggage!

One has to wonder what we are saying now that will be offensive to future generations but don't even get me started on Tintin in the Congo.

Le Monde 100: Alcools

Anyone who is passionate enough about art to aid and abet the theft of the Mona Lisa, blame it on Pablo Picasso while calling for the immolation of the Lourve has a complicated enough relationship with art to make his poetry at least worthy of a small consideration. Guillaume Apollinaire's legacy is probably the most widely felt as the man who coined the word "Surrealism" in reference to the Dada art movement and its offshoots.
One thing that I have noticed about Surrealist art is its incredible subjectiveness. The meaning and messages behind many of its pieces are so localized and particular to the personal situation of the artist that one must absolutely have some knowledge of the lifestyle and context of the artist in order to deduce any understanding of the piece.
The same is true of Apollinaire's poetry in his collection Alcools. 
I must confess that I do not understand much of his poems as they are so specific to him. However, some of the imagery he evokes in his writing is so beautiful and odd that I don't care if I know what he's talking about. FOR INSTANCE:

The horizon screams an eagle pouncing
And from America there comes a hummingbird
From China sinuous peehees
Who have one wing and who fly in couples


AND:

Christ's spinning halo spins forever
Behold the red lily of worship
Behold the red torch inextinguishable
Behold the pale son and scarlet of the dolorous Mother
Behold the tree forever tufted with prayer
Behold the double gallows of honor and eternity
Behold the six pointed star
Behold the God who dies on Friday and rises on Sunday
Behold the Christ who flies higher than aviators
He holds the world record for altitude

Oh, okay, one more:

The moon is honey on the mouths of madmen
The orchards are the towns are gluttons
Honeybees allegorize the constellations
Every moonbeam is a honeybeam now
Falling slowly an ooze from heaven
Incandescent honey drenches the trellises
And I am hiding I am pregnant with intrigue
In terror of the stinger of the great North Star
Who poured deceitful lights into my hands
Who stole the nectar from the compass rose

Oh, I'm a sucker for animating the inanimate!

Unfortunately for Guillaume, he died from post World War One Spanish Flu, which was probably very cliched for its time.