The Journal of VINCI and ISI−S, Issue No. 9, Sep 2005 - ISI

Transcription

The Journal of VINCI and ISI−S, Issue No. 9, Sep 2005 - ISI
It is through the sensitive juxtaposition of light and dark that the stark, naked truth is
born from the shadows to dance, once more, unfettered and ever more brightly before
our fading eyes.
C h i a r o s cur o
The Journal of VINCI and ISI−S, Issue No. 9, Sep 2005
Editors: Lloyd King and Muhamed Veletanlic
CChhiiaarroossccuurroo iiss tthhee ooffffiicciiaall jjoouurrnnaall ooff VVIINNCCII aanndd IISSII−−SS.. AAlll mmaatteerriiaall ppuubblliisshheedd hheerree iiss tthhee
pprrooppeerrttyy ooff tthhee rreessppeeccttiivvee aauutthhoorrss..
Chiaroscuro − The Journal of VINCI and ISI−S
#9, September 2005
Table of Contents
The Village Fool ˘ a poem by Maria Claudia Faverio
Benford’s Law ˘ an article by Albert Frank
Eleftherios Argyropoulos ˘ an article by Papageorgiou G. Pantelis
The Food Arrow ˘ a photograph by Muhamed Veletanlic
¿Fisica Antropica? ˘ an article by prometeus1
Hotel Rwanda Movie Review ˘ an article by Robert Brizel
Redhead ˘ a crossword puzzle
Chess and Aptitudes − Summary ˘ an article by Albert Frank
Chess and Nightmare ˘ an article by Albert Frank
The Song and the Scream ˘ a poem by Maria Claudia Faverio
Autumn Scene ˘ visual art by Maria Claudia Faverio
The Eagle ˘ a photograph by Muhamed Veletanlic
From Lesenne to Meyers−Briggs ˘ an article by Albert Frank
Die Zeit bei Borges − seventh part ˘ an article by Maria Claudia Faverio
Incompatibilidad Genoptica ˘ an article by prometeus1
Cuvstvo ˘ a poem by Muhamed Veletanlic
What is the Name of the Tune? ˘ a puzzle by Jan Melorant
Pi ˘ a number by Papageorgiou G. Pantelis
A Farewell to Bob Denver and Gillian’s Island ˘ an article by Robert Brizel
Possibilities of Time Travel... ˘ an article by Jani Savolainen
From Judge William Rehnquist to Judge... ˘ an article by Robert Brizel
Answers to the puzzles in the last issue of Chiaroscuro
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3
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Chiaroscuro − The Journal of VINCI and ISI−S
#9, September 2005
The Village Fool
People greet me in the street sometimes, complete strangers faithful to a repertoire of gestures and friendliness alien to the code of other countries. They greet me and go their way, stunning me out of thought and loneliness. He does more than that. He waves, shouting “The women are beautiful, the men are handsome”. He limps, he said he had an accident years ago. He believes that Jesus will come back soon, rending the darkness massing above, pulling eternity out of worms. He also believes in humankind in spite of the pitched arguments of the muscles and the fury of the blade. They say he is mentally retarded, a fool, but I envy his naïveté, his silly smile hinting at something worth struggling for behind the honed efforts of being. He fades into the distance like an apparition, and I go my way bedazzled, rearranging my moods like sand. Maria Claudia Faverio
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Benford’s Law
Albert Frank
INTRODUCTION In 1881, the American astronomer Simon Newcomb (Gold Medal of the British Royal Astronomy Society 1874, President of the American Mathematical Society 1897) observed that the earlier pages of logarithmic tables were more worn than later pages. He concluded that numbers with low valued leading digits arose more frequently in calculations. This led him to examine how numbers in natural data were distributed and ultimately to propose that the “probability of the occurrence of numbers is such that the mantissa of their logarithms are equally probable”. From this he inferred that the distribution of leading digits is such that P(First significant digit = d) = log10(1 + 1/d) First digit d 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Probability of d .301 .176 .125 .097 .079 .067 .058 .051 .046 The probability for the first non zero digit to be 1 or 2 is nearly .5. This is of course far from intuitive. Newcomb presented no empirical evidence or theoretical proof of this rule. Nobody realized the importance of this discovery. In 1938, 57 years later, Dr. Frank Albert Benford, a physicist at the General Electric Company, noticed exactly the same thing: pages of logarithms corresponding to numbers starting with the numeral 1 were much dirtier and more worn than other pages. Dr. Benford concluded that it was unlikely that physicists and engineers had some special preference for logarithms starting with 1. He therefore embarked on a mathematical analysis of 20,229 sets of numbers, including such wildly disparate categories as the areas of rivers, baseball statistics, numbers in magazine articles and the street addresses of the first 342 people listed in the book “American Men of Science.” All these seemingly unrelated sets of numbers followed the same first‐digit probability pattern as the worn pages of logarithm tables suggested. In all cases, the number 1 turned up as the first digit about 30 percent of the time, more often than any other. 4
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(From “The First‐Digit Phenomenon” by T. P. Hill, American Scientist, July‐August 1998) Benford’s Law predicts a decreasing frequency of first digits, from 1 through 9. Every entry in data sets developed by Benford for numbers appearing on the front pages of newspapers, by Mark Nigrini of 3,141 county populations in the 1990 U.S. Census and by Eduardo Ley of the Dow Jones Industrial Average from 1990‐93 follows Benford’s law within 2 percent. THEORETICAL ASPECT ‐
•
•
•
Let’s first try to show the non homogenous distribution of the first non zero digit using the numbers of the houses in a street. If there are only 9 houses, all the first digits have of course the same probability. Take now a street with 19 houses. The first digit is 1 in 11 cases out of 19. In a more general way: The first digits have the same probability only when the number of houses is 9, 99, 999, …10n ‐ 1. This is nearly never the case. The distribution of the first digit is a function of the number of houses. This distribution has to be calculated. It will be named Benford’s law. The lengths of the streets will follow the same law. Out of this, it can be proved that this law is scale invariant, the units used for the measurements have no importance (example: the area of a lake can be measured in square kilometers or in square miles). This invariance implies a connection between Benford’s law and chaos theory. In 1961 Roger Pinkham, a mathematician then at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey said: Just suppose there really is a universal law governing the digits of numbers that describe natural phenomena such as the drainage areas of rivers and the properties of chemicals. Then any such law must work regardless of what units are used. Even the inhabitants of the Planet Zob that measure area in 5
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grondekis must find exactly the same distribution of digits in drainage areas as we do, using hectares. But how is this possible, if there are 87,331 hectares to the grondeki? The answer, said Pinkham, lies in ensuring that the distribution of digits is unaffected by changes of units. Suppose you know the drainage area in hectares for a million different rivers. Translating each of these values into grondekis will change the individual numbers, certainly. But overall, the distribution of numbers would still have the same pattern as before. This is a property known as “scale invariance”. Pinkham showed mathematically that Benford’s law is indeed scale‐invariant. Crucially, however, he also showed that Benford’s law is the only way to distribute digits that has this property. In other words, any “law” of digit frequency with pretensions of universality has no choice but to obey Benford’s law. And so, this law seems to have some common features with relativity! A. Let’s now make an experiment. It is not directly connected with the Benford’s law, but with the danger of trusting intuition. A complete description of it may be seen at: http://users.skynet.be/albert.frank/an_efficient_function.htm When one throws five dices, a sequence is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. The probability to get a sequence is given by 1/3 F(6 ; 5) = 5/162 (about .03), where the function F (b ; n) = b! / ( b – n )! Bn. It gives the probability of having no repetitions in n samples from a base of b alternarives. The experiment is to ask several people to throw 5 dice 300 times, and note their results. (Each throw is to be noted in ascending order. If there is a repetition, the repeated number will be noted twice or more (for example: 22556 would be the result from one throw of the five dice). In the tabulation each throw is to be separated by a coma. So we will have 300 5‐digits numbers. You also tell the people that they are allowed, if they so desire, to throw no dice and just write 300 random sequences of 5 digits (all the digits in the range 1 to 6). It will be easy to discriminate most of the people who effectively threw the dices and those who made what they thought to be random choices: In the first case there will be approximately 9 sequences, in the other case there will be much fewer (because they don’t want, in a random process, to write 12345 or 23456). 6
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B. The demonstration of Benford’s Law (and also for the distribution of the second digit) was done in 1996 by Professor Theodore Hill (School of Mathematics, Center for Applied Probability, Georgia Institute of Technology) in his article “A Statistical Derivation of the Significant‐Digit law”. The article may be seen at: www.math.gatech.edu/~hill/publications/cv.dir/stat‐der.pdf Another very complete article was written in 2004: “Discussion on Benford’s Law and its application”, by Li Zhipeng, Cong Lin and Wong Huajia: http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/math/pdf/0408/0408057.pdf Two others very valuable articles about Benford’s Law are: ‐ B. MANDELBROT. The fractal geometry of nature, Freeman, San Francisco, 1982. ‐ B. BUCK, A. MERCHANT & S .PEREZ. AN ILLUSTRATION OF Benfor’s first digit law using alpha decay half times in European Journal of Physics, n°14, pp.59‐63, 1993. APPLICATIONS OF BENFORD’S LAW A. First, let’s look at some things which can’t really be called applications, but are observations: In any big table of numerical measurements involving random aspects, the distribution of the first nonzero digit is very accurately described by Benford’s law. Before giving examples, I must add a note here: This law has nothing to do with roulette, because in casino’s games like roulette, we can’t say we have numbers per se, but merely symbols (in some Asian roulettes, there are no numbers but images, the “best” being a star). Some examples: The areas of the lakes in the word (expressed in square miles or in square kilometers), the half lives of radioactive elements, the values of a particular stock during a 500 day period, the number of citizens in all towns of a country, the number of kilowatts used by a country in one year, numbers appearing on front pages of newspapers, the physical constants, the numbers in statistical tables, Fibonacci series (they are not random, but still fit), … B. Tax fraud: The digital analysis technique has been adopted by the world’s leading auditing and consulting groups. Tax defrauders hoping to evade detection will find the job difficult, as the second digit obeys a similar though not identical distribution to the first. Benford’s law is used in several countries as a method for spotting fraudulent accounting data by looking at the first significant digit of each data entry and comparing the actual frequency of occurrence with the predicted frequency. 7
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C. Checking for mistakes in big tables, with financial data or nearly any numeric data. When I was working at the Work Accident Office in Belgium, I used it with the result that mistakes could be found about eight to ten times faster that it was before. D. Winning some bets. Even against a lot of mathematicians, it’s possible to win bet’s like “Let’s take a randomly chosen Fibonacci number: I bet it’s first digit will be 1, 2 or 3. Even though the odds of my winning would seem to be only one‐in‐three, I will give even odds.” MY CONTRIBUTION In work accidents, it is known worldwide (where Saturday and Sunday are days off from work) that there is a diminution every day, from Monday to Friday (we don’t take Saturday and Sunday into consideration). When I returned from Central Africa in 1996, I began working at the Belgian Office of work‐related accidents, this intrigued me. Officially, the fact that maximum occurrences were on Mondays was interpreted as individuals trying to declare weekend private accidents as work‐related accidents taking place on Monday. This makes sense, but does not to explain the diminution in the next days. I tried to understand this by an adaptation of Benford’s law. For data, I used the totality of the works accident in the private sector in Belgium in 1995 (about 200,000 accidents), and separately the accidents in the field of construction during the years 1993 and 1994 added together (about 60,000). After a lengthy derivation, I arrived at the formula (giving the Probability for the first digit to be n (in the range 1(=Monday) to 5(=Friday)), in which log is the logarithm in base 10: 3 + log log [(n+1)/n]
P(n) = −−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−
5
15 + Σ log log [(i+1)/i]
i=1
The table below shows the theoretical values (in percentages) obtained from this formula, the actual percentages of work‐related accidents in 1995, and work‐related accidents in construction for 1993 and 1994. 8
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This data has been plotted in the graph. Theoretical(%) Construc.93‐94(%) Accidents 95(%) Monday (1) 23,2 23,3 21,7 Tuesday (2) 21 21 21 Wednesday (3) 19,6 19,8 20,2 Thursday (4) 18,6 18,7 19,6 Friday (5) 17,7 17,2 17,5 For Tuesday, the three percentages are in complete agreement. For the other days of the week, the differences are quite small. However, the validity of this adapted law should probably be studied more deeply. Eleftherios Argyropoulos: A Living "Homo Universalis"
Papageorgiou G. Pantelis
In the film “Good Will Hunting” with Matt Damon, Will Hunting – a highly talented and gifted person has the ability to solve difficult mathematical problems with characteristic easiness. It seems that nowadays another Will Hunting exists among us. 9
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Born in Kalamata a small town in Greece on 1st of April 1967, Eleftherios Argyropoulos by his early high school years showed great interest in mathematics and physics. After his high school graduation he started his research in mathematics when in the year 1986, at the young age of 19, he designed and constructed three skateboard ramps using the equation of the circle (x – x’)^2 + (y – y’)^2 = r^2 for the YMCA of Kifissia (Athens, Greece). From 1986 to 1997 he discovered 525 proofs of the Pythagorean theorem and in the year 2002 he created three important papers in mathematics and one in physics. But his interests do not only include mathematics but also running, skateboarding – in which he holds a Guinness world record – and musical composition. He is currently researching in number theory (prime numbers), linear algebra and Euclidian and Analytic Geometry. As all of us know, in every right triangle of the Euclidian Plane, the square of its hypotenuse equals to the sum of the squares of the two vertical sides. This is known as Pythagorean theorem. Eleftherios has discovered 525 different proofs of the Pythagorean theorem over the time period 1986 – 1997! He stopped at the number 525 because: ΛΕΞΑΡΙΘΜΟΣ = 30 + 5 + 60 + 1 + 100 + 10 + 9 + 40 + 70 + 200 = 525 (LEXARITHM = 30 + 5 + 60 + 1 + 100 + 10 + 9 + 40 + 70 + 200 = 525) This is one of his two Guinness world records. The previous world record was 370 proofs by more than 100 mathematicians in a time period of 2500 years. Among the one hundred mathematicians are: Pythagoras, Euclid, Leonardo Da Vinci, the Indian Bhaskara and the former U.S. president Garfield. The mathematical work that gave him recognition of a high‐class mathematician was about Fermat’s Last Theorem. On 1637 the French mathematician Pierre de Fermat conjectured that Diophanting equation: xn + yn = zn has no solution in nonzero integers, when the exponent n (natural number) is greater or equal to 3. Eleutherios, six months before his graduation from his University achieved to prove Fermat’s Last Theorem for the case of the even exponents and also discovered a new mathematical formula on the evaluation of determinants of square matrices. On Napoleon’s Theorem, Eleutherios continued to surprise everyone. Napoleon, beyond his great strategic abilities, showed great interest for the Euclidian Geometry. He discovered the following theorem: Given any triangle on the Euclidian plane, if we construct equilateral triangles with sides the side lengths of the primary triangle, then by joining the vertices of each equilateral triangle, with the opposite vertex of the primary triangle, the three lines constructed concur. Eleutherios achieved to 10
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generalize the theorem of Napoleon in Euclidian Geometry, rediscovering the theorem of the German mathematician Kiepert by a totally different way. One of his current projects is about Physics. Eleftherios has great interest of creating an experimental antigravity device. He employs advanced physics and the lexarithmic theory in his experiments, hoping that he will find the principal cause of gravity and therefore constructing an antigravity device Since 1986 Eleftherios discovered that he has some special memory capabilities and since then he has memorized the first 1000 (!!!) decimals of π = 3,14... and moreover he memorized all the known perfect numbers and the digits of other mathematical constants. On 1997 under the supervision of Dr. Anastasios Stalikas he recited the first one thousand decimals of (π) at the Olympic stadium of Athens, which is a national record. His genius was also activated at the field of music composition. Eleftherios had his first contact with the keys of the piano at the age of 12. Although he believes that there is no electronic instrument, which can reproduce the actual frequency of the piano, eventually the instrument, which finally attracted his interest, became the synthesizer. After years of experiments on different keyboards, he composed many songs based in the use of Mathematics. In fact he is self‐taught composer and has the ability to compose new music while hearing new sounds. The ancient mathematician and philosopher Pythagoras of Samos used to hear the music of the celestial harmony of spheres. The universal power of music in which Eleftherios gives great emphasis is verified by the lexarithmic theory through the isopsephia: Η ΣΥΜΠΑΝΤΙΚΗ ΜΟΥΣΙΚΗ ΕΙΝΑΙ = Η ΑΡΜΟΝΙΑ ΣΦΑΙΡΩΝ = 1941 Translation: THE UNIVERSAL MUSIC IS = THE HARMONY OF THE SPHERES= 1941 His most remarkable mental achievements proving his genius rarity are concerning the Hellenic language for which he believes that its structure is clearly mathematical. After research work of 18 years, he wrote two revealing and revolutionary books on the mathematical structure of the Hellenic language. In these two books Eleftherios uses the lexarithmic theory in order to verify the proofs of mathematics and physics theorems and also to extract mathematical constants. One of the greatest indications that Hellenic language has mathematical structure is the lexarithmic extraction of π=3,14. Moreover he has discovered the Lexarithmic extractions of the golden number φ = 1,618, and the base of natural logarithms e = 2,718. 11
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•
π = (ΜΗΚΟΣ ΠΕΡΙΦΕΡΕΙΑΣ ΚΥΚΛΟΥ)/(ΔΙΑΜΕΤΡΟΣ) = (338 + 1016 + 940) / 730 = 3,14... which means π = (length of the circumference)/(diameter)= (338 + 1016 + 940) / 730 = 3,14... In one of his books, Eleftherios analyzes the phenomenon of the Ascension of Jesus Christ, and exposes a theory according to which the material body of Christ had been transformed into high energy photons (gamma photons – γ φωτόνια). The Lexarithmic Theory supports his assertion by the equity: • ΕΣΤΙΝ Γ΄ ΦΩΤΟΝΙΟΝ = ΙΗΣΟΥΣ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ = 2368 (GAMMA PHOTONS = JESUS CHRIST = 2368) Eleftherios strongly believes that Hellenic language has some kind of predictability of the future events. Also, past events can be verified through the lexarithmic theory. • ΝΕΡΩΝ = ΙΔΙΑΝ ΜΗΤΕΡΑ ΑΠΕΚΤΕΙΝΕ = 1005 (NERON = KILLED HIS MOTHER = 1005) •
Φ = (
+1)/2 = 1,61... Through the lexarithms in ancient Greek language we have: Φ = (Ο ΠΕΝΤΕΠΟΔΟΣ + ΕΝ)/(Η ΔΥΑΣ) = (70+864+55)/(8+605) = 989/613 = 1,61...!!! Which means: Φ = (Square root of five + one) / (two) = (70+864+55)/(8+605) = 989/613 = 1,61... In his work about the proofs for the mathematical construction of the Hellenic language, Eleftherios presented the correspondence between letters and numbers of the Hellenic Alphabet. He showed the lexarithmic verification of some mathematical and physical theorems. Ηe also proved that the Hellenic language “knows” the process of creation and the geometry of the construction of the human being. Moreover, Eleftherios showed for the first time worldwide the lexarithmic extractions of “pi”, “phi” and “e” the base of natural logarithms. He worked on the lexarithmic extraction of all powers of pi and phi with exponents ranging from ‐1 to 6. He gave for the first time the definition of the lexarithmic rules for any isopsephia 12
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between words, phrases and logical sentences. For this reason, he presented a lexarithmic confirmation of the fact that the Hellenic language knows the laws of nuclear physics and quantum mechanics using lexarithmic examples and examining the possibility of the predictability of the Hellenic language. Eleftherios Argyropoulos. An authentic and complete genius inspired by mathematics and inspirer of us. T h e F ood A r r ow
Muhamed Veletanlic
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¿Fisica Antropica?
prometeus1
Empiezo por el final, Conoces el principio antrópico, básicamente lo que nos viene a decir es que el fin último de la evolución del universo es la germinacíon y culminación del mismo, encarnando la materia en nosotros, el ser humano, es decir, el fín último del universo es la propia existencia del hombre. Haciendo una derivación de ese concepto, que por otro lado no comparto, al menos en su esencia, si es cierto que parcialmente nos puede plantear un dilema que en su desarrollo, puede alcanzar el nivel de paradoja. Partamos del hecho que la concepción por parte del ser humano sobre la materia y el propio universo procede de la “percepción” a trávés de los sentidos, tacto,olfato,paladar,oido y vista. De ahí y de ningún otro lugar nos viene nuestra propia autopercepción y la observación de nuestro entorno.Ahora, hagamos un pequeño ejercició reduccionista y cerremos uno a uno nuestros sentidos,....., no olemos, no sentimos, no paladeamos, no oimos, no vemos. Aunque aparantemente sencillo, es extremadamente complejo, ya que no ha existido ningún ser humano que haya tenido esas no‐características, pero aún así, tratemos de llegar lo mas lejos en ese ejercicio que podamos...., bien, partiendo del hecho de que nuestra mente, tiene unos exquemas‐
base sobre los que fundamenta su funcionamiento, se nos plante la primera pregunta: ¿Que puede pensar desde el instante 0.00000001 de mi creación sin tener activo ninguno de los sentidos?, probablemetne la respuesta no la conozca nadie, pero hagamos un esfuerzo, tengo una visión que percibe el color, las distancias, las formas, y todo lo que me rodea, mi sentido del oido me transmite inforamción de todo lo audible y tambien de lo no audible,...y así con el resto de nuestros sentidos. Desde nuestra concepción sensitiva de la inteligencia nos proveemos de sistemas de medición,calculo...etc que nos aportan sistemas de comportamiento de todo lo que nos rodea y a partir de esa multiconcepción sensitiva formamos nuestros modelos cognitivos a traves de la observación, analisis, reflexión, sintesis y conclúsión. Elevando un nivel todo lo anterior, llegamos a crear modelos científicos que nos aportan información de “como” funciona aquello que nos rodea, y un paso más alla, llegamos a la creacíon de una ciencia, que comprende el conjunto del estudio del universo, La Física. Siguiendo el guion de lo arriba expuesto, la pregunta abierta es: ¿Es la Física una ciencia antrópica del Universo y hemos adaptado los modelos cognitivos‐perceptivos creados por el hombre para tener modelos predictivos en base a nuestras propias capacidades perceptivas, o, Las Leyes inmutables del Universo se 14
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somenten a modelos de percepción de si mismos y por lo tanto son modelos variables que dependen únicamente de las herramientas que los observen?
Hotel Rwanda Movie Review
Robert Brizel
Sophie Okonedo and Don Cheadle Rock Shock The Box Office In a span of hundred days in the 1990s, over a million native Hutus and Tutsis died in the country of Rwanda after a plane crash in April 1994 killed presidents of two countries involved in ending ethnic conflict. President Juvenal Habyarimana of Rwanda and President Cyprien Ntaryamira both died flying into Kigali Airport (Rwanda’s capital city) from an international conference in Arusha, Tanzania. Hutu hardliners were blamed for firing rockets at the presidential plane, believed to have attempted to stop Habyarimana from negotiating with RPF Tutsi rebels for a stake in the government and the return of hundreds of thousands of Tutsi refugees. But the version heralded by RPF leader and new Rwandan Vice‐president Paul Kagame was countered by Hutu exiles, who claimed the RPF fired rockets at the presidential plane to seize governmental power directly in the aftermath that followed, rather than follow through with a power‐sharing agreement. Located dead center in the African continent, Rwanda was a country in turmoil that the rest of the modern world cared nothing about. It was as if it was deemed okay when the Rwandans killed each other, as long as the rest of the world didn’t have to deal with it. 15
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Winner of many film festival awards, and a Golden Globe nominee for best picture and best actor Don Chedtle, Hotel Rwanda tells the story of a hotel manager who acts to save the lives of over a thousands refugees at the hotel he manages when the Hutu‐Tutsi conflict quickly goes from insanity to genocide. Cheadle portrays Paul Rusesabagina, manager of the luxurious Belgian hotel Des Mille Collines. Going back to Belgian colonialism, the Belgians in Rwanda divided the population by ethnic label: the whiter, paler skin taller individuals with thinner noses were Tutsi, while the darker others were labeled Hutu. Cheadle’s character is a Hutu, while his wife Tatiana (Sophie Okonedo) is a Tutsi. Cheadle bargains with the local Hutu military to protect the lives of the refugees his hotel is harboring. Armed United Nations soldiers, led by a Canadian Colonel Oliver (Nick Nolte) are also camped at the hotel to protect guests, adding to the suspense and intrigue. As supplies dwindle and conflict grows closer, who will survive the situation? Photos Courtesy MGM/United Artists Scenes from Hotel Rwanda Nick Nolte and Don Cheadle Hotel Rwanda debuted at the box office briefly in December 2004 and is now out on DVD. I highly recommend watching it. It deals with a part of history, like the Khmer Rouge, which American children in my generation never learned about. Indeed, from Eastern Europe to Rwanda, much genocide has taken place in the current era, and it must be understood for mankind to learn from its mistakes and move on. Sadly, it repeated in Rwanda. This film is a testament to the decent people who died in a tragic civil war. 16
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R ed hea d
Rahul Horé
ACROSS
DOWN
1 Dirty dozens?
6 Yo’ momma’s man
11 Time on the Prime
Mer.
14 Circe’s isle
15 Blood and tears
go-between
16 Kanga’s kid
17 US military
decoration
19 Asian antecedent
20 Pound’s Altaforte,
and the like
21 Jacket parts where
pins may go
23 Plenty, poetically
24 “Impossible!”
25 Went the distance
28 One little piggy’s
destination
29 Bush or Kerry, e.g.
30 It’s dressed and
tossed
32 Sikh sir, sometimes
35 Word with “flower”
that mayd describe a
shrinking violet
1
37 Spock’s skill
39 Dressed for a
birthday
party?
40 Prima donnas
42 Hebrew holy book
44 John, Paul, et al.
45 Texas town
47 It’s covered with a
wet blanket
49 Flower petals,
collectively
51 Six pence?
52 P or w, to a linguist
53 This crossword, e.g.
57 Dead __ doorknob
58 Coward
60 The “Nature Boy,”
to Arn
61 Great Sphinx
setting
62 Liqueur flavoring
63 Good way to get
an answer
64 Thickheaded
65 Grafenberg’s
“pleasant discovery”
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
18
22
24
25
They’re found in
unfinished
crossword puzzles
Remorse, in Ruhr
They fit into locks
The wonders of
the
world, e.g.
Salty solutions
Exclamation of
contempt
Is in the red
Royal pain, for a
particular
princess
Word with funeral
or ice cream
Is on the offensive
A good gardener
has one
Shape
Sculpture piece,
often
An empty tree, to
a programmer
with a passion
for botany
Greek hymn
Zenith opposite
Synonym of 1
Across,
in a way
Have comments? Just want to check your answers?
Please feel free to contact Rahul at [email protected]
17
26 Jai __
27 Type of gorilla
28 Myopic cartoon
character, with
“Mr.”
31 Oodles o’
33 Brainstorm, to
Brigitte
34 One might do this
to the rules
36 Translation of 42
Across, en français
38 Loony nut?
41 Like an army
reject’s
feet, perhaps
43 Car safety device
for next of kin?
46 State without
proof
48 Foreigners
49 Ms. Barton
50 Sahara stopover
51 Did in ye olde
dragon
53 Mont Blanc’s
range
54 Trim a toenail
55 __ Sprach
Zarathustra
56 No, to Nabokov
59 Oxota authoress
Hejinia
‐
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Chess and Aptitudes − Summary
Albert Frank
I very briefly introduce you herewith to an experiment performed… 30 years ago. Very often we hear such wordings as « You need to be intelligent to play chess », « Chess fosters intelligence », … All this is too vague… In 1973, in co‐operation with the Psychology Department of the “Université Nationale du Zaïre” at Kisangani, I undertook an experiment so as to clarify matters. It should first be noticed that almost everywhere there is a FACULTATIVE teaching of Chess in primary and secondary schools. A result of this « facultative » feature is that it is extremely difficult to produce unbiased statistical studies. In a first stage, I received from the Government of Zaire permission to REPLACE, during a year, in three classes of the fourth year (I take the current Belgian denomination) in a major secondary school of Kisangani, two out of seven hours of mathematics a week by two hours of chess teaching. The six classes of the fourth year in this institution, each 30 students, were divided into two groups : 3 classes in the « experimental » A‐group ; 3 others in the « control » B‐group. I was able to administer the following tests : ‐ the Belgian version of the G.A.T.B. (« General Aptitude Test Battery ») ‐ the P.M.A. (« Primary mental abilities » by Thurstone) ‐ the D.A.T. (« Differential Aptitude Test » by Bennet, Seashore and Wesman ) ‐ the D2 (Brieckenkamp) ‐ the Rorschach. Some preliminary remarks should be made before going over to the description of the experiment : ‐ Knowing in which measure the used tests were culturally adapted to the tested persons is not absolutely fundamental, since the aim was to compare groups A and B. ‐ NO student of both groups had ever heard about chess, which is very useful to eliminate parasites. 18
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‐ Ideally, there should have been a third group with another learning … but you can’t have it all ! ‐ The seven weekly teaching hours (mathematics + chess for the A‐group, mathematics only for the B‐group) were given by Frenchspeaking teachers – in casu, two Belgian teachers for mathematics and myself for chess. Experiment phases : 1. At the beginning of the year, all students (A and B groups) were administered the various tests. Both groups scored analogously. 2. Whereas group B is normally taught mathematics (7 hours a week), group A is given the same programme in five hours a week and receives two hours of chess (Wednesday 11‐12 a.m. and Saturday 7‐8 a.m.). Chess lessons, as with others lectures, also contain tests and exams counting for a coefficient of 2/7 of mathematics (mathematics counting for 5/7 of the total coefficient). 3. At the end of the year, all students of both groups were given the various tests again. The students of the experimental groups furthermore took an exam to test the chess level reached. The items of this exam were mostly written by Doctor Max EUWE, former chess world champion and chairman of the F.I.D.E. (« Fédération internationale du Jeu d’Echecs). The « verdict » is brought in : among tested aptitudes, two show significant differences in favour of the experimental group : the arithmetical aptitude, with a threshold of .O5 and “verbal logic “ (most often measured by the identification of synonyms or antonyms) with a threshold of .O1. These original findings answered the questions raised before the experimentation. But why verbal logic ? … There is still no answer. ‐ The experiment also enabled us to answer questions with a view to delineating, taking the results of the aptitude test into account, the ability to enhance chess performance… but this is beyond the scope of this summary. 4. The students of both groups received special attention till the end of their secondary studies, i.e. two years after the end of the experiment. The students of the experimental group obtained significantly better results, foremost in mathematics and French. 19
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The complete study is given in the book « CHESS AND APTITUDES », Albert Frank, American Chess Foundation, December 1978. A technical summary (in French) has been published under the title « Aptitudes et apprentissage du jeu d’échecs au Zaïre » in the magazine “Psychopathologie Africaine” , 1979, XV, 1, 81‐98.
Chess and Nightmare
Albert Frank
It is not rare that the computers reveal, in the analysis, an idea to which practically no player would have thought. The example presented here has been played in September 2001. The respective ELO of the whites and blacks are 2520 and 2120. White (to play) : Kb1, Qh5, Rd1, Rh2, Ng6, a2, b3, e4, h4 Black : Kg7, Qf6, Rf7, Bd7, Ng8, a7, b5, d3, d4, d6, h6 Whites played Rg1, and blacks resigned : They have the exchange less, their passed pawns d3 and d4 are not sustained, the white position SEEMS not to present any serious weakness, and the black king is in a difficult position. What “ thinks “ FRITZ 6 ? It gives instantaneously a decisive advantage for blacks ! Indeed, the white queen is lost ! : 1.Qf1 +!! 2. Rxf1 Rxf1 + 3. Kb2 Nf6! And blacks win. This continuation, of course, don’t present any complicated calculation and will be found by any good chess program . But a human being, in the context of the position, won’t think at it. 20
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The Song and the Scream
I have a song inside, I have a scream. The song borrows hope from the sunlight stippling the trees, the branches heavy with huge ripe apples, the scream worships the Khazars’ varieties of darkness, the shadow play of memory. I have a song inside, I have a scream. The song sings of the Six Harmonies in Hang Chow, of plains unribboning into unfaltering light, the scream tries some bon‐mots, pays homage to the intractable mind, bullied into disbelief. I have a song inside, I have a scream. The song rejoices in the infinite jest of life, finding infrequent meanings in commonplaces, the scream laments the spoils of time, unable to surpass the known world’s rim. I have a song inside, I have a scream. Maria Claudia Faverio
21
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Autumn Scene
(pencil on smooth paper)
Maria Claudia Faverio
22
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T he Ea g l e
Muhamed Veletanlic
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From Lesenne to Meyers−Briggs
Albert Frank
One could ask about the applicability of the Meyers‐Briggs Scale to the HiQ Community. Humans try to categorize, probably because it looks scientific. It’s easy to categorize someone into a 4 letters category. Nothing really new in the Meyers‐Briggs. In the characterology of Le Senne (René Le Senne, 1882 – 1954, French philosopher, Professor at La Sorbonne from 1929 to 1931 and from 1942 to 1952), there where three characteristics: emotive / cold; active / inactive; primary / secondary (I’m not sure about the English terms – in French: primaire / secondaire ); categorizing the human being into 8 classes. Some added introversion / extroversion, and now again 16 classes. This seems to me brutal, without subtlety (of course, sub‐category where added, giving a more scientific‐looking aspect). Also the controversial Szondi theory leads to categories (in a much more subtle way). First of all, I would suggest scales (1 to 5 or 1 to 7). Example: 1= totally extroverted 7= totally introverted. Anyway, for very high IQ, Meyers‐Briggs shows nearly nothing (very few differences). About dimensions or specific statements that could be found among very high IQ subjects (and probably not – but who knows? – among others), I would suggest to try to check: ‐ The ability (or the reflex) to “think” with concepts (abstracts??) and not with words. I mean with that to try to check if someone first create for himself a clear “image” of something, with which he may think, and only after, if needed for communication, convert it into words. ‐ The ability for someone to conceive a problem, with *total* abstraction of himself. ‐ The reflex to create often associations: as example: you work on a definite subject. It push you to think also at something else which is, in a certain way, in association with the first subject. This can be direct or indirect. Example: “The temperature of the 24
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earth is in augmentation”. Direct association: The minimum of Maunder: from 1645 to 1715, the temperature was going down. Indirect association: The solar tasks. ‐ The reflex of, automatically, when a problem arises, to look if there exist an uncommon way to try to solve it. Die Zeit bei Borges − seventh and last part
Maria Claudia Faverio
3.4.2.4. Borges und die Geschichte
Die Zeit geht, sagst du? O nein! Ach, die Zeit, sie bleibt, wir gehen.1 AUSTIN DOKSON m auf Borgesʹ Auffassung der Geschichte näher einzugehen, scheint wieder notwendig zu sein, sich auf Eliade zu berufen, weil er sich ausführlich mit den Folgen des Mythos der ewigen Wiederkehr auch für die Geschichte befasst, obwohl der Aspekt der ewigen Wiederkehr bei Borges selbstverständlich nur eine Möglichkeit unter vielen ‐ wenn auch wahrscheinlich die wichtigste ‐ zur Widerlegung der Geschichte darstellt. In seiner Darstellung legt Eliade den Akzent auf das ʺGroße Jahrʺ, d.h. auf die kosmischen Zyklen, und unterscheidet zwischen den ʺprimitivenʺ Kulturen, die an eine zyklische Zeit glauben, die sich ad infinitum periodisch regeneriert, und der modernen Gesellschaft, für welche die Zeit ein Ende hat und (obwohl auch sie zyklisch aufgefasst wird) nur als Fragment zwischen zwei zeitlosen Unendlichkeiten ausgespannt ist.2 In beiden Doktrinen ist das am Anfang des Zyklus (im ʺillud tempusʺ) stehende ʺGoldene Zeitalterʺ aber wieder erreichbar, also wiederholbar (unendlich oft für die erste, ein einziges Mal für die zweite). Dadurch findet alles Leiden in der Geschichte Rechtfertigung, weil es nur als Phase begriffen wird, welche die Menschheit durchmachen muss, um wieder zum Glück zu gelangen. Borges, dessen Hauptanliegen in der Widerlegung der Zeit besteht, fühlt sich von dieser Möglichkeit, die geschichtliche Zeit bzw. die Geschichte im traditionellen Sinn, ʺdie niedrigste aller geistigen Disziplinenʺ3, zu leugnen und sie gleichsam in ʺMetageschichteʺ zu verwandeln, in eine Entität also, die außerhalb der strikten Grenzen der linearen Zeit liegt, stark angetan. Borges glaubt, dass ʺla historia se U 1
Zitiert in: Sri Chinmoy, op. cit., S.164
Vgl. Eliade, M., op. cit., S.163ff
3
Vgl. Schaefer, A., op. cit., S.74.
2
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repite como una farsaʺ4, dass die Geschichte, wie sie in Büchern steht, nur eine weitere ʺErfindungʺ der Menschen, nichts mehr als ein ʺGlaubensaktʺ5 oder ʺdie Befriedigung der berechtigten Rachegelüste eines jeden Volksʺ6 sei. Daten sind für ihn unwichtig. Es ist z.B. irrelevant, in welchem Jahr Buenos Aires gegründet wurde. Nur die ʺfundación míticaʺ seiner Heimatstadt ist für ihn von Bedeutung. Auf der anderen Seite dürfen wir aber nicht vergessen, dass in vielen insbesondere in den 50er Jahren in der Zeitschrift ʺEl Surʺ veröffentlichten Artikeln und auch in vielen Gedichten der Geschichte ein hoher Wert beigemessen wird, wie schon sehr früh erkennbar ist, denken wir doch an ʺInscripción en cualquier sepulcroʺ zurück oder an die Leidenschaft, mit der Borges seinen eigenen Vorfahren huldigt, ja soll die Zirkularität der Zeit in diesem Fall die Geschichte nicht aufheben, sondern verewigen, zur ewigen, glorreichen Gegenwart und zum Epos emporheben, denn die Großen der Geschichte ʺperpetúan en su sucesor, a veces oscuramente, ʹsus hábitos, rigores y temoresʹ ʺ7. Borgesʹ Heimatliebe ist in seiner ersten Produktion noch so groß, dass er die damals noch als wichtig betrachtete Geschichte als ʺPrivilegʺ seines Landes bzw. Lateinamerikas und der ʺneuen Kontinenteʺ im allgemeinen ansieht. So kann ein Großvater Borgesʹ 1870 den Kampf gegen die Indios mit dem Geist weiterführen, mit dem schon im 16. Jahrhundert gegen die Indios gekämpft worden war: Yo afirmo ‐ sin remilgado temor ni novelero amor de la paradoja ‐ que solamente los países nuevos tienen pasado; es decir, recuerdo autobiográfico de él; es decir, tienen historia viva. Si el tiempo es sucesión, debemos reconocer que donde densidad mayor hay de hechos, más tiempo corre y que el más caudaloso es el de este inconsecuente lado del mundo. La conquista y colonización de estos reinos. . . fueron 4
Zitiert in: Barth, J., op. cit., S.178
Gemeinsame Werke, Bd. II, S.81
6
Ibid., S.82f
Der französische Ethnologe Lévi-Strauss, den Borges sehr gut gekannt hat, behauptet in seinem Werk Das wilde
Denken (1962), dass die Geschichtswissenschaft nutzlos sei, weil sie nicht die Realität, sondern nur Meinungen
widerspiegle bzw. eine großenteils willkürliche Selektion darstelle. (Vgl. Alazraki, J., Tlön y Asterión: metáforas
epistemológicas. In: Alazraki, J., El escritor y la crítica, op. cit., S.187ff)
Borges selbst präzisiert in einem kurzen Artikel aus dem Jahr 1957, Un curioso método (Vgl. CHA Nr. 537,
März 1995, S.33), dass sich die Geschichte auf zwei Methoden stütze: den freien Willen des Menschen (eine
Methode, die mit sich bringt, dass dieser freie Wille beurteilt werden müsse) und den Determinismus, der die
ganze Geschichte als bis ins kleinste Detail vorbestimmt ansieht. An sich sind alle Geschichtstheorien gleich
berechtigt, im Hinblick auf die Wirklichkeit sind sie aber alle gleich hinfällig, weil niemand weiß, wie die Welt
aufgebaut sei. Was aber für Borges wirklich verurteilt werden soll (und was ihn zugleich Lévi-Strauss annähert),
ist die Tatsache, dass die Geschichtswissenschaftler ihrerseits beide Methoden je nach ihrem Nützen
abwechselnd anwenden, denn dies impliziert selbstverständlich, dass die Geschichte einen Betrug darstellt.
Die Geschichte sei viel "schamhafter" als wir normalerweise glauben, schreibt Borges später in El pudor de la
historia (aus Otras Inquisiciones): "[...] la verdadera historia, es más pudorosa y [...] sus fechas esenciales
pueden ser, asimismo, durante largo tiempo, secretas. [...] Tácito no percibió la Crucifixión, aunque la registrara
su libro." (OC, S.754)
7
Yurkievich, Saúl, Borges, poeta circular. In: Flores, A., op. cit., S.83
5
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tan efímera operación que un abuelo mío, en 1870, pudo comandar la última batalla de importancia contra los indios, realizando después de la mitad del siglo diecinueve obra conquistadora del dieciséis.8 Und so identifiziert sich Borges in seiner Begeisterung für den Kampf gegen Perón mit seinen Vorfahren, die gegen Rosas gekämpft haben, und die ʺépicas lluvias de setiembreʺ verleihen der Geschichte den Glanz der Unsterblichkeit, weil das Argentinien Rosasʹ und das Argentinien Peróns im Mythus der ewigen Wiederkehr zusammenfallen. Noch viel später (in ʺDiálogo de muertosʺ aus ʺEl hacedorʺ) unterhält sich Quiroga, ein skrupelloser Gouverneur, mit seinem mutmaßlichen Mörder, dem argentinischen Diktator Rosas, der zum Schluss behauptet: ʺSerá que no estoy hecho a estar muerto, pero estos lugares y esta discusión me parecen un sueño, y no un sueño soñado por mí sino por otro, que está por nacer todavíaʺ9. Damit erscheint die Geschichte auf der einen Seite als Traum im idealistischen Sinn, und auf der anderen nimmt Rosas den nächsten Zyklus vorweg, in dem sich das ganze Gespräch wiederholen wird, und besiegt den Tod und die Misere der sukzessiven Zeit, der einzigen, in der unser Ende unwiderruflich ist. So sehr sich Borges aber auch immer wieder wünscht, den Sieg über die sukzessive Zeit davonzutragen, im Tiefsten seines Seins ist er sich allzu gut bewusst, dass dieser Sieg nur kurzer Dauer sein kann und dass am Ende die sukzessive Zeit triumphieren wird. ʺAfirmar que todo hombre se ha bañado en el / Gangesʺ10 hat sich allmählich als unwahr erwiesen. Deswegen kann Borges am Ende seines metaphysischen Abenteuers nur zum Fluss des Heraklit zurückkehren, dem Fluss, in den man nicht zweimal an derselben Stelle hinabsteigen kann. 8
Vgl. OC, S.107
Ibid., S.792
10
Ibid., S.869
9
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3.4.3. Neue Widerlegung der Widerlegung der Zeit: Borges' Rückkehr zum Fluss
des Heraklit
Quanto più mʹavvicino al giorno estremo che lʹumana miseria sul farbreve, più veggio il tempo andar veloce e leve, e ʹl mio di lui sperar fallace e scemo. F. PETRARCA, ʺIl Canzoniereʺ11 ie in der Einleitung über die Beziehung zwischen Borges und Heraklit vorweggenommen12 sollen in diesem Abschnitt die Gedichte ab der ʺNueva refutación del tiempoʺ analysiert werden, die den berühmten Schluss der ʺNueva refutaciónʺ bestätigen bzw. poetisch ausgestalten. Schon in der ersten Gedichtsammlung nach der ʺNueva refutaciónʺ, ʺEl hacedorʺ aus dem Jahr 1960, wird diese neue Resignation deutlich13. Denken wir beispielsweise an ʺMutacionesʺ, wo Borges zum Schluss kommt, dass alle Dinge im Laufe der Zeit verändert oder gar zerstört werden, und dass niemand wissen kann, wie die Zeit ihn selbst verändern wird. Im Laufe der Zeit haben sich z.B. drei früher bedeutungsschwere Gegenstände ‐ ein Pfeil, ein Lasso und ein runisches Kreuz ‐ in reine Symbole verwandelt, von deren ehemaligem Wert sich noch kaum jemand bewusst ist. Noch trauriger sind aber die letzten Zeilen von ʺAdroguéʺ, in denen Borges die Niederlage bedauert, die er im Kampf gegen die Zeit erlitten hat, obwohl er wie in der ʺNueva refutación del tiempoʺ zugleich spürt, dass er eins mit der Zeit, seinem schlimmsten Feind, ist: W ¿Cómo pude perder aquel preciso Orden de humildes y queridas cosas, Inaccesibles hoy como las rosas Que dio al primer Adán el Paraíso? El antiguo estupor de la elegía Me abruma cuando pienso en esa casa Y no comprendo cómo el tiempo pasa, Yo, que soy tiempo y sangre y agonía. 11
Zitiert in: Blanco-González, M, op. cit.,. S.13
Siehe S.82 der vorliegenden Arbeit
13
Borges selbst hat behauptet: "La ya avanzada edad me ha enseñado la resignación de ser Borges". (OC, S.1022)
12
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Den einzigen Trost in dieser öden Landschaft bietet die Kunst14, die symbolisch alles verewigt, was sie besingt: ʺel verso [...] es la única memoriaʺ15, schreibt Borges in ʺEspadasʺ (aus ʺEl oro de los tigresʺ) und etwa fünfzehn Jahre später in ʺLa rosa profundaʺ, weil der Vers ʺincorruptibleʺ ist.16 Meisterhaft kommt dieser Gedanke in vielen anderen Gedichten, insbesondere in ʺArte poéticaʺ (aus ʺEl hacedorʺ) zum Ausdruck, einem Gedicht, das aufgrund der symmetrischen Struktur seiner Vierzeiler (der erste Vers endet mit dem gleichen Wort wie der vierte, der zweite mit dem gleichen Wort wie der dritte), die auf die Unvergänglichkeit der ewig wiederkehrenden Kunst hinweisen soll, selber zum Kunstwerk wird: Mirar el río hecho de tiempo y agua Y recordar que el tiempo es otro río, Saber que nos perdemos como el río Y que los rostros pasan como el agua. Ver en el día o en el año un símbolo De los días del hombre y de sus años, Convertir el ultraje de los años En una música, un rumor y un símbolo, Ver en la muerte el sueño, en el ocaso Un triste oro, tal es la poesía Que es inmortal y pobre. La poesía Vuelve como la aurora y el ocaso. [...] Cuentan que Ulises, harto de prodigios, Lloró de amor al divisar su Ítaca Verde y humilde. El arte es esa Ítaca De verde eternidad, no de prodigios. También es como el río interminable Que pasa y queda y es cristal de un mismo Heráclito inconstante, que es el mismo Y es otro, como el río interminable.17 Die zerstörerische Kraft der Zeit kommt auch in ʺEl otro, el mismoʺ (1964) in verschiedenen Gedichten zum Ausdruck. Eines der wichtigsten Beispiele dafür ist der schon genannte ʺInsomnioʺ, wo sowohl die Weltgeschichte als auch der Alltag 14
Borges schreibt: "[El] placer que da la contemplación de la felicidad y de la amistad [...] quizás no menos raro
en las letras que en este mundo corporal de nuestros destinos, es en mi opinión la virtud central del poema" (OC,
S.187). Und: "Para un verdadero poeta, cada momento de la vida, cada hecho, debería ser poético, ya que
profundamente lo es" (Ibid., S.1081), denn "los poetas son amanuenses de un dios, que los anima [...] como el
imán anima a una serie de anillos de hierro." (Ibid., S.273)
15
OC, S.1085 und La rosa profunda, op. cit., S.45. Auch schon in Inquisiciones hatte er geschrieben: "Aunque
las apariencias caduquen y se transformen como la luna, siempre perdurará una esencia poética". (I, S. 20)
16
Vgl. Besitz des Gestern, op. cit., S.48
17
OC, S.843
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und die Astronomie ‐ grundsätzlich also das ganze Universum ‐ in ihrem irreversiblen Lauf als Schreckgespenster dargestellt werden, gegen die Borges ‐ ʺ[...] aborrecible centinela de esas colocaciones inmóvilesʺ18 ‐ absolut hilflos ist: ʺSigue la historia universal: / los rumbos minuciosos de la muerte en las caries dentales, / la circulación de mi sangre y de los planetasʺ19. In ʺPoema del cuarto elementoʺ stellt der Fluss keine Metapher für die Zeit mehr dar, sondern umgekehrt: ʺY el tiempo irreversible que nos hiere y que huye, / Agua, no es otra cosa que una de tus metáforas.ʺ20 Im ganzen Gedicht wird das Wasser (die Zeit oder der wandlungsfähige Proteus) als nutzbringend und zerstörerisch zugleich besungen, was sich in der Strophe zusammenfassen lässt: Fue, en las cosmogonías, el origen secreto De la tierra que nutre, del fuego que devora, De los dioses que rigen el poniente y la aurora. (Así lo afirman Séneca y Tales de Mileto.)21 Aus dieser widersprüchlichen Auffassung ergibt sich auch die Möglichkeit, vom Fluss, der alles unterschiedslos mitreißt, im letzten Augenblick, im Augenblick, in dem der Fluss des Lebens ins Meer des Ungewissen mündet, auch Trost zu bekommen: Agua, te lo suplico. Por este soñoliento Enlace de numéricas palabras que te digo, Acuérdate de Borges, tu nadador, tu amigo. No faltes a mis labios en el postrer momento.22 Ein weiteres grundlegendes Beispiel aus ʺEl otro, el mismoʺ stellt ʺLímitesʺ dar, wo nicht nur die Unumstößlichkeit der Zeit im Mittelpunkt steht23, sondern auch deren Folgen, nämlich die unwiderrufliche Trennung von den Personen und Dingen, die man liebt ‐ ein Gedanke, der ʺDespedidaʺ und ʺUna despedidaʺ in Erinnerung ruft: De estas calles que ahondan el poniente, Una habrá (no sé cuál) que he recorrido Ya por última vez, indiferente Y sin adivinarlo, sometido 18
Ibid., S.859
Ibid.
20
Ibid., S.869
21
Ibid.
22
Ibid., S.870
23
Bezeichnend dafür sind beispielsweise Ausdrücke wie "última vez", "término", "nunca más", "olvido",
"despedido", "la noche cesa", "no leeremos nunca", "gastado", "para siempre", "se ha perdido irreparablemente",
"no volverá", "multitudes que se alejan". Dennoch ist die Wortkargheit der letzten Zeile der Version aus dem
Jahr 1946 ("La muerte me desgasta, incesante"`, OC, S.849) in dieser Version aus dem Jahr 1958 einer fast
romantischen Sehnsucht gewichen, in der Borges' traurige, stoische Resignation deutlicher spürbar ist.
19
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A Quién prefija omnipotentes normas Y una secreta y rígida medida A las sombras, los sueños y las formas Que destejen y tejen esta vida. Si para todo hay término y hay tasa Y última vez y nunca más y olvido ¿Quién nos dirá de quién, en esta casa, Sin saberlo, nos hemos despedido? [...] Creo en el alba oír un atareado Rumor de multitudes que se alejan; Son los que me han querido y olvidado; Espacio y tiempo y Borges ya me dejan.24 Der Tod lauert ständig auf uns (ʺTe espera el mármol /que no leerásʺ25), aber wir erkennen ihn nicht, so dass wir viele Möglichkeiten (z.B. die Lektüre eines interessanten Buches) nicht wahrnehmen und ʺindiferentes y sin adivinarloʺ26 dahinleben . Der Tod ist unser unausweichliches Schicksal, unsere genauso wenig wie die Vergangenheit veränderliche Zukunft. Nicht nur für Francisco Laprida, sondern für alles gibt es unvermeidlich eine ʺtarde últimaʺ27, ʺarrabales últimosʺ28, ʺel último solʺ29, ʺel términoʺ30. Auf der anderen Seite aber enthält gerade der Tod den Schlüssel zur Selbstfindung, offenbart dem Menschen sein wahres Schicksal und befreit ihn vom ʺlaberinto múltipleʺ, das er selbst in dieser chaotischen Welt baut. Das ist und bleibt unsere größte Hoffnung. Borges hat langsam erkennen müssen, dass ʺlos años nos gastanʺ31, daß ʺ[lo] que era todo tiene que ser nadaʺ32, er hat verstanden, welches Gesetz unser Leben regiert: ʺ[...] el horrendo / Dictamen de que todo es del gusanoʺ33. ʺArquetiposʺ und ʺEsplendoresʺ34 befinden sich jetzt ʺdel otro lado del ocasoʺ35, sie dringen nicht mehr in unsere profane Welt ein, um sie in einen Ort des harmonischen Einsseins zu verwandeln. Sie sind zwar die ʺperfecta forma que supo Dios desde el principioʺ36, aber diese perfekte Form bleibt auf der Erde unzugänglich. 24
OC, S.880
Ibid., S.924
26
Ibid., S.879
27
Ibid., S.867
28
Ibid.
29
Obra poética, S.296
30
OC, S.867
31
Vgl. OC, S.874
32
Ibid., S.920
33
Ibid., S.928. Hier weicht die Resignation offensichtlich wieder der Verzweiflung.
34
Ibid., S.881
35
Ibid., S.927
36
Ibid., S.868
25
31
Chiaroscuro − The Journal of VINCI and ISI−S
#9, September 2005
ʺElogio de la sombraʺ (1969) enthält ʺHeráclitoʺ, ein für Borgesʹ Auffassung der sukzessiven Zeit grundlegendes Gedicht, auf welches im folgenden näher eingegangen werden soll. Im Mittelpunkt von ʺHeráclitoʺ steht wieder die Gegenwart, allerdings keine ewige, die Grenzen der Zeit transzendierende Gegenwart, sondern eine unfassbare Gegenwart, die immer nur in Bezug auf die Vergangenheit (ʺnoche ‐ día ‐ albaʺ) oder auf die Zukunft (ʺdía ‐ tarde ‐ nocheʺ), auf das bekannte ʺAlles fließtʺ des Heraklit existieren kann. Es scheint in der Magie der reinen Kontemplation auch noch die Hoffnung bzw. die Überzeugung deutlich spürbar zu sein, die Irreversibilität der Zeit könne in der zyklischen Wiederkehr des ʺcrepúsculoʺ (ʺsegundoʺ ‐ ʺprimeroʺ ‐ ʺsegundoʺ) überwunden werden. Allerdings ist diese Hoffnung nur teilweise gerechtfertigt. In Wirklichkeit soll durch das Bild der zyklischen Bewegung der Zeit (ein Bild, das auch in der ausgeprägten Rhythmik der Verse, die alle mit dem bestimmten Artikel beginnen, zum Ausdruck kommt37) auf das stetige Zusammenspiel zwischen Gleichheit und Veränderung, Sein und Nichtsein verwiesen werden ‐ Gegensätzen, die einander wie bei Heraklit im harmonischen Einssein ergänzen. Borges zweifelt aber an dem inneren Frieden des griechischen Philosophen, der die harmonische Versöhnung aller Gegensätze vertreten hat, und nennt seine Haltung ʺla zozobra del griegoʺ, das Unbehagen oder die Sorge des Griechen: El alba sigilosa y en el alba la zozobra del griego. ¿Qué trama es ésta del será, del es y del fue? ¿Qué río es éste por el cual corre el Ganges? ¿Qué río es éste cuya fuente es inconcebible? ¿Qué río es éste que arrastra mitologías y espadas?38 Die Zeit, diese unheimliche ʺtrama del será, del es y del fueʺ, wird nicht mehr mit einem idyllischen Sonnenuntergang, sondern mit einem heiligen Fluss identifiziert: dem Ganges, dem stark mäandrierenden Strom Nordindiens, dessen Wasser als rituell reinigend gilt. Das ist natürlich kein Zufall39, denn der Ganges gilt als Symbol für alle Flüsse, als der archetypische Fluss, der alle Flüsse in sich vereinigt. Wie der Fluss des Heraklit bedeutet er also Gleichheit und Verschiedenheit zugleich. 37
Vgl. Gertel, Z., Heráclito. In: Flores, A., op. cit., S.295
OC, S.979
39
Vgl. Gertel, Z., Heráclito, op. cit., S.300f
38
32
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Ein weiteres wichtiges Merkmal, das wir schon bei Nietzsche in ʺAlso sprach Zarathustraʺ finden, bezieht sich auf den Begriff der ewigen Wiederkehr. Im Abschnitt ʺVom Gesicht und Rätselʺ, in dem der Zwerg, der ʺGeist der Schwereʺ, den Gedanken der ewigen Wiederkehr mit den Worten ʺAlle Wahrheit ist krumm, die Zeit selber ist ein Kreisʺ zum Ausdruck bringt, entgegnet nämlich Zarathustra: ʺmache es dir nicht zu leicht!ʺ. Und im Abschnitt ʺDer Genesendeʺ widerspricht er seinen Tieren, welche die neue Erkenntins mit den Worten aussagen „Alles geht, alles kommet zurück; ewig rollt das Rad des Seins“, indem er empört ausruft: ʺO ihr Schalks‐Narren und Drehorgeln!. . . ihr machtet schon ein Leier‐Lied daraus?ʺ. Besonders wichtig erscheint der von Borges übernommene Gedanke, ewige Wiederkehr des Gleichen heiße nicht, daß vormals Vorhandenes in derselben Weise wiederkommt, sondern daß sie ʺdie Weise des Anwesens des Unbeständigen (des Werdenden) als solchen [ist], dies aber in der höchsten Beständigung (im Kreisen), mit der einzigen Bestimmung, die stete Möglichkeit des Machten zu sichernʺ. Auf die philosophische Vorstellung der kreisförmigen Zeit übt auch die klassische Mythologie einen ganz bedeutenden Einfluß aus. Auch bei Borges ist dieser Einfluß deutlich spürbar, ja bringt Ríos Patrón die zirkulare Zeit im Werk Borgesʹ vorwiegend mit indischen Vorstellungen von Maya, Buddha und Karma in Verbindung und spricht sogar von einem ʺBorges orientalistaʺ40. Deswegen scheint es angebracht, im Rahmen der vorliegenden Untersuchung die ewige Wiederkehr des Gleichen nicht nur auf die Philosophie zu begrenzen, sondern auch Eliades ʺMythos der ewigen Wiederkehrʺ aus dem Jahr 1953 genauer zu analysieren.41 Henriksen konzentriert sein Werk ʺTiempo sagrado y tiempo profano en Borges y Cortázarʺ gerade auf die enge Beziehung zwischen Borgesʹ Zeitvorstellung und Eliades Arbeit. Eliade setzt den Akzent darauf, daß bei primitiven Gesellschaften die ʺWirklichkeitʺ ausschließlich durch Wiederholung oder Teilhabe erworben werde bzw. möglich sei (ein Gedanke, der in der Theorie der ewigen Wiederkehr seinen Höhepunkt erreicht) und daß alles, was kein Vorbild besitzt, ʺdes Sinnes entblößtʺ sei ‐ eine Vorstellung, die Plato in Erinnerung ruft. Noch wichtiger für die vorliegende Untersuchung ist aber der zweite Grundgedanke bei Eliade: die Überzeugung, daß die Zeit durch Nachahmung von Archetypen und Wiederholung von urbildhaften Handlungen vernichtet werden soll. Eliade macht nämlich darauf aufmerksam, daß durch Wiederholung ein Gegenstand oder eine Handlung nicht nur erst ʺwirklichʺ werden, sondern überhaupt mit den Archetypen koinzidieren: ʺ¿No basta un sólo termino repetido para desbaratar y confundir la serie 40
41
Vgl. Behle, E. E., op. cit., S.74
Vgl. Eliade, M., op. cit., S.55ff
33
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del tiempo?ʺ42 Durch Nachahmung wird der Mensch in ʺillud tempusʺ, in die mythische Epoche versetzt, in der die Archetypen zum ersten Mal offenbart wurden: Die profane, ʺsinnentleerteʺ Zeit der Sterblichen, die Dauer43 und die Geschichte werden aufgehoben, die primordiale, ʺreineʺ und ʺheiligeʺ Zeit, die Zeit, die im Augenblick der aus dem Chaos hervorgegangenen Schöpfung war, wiederhergestellt und der kosmogonische Akt reaktualisiert. Die Vernichtung bzw. Entwertung der profanen Zeit bedeutet also zugleich die andauernde Erneuerung der Welt in einer fortwährenden Gegenwart. Eliade erklärt außerdem, dass der gewöhnliche Mensch sofort sterben würde, wenn er ohne gewisse Vorbereitungen auf die profane Welt zurückkehren würde, die er während der rituellen Handlung verlassen hat, weshalb verschiedene Riten der Entheiligung unentbehrlich sind. Wie wir bereits wissen, ist auch dieser Gedanke bei Borges vorhanden, sind doch alle Protagonisten seiner Erzählungen, die in die Wahrheit eingeweiht wurden, unfähig, sich an die profane Welt wieder anzupassen, wenn sie die Wahrheit nicht gleich wieder vergessen, unabhängig davon, ob sie die Wahrheit aufgrund der ewigen Wiederkehr bzw. der Wiederholung einer rituellen Handlung oder durch einfache Kontemplation wie z.B. in ʺLa escritura del Diosʺ erkannt haben. Welche Möglichkeit hat also der Mensch, sich zu retten? [...] Pesadas campanadas del insomnio, Auroras y ponientes y crepúsculos, Ecos, resaca, arena, liquen, sueños. Otra cosa no soy que esas imágenes Que baraja el azar y nombra el tedio. Con ellas, aunque ciego y quebrantado He de labrar el verso incorruptible Y (es mi deber) salvarme.44 Wieder scheint die Kunst, die Poesie (wie in ʺArte poéticaʺ) den einzigen Trost zu bieten, die einzige Möglichkeit darzustellen, sich zu retten. Dennoch hat das Leben einen Sinn, der Fluss des Heraklit fließt zwar erbarmungslos weiter, aber nicht ziellos. Nicht nur auf den Schlüssel in East Lansing, sondern auch auf uns wartet ein Schloss, eine Erklärung, der fehlende Teil dieses riesigen 42
OC, S.763
Die als Dauer aufgefasste Zeit wird insbesondere in den indischen Religionen als eine negative Entität bzw.
Kraft gedacht, die fortwährend die kosmische Situation und damit auch die menschliche erschwert. (Vgl. Eliade,
M., op. cit., S.171)
44
Ibid., S.48
43
34
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Geduldsspiels, des Lebens: ʺAlguna vez empujaré la dura / Puerta y haré girar la cerraduraʺ.45 Wir klagen ständig über das, was wir nicht verstehen, über das, was wir nicht verändern können, aber etwas bleibt ‐ von uns, von unseren Werken, von unseren Gefühlen ‐, wie Borges kurz vor seinem Tod 1986 in ʺSon los ríosʺ (aus ʺLos conjuradosʺ) noch poetisch ausformuliert: Somos el tiempo. Somos la famosa parábola de Heráclito el Oscuro. Somos el agua, no el diamante duro, la que se pierde, no la que reposa. [...] Somos el vano río prefijado, rumbo a su mar. [...] Y sin embargo hay algo que se queda. Y sin embargo hay algo que se queja. Wir sind sehr dankbar für das, was uns von Borges geblieben ist. 45
La moneda de hierro, op. cit., S.29
35
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Incompatibilidad Genoptica
prometeus1
Quizás en un futuro no demasiado lejano, el estudio conjunto de varias disciplinas técnicas podrán diagnosticar la idoneidad neurobiológica de compatibilidad entre las personas. Lo que a continuación voy a exponer, es la suma de reflexiones inconexas a lo largo del tiempo acerca de las incompatibilidades entre personas desde el punto de vista, no de la relacíon social, sino elevándolo al nivel de interrelación personal entre dos personas en una unión de larga duración. Es un hecho evidente y comunmente aceptado que existen tipos de personalidad incompatibles para la convivencia y que se manifiestan, o al inició de esa posible relación, con el choque de caracteres que todos hemos tenido alguna vez con otros, o que se trasladan a otras fases de las relaciones personales una vez superadas las diferentes etapas de educación social o incluso de atracción por la otra persona, y es en esta últimas donde quiero centrarme, ya que es en situaciones de larga duración en la relación donde se pueden sufrir los mayores daños. Esto, que en principio sería una cuestión casi estadística de búsqueda de carateres y tipologias de personalidades afines o compatibles, no tendría mas transcendencia, sino fuera por que existen personas que pueden llegar a dañar a otras no de manera intencionada sino provocado por la las instruciones escritas en su ADN y que son inalterables e inevitables por el individuo. Me refiero en concreto a la posibilidad (aunque yo personalmente me decanto por la ʺrealidadʺ) de una incompatibilidad genética entre diversos biotipos de personas, y que en su fase mas extrema pueden causar hasta enfermedades fisicas, somáticas, sicologícas..e incluso en una mezcla de estas y otras provocar la muerte de la otra persona. Quizás suene extraño esto a una persona que simplemente se plantee las relaciones sociales como una mera interactuación entre personas y sus diversas capacidades mentales, intelectuales, físicas, espirituales...etc. Pero, yo creo que la química, y en concreto la composición bioquímica de cerebro, actua en determinados casos con una mayor fuerza que lo que normalmente entendemos por relaciones sociales normales o educación social. Me explico, el ser humano, esta condicionado genéticamente por la 36
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composición de la cadena de su ADN el cual es ʺunicoʺ y que le hace ser como es, ademas se ve afectado y/o condicionado por su entorno, lo que conjuntamente conformaría a ese ser humano tal y como es y actua. Obviando el condicionante social en esta fase, y centrándonos en el componente genético, no podemos hacer nada por modificar nuestra propia composicion bioquímica, existiendo una gran diversidad de composiciones geneticamente predeterminadas, de las cuales la gran mayoría pueden ser compatibles en su conjunto con el resto de los genotitpos (El genotipo es una característica genética determinada, sea habitual o anormal, que posee un individuo concreto dentro de una especie. Es decir el conjunto de genes o factores hereditarios que posee un individuo determinado, dentro de una especie), pero tambien existirían diversos genotipos, digamos, no compatibles e incluso opuestos, que en situaciones de convivencia social y elevados al nivel de compatibiliad fenotípica (se denomina fenotipo a la manifestación visible del genotipo en un determinado ambiente) puedan producir rechazos o actitudes agresivas que de una manera continuada pueden afectar a la otra parte tal y como hemos comentado arriba. A lo largo de los años hemos utilizado y escuchado expresiones populares del tipo, ʺno se llevan bienʺ, ʺson incompatiblesʺ, ʺse quieren pero no pueden vivir juntosʺ que quizas sean las que pertenecen al conjunto mas suave de esta incompatibiliad, pero entiendo que una profundizacion sobre las compatibilidades e incompatibilidades de caracter genético entre los diversos tipos de genotipos nos darían conclusiones claras acerca de que composiciones son absolutamente incompatibles para su interactuación social y de esa manera se podrían evitar multitud de situaciones que vemos en los medios informativos y en nuestra vida cotidiana y que normalmente achacamos a situaciones de tipo estres,ansiedad, ritmo de vida, adicciones etc, pero que en muchas de ellas, quizas haya un transfondo mas sencillo y complejo a la vez, una ʺAbsoluta incompatibilidad genéticaʺ que detectada en su raiz podría decirnos o darnos las pistas necesarias para saber con que genotipos debemos interactuar para una mejor convivencia y asimismo nos ayudaria a buscar fórmulas sociales de mejorar las posibilidad de relación entre los incompatibles, lo que podría redundar en una mejora social actuando directamente en la reducción de los niveles de agresividad tanto física como síquica, en casos de uso de la violencia, reducción de niveles adictivos y de una manera mas positiva en el autoconocimiento de nuestras capacidades reales para interactuar en la vida real con un mayor certidumbre de éxito. Fin. 37
Chiaroscuro − The Journal of VINCI and ISI−S
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Cuvstvo
Malaksalost prezira i pustoš ljudskog dodira gorka su slika nemirna u mome čuvstvu. Muhamed Veletanlic
What is the Name of the Tune?
Jan Melorant
I am crossing Vinci Plaza heading for Caffè Leonardo to have a capuccino, when I run into Lloyd, who is seemingly in deep thought and humming an unfamiliar tune. ʺAhaʺ, he says, as he recognises me. ʺWhat is that tune called you were hummingʺ, I ask, ʺit sounded like eastern music.ʺ Lloyd shakes his head, ʺItʹs an eastern deception. Here I have a piece of paper with notes. If you can read it you will know the title.ʺ We sit down at a table on the terrace, and I gaze at the notes. ʺAha, I see what you mean. Cameriere! due capuccino per favore.ʺ 38
Chiaroscuro − The Journal of VINCI and ISI−S
#9, September 2005
Pi
Papageorgiou G. Pantelis
39
Chiaroscuro − The Journal of VINCI and ISI−S
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A Farewell to Bob Denver and Gillian’s Island
Robert Brizel
Begin: go to www.russell‐johnson.com to hear Gilligan’s TV theme (Professor’s website) With the passing of Bob Denver recently at age 70, the final star of television’s absurd golden era of sitcoms has gone. Gilligan’s Island was perhaps the most ridiculous, if not meaningless, sitcom ever aired on television. Yet Denver’s popularity as Willy Gilligan remains unsurpassed, as reruns on late night television turned the crew into legends. On September 26, 1964, the S.S. Minnow, a tourist boat heated for Oahu, Hawaii, got stranded on a remote island with five tourists and two sailors. The 1963 pilot episode with different characters did not air until 1992, referred to as episode #0 in the chronology. Gilligan’s popularity may never be quite explained, as he represented nothing but good clean fun. The emotional diatribe between Gilligan and skipper (Alan Hale) remains one of the great subconscious hysterics‐it was based on Laurel and Hardy. The television show had no clear objective or purpose‐and its characters did nothing to justify any kind of intent. Yet this unique concept of being stranded on a remote island would form the basis for Survivor and other island type series which followed much later. Gilligan’s Island was a simple‐minded farce. It would run three seasons and a phenomenal 98 illogical episodes of bumbling people being themselves. Jim Backus was also a member of the cast, and the comic genius behind Mr. Magoo was 40
Chiaroscuro − The Journal of VINCI and ISI−S
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never better in his role as stranded billionaire Thurston J. Howell III. Several cast members, including Russell Johnson (the professor) Dawn Wells and Tina Louise still survive today. Johnson’s website states he is available for public speaking appearances. It can safely be said that while Gilligan’s Island became famous, its cast members were hopelessly typecast in their characters to the extent that their future careers on stage, screen and television were never the same again. Such is the pitfalls of the television industry. Alan Hale Jr.(1918‐1990) and Bob Denver (1935‐2005) Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip That started from this tropic port, aboard this tiny ship. The mate was a mighty sailin’ man, the skipper brave and sure Five passengers set sail that day, for a three hour tour, three hour tour. The weather started getting rough, the tiny ship was tossed if not for the courage of the fearless crew, the minnow would be lost, the minnow would be lost. The ship took ground on the shore of this uncharted desert isle, with Gilligan, the skipper too, a millionaire, and his wife, a movie star, the professor and Mary Ann, Here on Gilligan’s Island! (Courtesy CBS, Article for Nonprofit Use) Gilligan’s Island Map and Character Guides: home.mn.rr.com/classictv/Gilligan’sIsland.html http://timstvshowcase.com/gilligan.html to hear the Gilligan’s Island TV theme and to buy episodes of the 1964‐1967 series. There were also several TV specials filmed later. Originally renewed, the series was cancelled by CBS in favor of Gunsmoke. New Adventures of Gilligan 1974‐1977 Cartoon Series 41
Chiaroscuro − The Journal of VINCI and ISI−S
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Rescue from Gilligan’s Island 1978 TV Special Castaways on Gilligan’s Island 1979 TV Special Gilligan’s Planet 1982 Cartoon Science Fiction Series http://www.angelfire.com/ca2/GilligansHut offers detailed guides of the original episodes http://www.gilligansisle.com The Gilligan’s Island Fan Club www.dawn‐wells.com Mary Ann’s Website (Co‐Star of the Gilligan Show) Possibilities of Time Travel and
the Theory of Parallel Universes
Jani Savolainen
As I do believe time to be the fourth dimension, (and why not time could not be spatial, I explain in the next chapter!) we will find interesting answers for very simple questions, this is how the story goes: First, imagine any 3‐dimensional object, for example a kitchen table. Good. Now, imagine it is 3 oʹclock. What can you see in that moment? Yep, a table. Now, imagine you observe the table very intensively next 5 minutes. What can you see during the observation? Yep, table stands still and remains, until it is 5 past 3 oʹclock. What can you see now? Yep, still a table. Now ask yourself: What if table NEVER existed before? Yep, then you could not see the table now anymore. But, because you see it, the table still exists, and it has to exist in the past some time before this moment! This actually means the past has to still exist because the table has not vanished in the air!!! Conclusion: It must be possible to travel back in time! Still there remains a mystery what happens to an object in past if it is destroyed now; will the table remain in past and the dimensions act as mirror image according to the time before and after the existence or will the table also physically vanish from the time when it existed so we canʹt move in time to past to see it? After a few days from an idea of travelling back into the time I discussed the issue with my best friend. While explaining the issue I realised something fascinating ‐ It could be possible to also travel into the future ‐ possibly into the parallel universes!To make the idea easier to understand letʹs say we must map all the locations and objects in the earth. For this, in 3‐dimensional environment, we need to imagine a cube around the earth, where the cube and the earth have got common center point. Now we need a set of coordinates, for defining the exact location 42
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and form for any object inside the cube: {(xa,yb,zc), (xd,ye,zf), (xg,yh,zi)}... This means every shape and location in universe at the moment t is defined as a set of x, y and z coordinates. The accuracy depends of the scale of coordinates and it is scalable within any variety of micro‐ and macro level; there may exist equal or more than (2x,2y,2z) = 8 coordinates to eternal number of coordinates in the cube. Now, when dealing the object locations during the time goes on, we can define dimension t starting from the beginnig moment of the universe. For that coordinate we give value of 0 and when the time goes on, as you can see, time IS NOT SPATIAL dimension, it is the essence of being and gets its meaning only by the 3‐d objects bound to it at the moment! It may never cease to exist! But still, once again, the accuracy depends of the scale of coordinate (t) and it is scalable within any variety of micro‐ and macro‐ level. Now, as you see, the changes in objectsʹ locations and forms are mapped into a set of 4‐d matrixes: {(xa,yb,zc,tm), (xd,ye,zf,tm), (xg,yh,zi,tm)}. As you can see from the formula, time dimension does not act as spatial dimensions at all! Now, if a time traveller is put from his current location {(xa,yb,zc,tm), (xd,ye,zf,tm), (xg,yh,zi,tm)} from the moment tm into the future location {(xj,yk,zl,tn), (xd,ye,zf,tn), (xg,yh,zi,tn)}, he will only transfer himself to the moment tn, nothing else. But how the other objects will move during this gap of time remains mystery to the traveller (and also to me). Most obvious theory would be that because of the essence of the time traveller is been erased during between {tm ==> tn}, all other objects would change differently than in a case where the traveller never travelled between {tm ==> tn} but affected to the other objects during that time! What does this mean? If we travel in time, it is obvious we will change the history (or future). But, on the other hand, living itself is travelling in time and changing the history! (and future) :) Now, if we put one dimension more to this figure, letʹs call it f, I think it creates parallel universes together with x, y, z and t dimensions for each instance of each object in each location during each moment t where to travel in! 43
Chiaroscuro − The Journal of VINCI and ISI−S
#9, September 2005
From Judge William Rehnquist to Judge John Roberts
Robert Brizel
The Late William Rehnquist Nominee John Roberts Jr. The 33 year dominance of WIlliam Rehnquist on the United States Supreme Court will remain unparalleled. It is fitting and honorable that the nominee to replace the late Judge Rehnquist (1924‐2005) as Chief Justice is John Roberts, a former Rehnquist law clerk. With 14 years as an Associate Justice, and 19 years as the Chief Justice, he helped return power to the states from federal authority. Originally the conservative voice of dissent, he became the thunderous voice for the conservative majority, delighting some and dismaying others. Then President Richard Nixon appointed Judge Rehnquist to the Supreme Court in 1972. Later, President Ronald Reagan nominated him for Chief Justice. He acted to speed up the death penalty process, but was clearly anti‐Affirmative Action. Known as ‘the lone ranger’ for writing vigorous dissents against abortion and school busing, favoring aggressive police searches, and declaring George Bush the winner of the presidential race in Bush v. Gore (2000). That case, held up over the validity of paper ballots with hanging chads and electronic and hand recounts, made the usually invisible Judge Rehnquist highly visible. But a decision had to be made, and Judge Rehnquist led the court to make one to elect Bush. Besides ‐ the Democrats had designed the hanging chad ballot which caused all of the hullabaloo and trouble in Florida in the first place. 44
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John Roberts was originally nominated to replace Sandra Day O’Connor, who is retiring, but When Rehnquist died, Judge Roberts became the first Supreme Court nominee to have a nomination transferred to a different slot, from nomination for Associate Justice to Chief Justice. Judge John Glover Roberts Jr. has been a judge on the United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit, since 2003. (Rehnquist photo courtesy Reuters). He also did legal work for the White House and the United States Department of Justice. Answers to the puzzles in the last issue of Chiaroscuro
‘Rare Puzzle Find’ by Jan Melorant
Clue for horizontal III was a bit tricky. Horizontal III. => Half of VII. By which half of (V)ertical II was meant, not half of 7. 45