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Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Friday, August 20, 2010
Discrete
A tournament is an event where each team plays against every other.
The results are noted in a graph. Note here that 3 lost every game and
1 won all its games.
adapted from Rosen, Discrete Mathematics, McGraw-Hill.
The results are noted in a graph. Note here that 3 lost every game and
1 won all its games.
adapted from Rosen, Discrete Mathematics, McGraw-Hill.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Monday, August 16, 2010
Puech
from: Michel Puech, HOMO SAPIENS TECHNOLOGICUS, éditions Le Pommier,
2008.
Nomenclature and Anonymous, the two social classes
There are only two social classes in our societies: the Nomenclature and the Anonymous. Their definition is neither institutional nor economic: their definition is one from information, communication, and in a new sense, that of non-material values.
1)The Nomenclature: For a long time, I believed that nomenklatura was a Russian word that referred to one of the daily occurences of soviet totalitarianism: the leadership who cynically monopolize privilege. Not in the least! It is a latin word that designates an otherwise more important phenomena for us. In Rome, the nomenclator is a slave charged with memorising and indicating to his master the names of those he is supposed to know. He stands at the entrance to the house and announces by name those who arrive: or, during election time, he accompanies the master and « reminds » him of the names of all those he is meant to recognize.
The Nomenclature is the class of those whose name and appearance are known, those who today’s nomenclators, the journalists, know by name and face. One can distinguish two sub-classes: the invisible and the visible. The invisible Nomenclatura, the grey one, is that of the management sector of business, politics, media. Their priorities are money and power, their belonging to the Nomenclatura takes the form of goods possessed and lifestyle, discretely, without ostentation. Quite to the contrary, the visible Nomenclatura, the bling Nomenclatura, exhibits its belonging to the upper class with a Look-at-me attitude which knows that its celebrity comes down to being known (the notion is that of Andy Warhol). These are the Pipole.
2)The Anonymous: «Anonymous» does not here mean «who has no name», but those « whose name is unknown»; those, in particular, unknown to the nomenclators. In France, ever since the funeral of Françcois Mitterand it seems to me, one has started to refer to ordinary people as : the «anonymous». «Hommage from the anonymous», repeated by journalists from one account to the next, on the occasion of reporting on a Pipole funeral. And here is meant the hommage of all those who are not members of the nomenclature of power and media, those who have no name...because journalists do not know their names. Each of them has a name but the journalist-nomenclator cannot announce it to his audience or readers. The Anonymous are the class of those whose name and face are not known.
In this two class system, the social advancement aim of the Anonymous is well defined:join the Nomenclature. The visible Nomenclature being by far the most exposed to scrutiny and envy, a life projet for an Anonymous is quickly formed to the crazy dream: becoming a Pipole! Being recognized on the street! And, to be pragmatic, there is only one way to get there: being seen on television! And there is why television is stupid, there is the source of all those fake remarks from «real people» ready to say or do anything to be seen on television, there lies the explanation to those television competions of vulgarity and submission to become the new «star»...the latest Pipole.
2008.
Nomenclature and Anonymous, the two social classes
There are only two social classes in our societies: the Nomenclature and the Anonymous. Their definition is neither institutional nor economic: their definition is one from information, communication, and in a new sense, that of non-material values.
1)The Nomenclature: For a long time, I believed that nomenklatura was a Russian word that referred to one of the daily occurences of soviet totalitarianism: the leadership who cynically monopolize privilege. Not in the least! It is a latin word that designates an otherwise more important phenomena for us. In Rome, the nomenclator is a slave charged with memorising and indicating to his master the names of those he is supposed to know. He stands at the entrance to the house and announces by name those who arrive: or, during election time, he accompanies the master and « reminds » him of the names of all those he is meant to recognize.
The Nomenclature is the class of those whose name and appearance are known, those who today’s nomenclators, the journalists, know by name and face. One can distinguish two sub-classes: the invisible and the visible. The invisible Nomenclatura, the grey one, is that of the management sector of business, politics, media. Their priorities are money and power, their belonging to the Nomenclatura takes the form of goods possessed and lifestyle, discretely, without ostentation. Quite to the contrary, the visible Nomenclatura, the bling Nomenclatura, exhibits its belonging to the upper class with a Look-at-me attitude which knows that its celebrity comes down to being known (the notion is that of Andy Warhol). These are the Pipole.
2)The Anonymous: «Anonymous» does not here mean «who has no name», but those « whose name is unknown»; those, in particular, unknown to the nomenclators. In France, ever since the funeral of Françcois Mitterand it seems to me, one has started to refer to ordinary people as : the «anonymous». «Hommage from the anonymous», repeated by journalists from one account to the next, on the occasion of reporting on a Pipole funeral. And here is meant the hommage of all those who are not members of the nomenclature of power and media, those who have no name...because journalists do not know their names. Each of them has a name but the journalist-nomenclator cannot announce it to his audience or readers. The Anonymous are the class of those whose name and face are not known.
In this two class system, the social advancement aim of the Anonymous is well defined:join the Nomenclature. The visible Nomenclature being by far the most exposed to scrutiny and envy, a life projet for an Anonymous is quickly formed to the crazy dream: becoming a Pipole! Being recognized on the street! And, to be pragmatic, there is only one way to get there: being seen on television! And there is why television is stupid, there is the source of all those fake remarks from «real people» ready to say or do anything to be seen on television, there lies the explanation to those television competions of vulgarity and submission to become the new «star»...the latest Pipole.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
From : Bernard Poulet, La fin des journaux et l’avenir de l’information, Gallimard 2009.
A democratic history
The history of information is a long road which I will not detail here, but it is important to understand its underlying logic. Let us remember that it all starts, for the Moderns, at the beginning of the Renaissance. One usually sets this beginning with the Fugger-Zeitungen, the ‘Letters’ of the Fuggers of Ausburg, whose purpose was to orient the commercial and financial strategy of those German bankers who contributed to the election of CharlesV to the head of the Holy Empire. At first these were simple copies of Avvisi, produced by professionnals of diplomatic and political information, and established in Venice, which were sent throughout Europe. These letters then contribute, with the reports from diplomates and spies, to create a system of information reserved to small elites who, thus, opened up one to the other and learnt to know each other throughout Europe.
The circulation of this econo-political news which is known, granting a bit of exageration, as a ‘revolution in communication in the XVIth Century’, permits to create links of trust between merchants. Information on prices, quotes, but also on the fortune of merchants, the projects of kings and the conditions in various countries organizes a dialogue between a few actors who had at their disposal what resembles our confidential letters.
In parallel one could find a popular press of « occasionnels » that recounted extraordinary events, of « canards » for human interest stories, then of « libelles » and « placards », who recounted rumours of a political character, pamphlets or base rumours, which abound with the invention of printing arouns 1440, religious wars and conflicts in Europe. They foreshadow the first periodical publications, which will deserve consideration, at the beginning of the XVIIth Century, as the true ancestors to newspapers.
THE GAZETTE of Théophraste Renaudot(1631), the first true newspaper of France, was in point of fact under the influence of the powers-that-be -, in particular of Cardinal Richelieu. The Revolution saw the flowering of many publications (nearly 400 in 1790), in which political debates take place and which will send more than one to the gallows. Marat, Brissot, Desmoulins, Hébert, for the better known : already, journalists engaged in politics and political actors in journalism.
…
A democratic history
The history of information is a long road which I will not detail here, but it is important to understand its underlying logic. Let us remember that it all starts, for the Moderns, at the beginning of the Renaissance. One usually sets this beginning with the Fugger-Zeitungen, the ‘Letters’ of the Fuggers of Ausburg, whose purpose was to orient the commercial and financial strategy of those German bankers who contributed to the election of CharlesV to the head of the Holy Empire. At first these were simple copies of Avvisi, produced by professionnals of diplomatic and political information, and established in Venice, which were sent throughout Europe. These letters then contribute, with the reports from diplomates and spies, to create a system of information reserved to small elites who, thus, opened up one to the other and learnt to know each other throughout Europe.
The circulation of this econo-political news which is known, granting a bit of exageration, as a ‘revolution in communication in the XVIth Century’, permits to create links of trust between merchants. Information on prices, quotes, but also on the fortune of merchants, the projects of kings and the conditions in various countries organizes a dialogue between a few actors who had at their disposal what resembles our confidential letters.
In parallel one could find a popular press of « occasionnels » that recounted extraordinary events, of « canards » for human interest stories, then of « libelles » and « placards », who recounted rumours of a political character, pamphlets or base rumours, which abound with the invention of printing arouns 1440, religious wars and conflicts in Europe. They foreshadow the first periodical publications, which will deserve consideration, at the beginning of the XVIIth Century, as the true ancestors to newspapers.
THE GAZETTE of Théophraste Renaudot(1631), the first true newspaper of France, was in point of fact under the influence of the powers-that-be -, in particular of Cardinal Richelieu. The Revolution saw the flowering of many publications (nearly 400 in 1790), in which political debates take place and which will send more than one to the gallows. Marat, Brissot, Desmoulins, Hébert, for the better known : already, journalists engaged in politics and political actors in journalism.
…
Monday, August 9, 2010
LEARN-TO-DRAW!
After muc h travail trying to master web developement, including the use of Graphics programs,I’ve taken a breather this summer to work on my arts skills which were, well, in need of work.
It is always the same process : one begins the long journey thinking one lacks the talent, if not the genius, required for the task. And one ends up realizing that one can be competent with a lot of hard work and application. ‘Genius'goes to those who first noticed the possibilities of the media.
Brenda Hoddinott was a real breakthrough for me. She taught me to use a grid to place objects, and this moved me into the realm of being actually in the game. Barrington Barber, a guy, places things by seeing their symmetry axes. He also holds his pen differently. Vive la diff!
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Friday, August 6, 2010
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