According to the blog Stochastic Democracy, Obama did much worse then expected in states with lots of young voters. They point out that correlation does not equal causation. “It could also be that states with lots of young voters have lots of culturally conservative parents. More research is needed”
This is an interesting blog Applying Math to Politics by a group of (very) young men which I have only come across recently – haven’t had time to evaluate their work yet.
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Our Bliss is only Inchoate
It is sad that neither Barack Obama’s mother nor grandmother lived to see him elected President.
There has been so much comment about how his parents union would have been illegal in many States in 1961. Possibly things may have been more relaxed in Hawaii, though it cannot have been easy
But I wonder if Obama would even be qualified to be President if he had been born just 2 years earlier, before Hawaii became the 50th State?
I read that Obama now has no living American relatives (from his own or an older generation), apart from his sister. And he has even had to break with the pastor who provided much support in his life in Chicago
Since Kennedy & Bush, both from large dynasties, were for various reasons on my mind, I was wondering if a small family was unusual for an American President. But not at all, as soon as you think of Clinton, Carter, Reagan …
Such an unimaginably heavy burden now rests on Obama’s shoulders, all that weight of inchoate hope. I suppose it is a moot point whether a large clan, steeped in politics, is a support or a burden in such a place
Advisers will be crucial. A good time, I think, to reread JK Galbraith’s Ambassador’s Journal which contains much about how Kennedy got drawn in to war with Vietnam.
And how odd that another of Galbraith’s books should seem so a propos all over again
There has been so much comment about how his parents union would have been illegal in many States in 1961. Possibly things may have been more relaxed in Hawaii, though it cannot have been easy
But I wonder if Obama would even be qualified to be President if he had been born just 2 years earlier, before Hawaii became the 50th State?
I read that Obama now has no living American relatives (from his own or an older generation), apart from his sister. And he has even had to break with the pastor who provided much support in his life in Chicago
Since Kennedy & Bush, both from large dynasties, were for various reasons on my mind, I was wondering if a small family was unusual for an American President. But not at all, as soon as you think of Clinton, Carter, Reagan …
Such an unimaginably heavy burden now rests on Obama’s shoulders, all that weight of inchoate hope. I suppose it is a moot point whether a large clan, steeped in politics, is a support or a burden in such a place
Advisers will be crucial. A good time, I think, to reread JK Galbraith’s Ambassador’s Journal which contains much about how Kennedy got drawn in to war with Vietnam.
And how odd that another of Galbraith’s books should seem so a propos all over again
Related posts
We know who you are
BBC radio news was yesterday carrying an item which I very much hope was badly worded
A rape/murder case from 1946 has been reopened & the scientists have been able to recover DNA, presumed to belong to the perpetrator, from some of the stored evidence
No match has been found on the national DNA database
Detectives will now trace the 50 or so men who were considered ‘of serious interest’ at the time. If still alive, their DNA will be checked
If they have died a ‘familial’ matching technique will be tried: ‘Their sons or grandsons will be tested’
Presumably they intend to ask all these people if they would be willing to provide a sample – or do they really have powers now (under so-called anti-terrorism laws) to require the provision under such circumstances?
A rape/murder case from 1946 has been reopened & the scientists have been able to recover DNA, presumed to belong to the perpetrator, from some of the stored evidence
No match has been found on the national DNA database
Detectives will now trace the 50 or so men who were considered ‘of serious interest’ at the time. If still alive, their DNA will be checked
If they have died a ‘familial’ matching technique will be tried: ‘Their sons or grandsons will be tested’
Presumably they intend to ask all these people if they would be willing to provide a sample – or do they really have powers now (under so-called anti-terrorism laws) to require the provision under such circumstances?
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Haunted with the young craving
I suppose it is obvious, really, but Barack Obama truly is a brave man. That has rather been lost in among all the ‘black’ ‘novice’ ‘orator’ stuff
To run, despite the risk of assassination, against the mighty Clinton machine. To make what everyone calls his Race Speech, taking on both black & white with his humanity shining through. To take the risk of taking time out from the campaign to go to his grandmother’s side
If he wins, he will need all that courage, & then some
If I were religious I should be praying very hard tonight
To run, despite the risk of assassination, against the mighty Clinton machine. To make what everyone calls his Race Speech, taking on both black & white with his humanity shining through. To take the risk of taking time out from the campaign to go to his grandmother’s side
If he wins, he will need all that courage, & then some
If I were religious I should be praying very hard tonight
Boom and bust
Then there is Mr Wilson’s current folksiness of expression, for an example of which I go to his talk with Mr Crossman: ‘school meals, the rent, this is put behind the clock on the mantelpiece, as I always put it.’ (He presumably meant that this is how he chooses to express it, not that this is where he too puts the rent)
Alan Watkins, New Statesman 2 Feb 1973
This typically witty comment on Harold Wilson by Alan Watkins provided the basis for my own simple explanation of what funny-money financial derivatives do: they take the money which I used to keep behind the clock & use it to ease the temporary cash flow problems of a plastic bag manufacturer in China
And so on and so on, whizzing it round & round, sometimes lending it back to me, multiplying it up, until everybody is dizzy and we all fall down
It is an admirable system, much better than miserly & miserably keeping it under the mattress
It is not just a matter of dry economics or the mathematics of finance. It depends on trust & confidence. That brings in politics, society & culture.
Arrogance, boorishness & conspicuous consumption by bankers & financiers bring resentment & taunts, not least in films, books & plays
But when we – and they - get tired of their antics and decide to don hair shirts for a while, return to the careful days of old, then we get tired of the gloom and lack of growth & want a bit of pizzazz back in our lives – because we are worth it
We mean to be careful, prudent about it, of course we do. But once a boom or a bubble starts, even the most cautious begins to feel that, well, perhaps, all this disapproval of borrowing & spending, is really just cutting off ones nose to spite ones face. I should chase the highest rate for my savings, the lowest rate for my overdraft, the mortgage for that dream house and those shares in fast growing companies for my pension pot
Alan Watkins, New Statesman 2 Feb 1973
This typically witty comment on Harold Wilson by Alan Watkins provided the basis for my own simple explanation of what funny-money financial derivatives do: they take the money which I used to keep behind the clock & use it to ease the temporary cash flow problems of a plastic bag manufacturer in China
And so on and so on, whizzing it round & round, sometimes lending it back to me, multiplying it up, until everybody is dizzy and we all fall down
It is an admirable system, much better than miserly & miserably keeping it under the mattress
It is not just a matter of dry economics or the mathematics of finance. It depends on trust & confidence. That brings in politics, society & culture.
Arrogance, boorishness & conspicuous consumption by bankers & financiers bring resentment & taunts, not least in films, books & plays
But when we – and they - get tired of their antics and decide to don hair shirts for a while, return to the careful days of old, then we get tired of the gloom and lack of growth & want a bit of pizzazz back in our lives – because we are worth it
We mean to be careful, prudent about it, of course we do. But once a boom or a bubble starts, even the most cautious begins to feel that, well, perhaps, all this disapproval of borrowing & spending, is really just cutting off ones nose to spite ones face. I should chase the highest rate for my savings, the lowest rate for my overdraft, the mortgage for that dream house and those shares in fast growing companies for my pension pot
Offensive radio
While we’re thinking about offensive radio, I want to register my complaint about adverts which appear both on my local station & on Classic FM
They are for a telephone directory enquiry service. Often they are very suggestive (one version included a child) & the tag line is always (lasciviously) Ooh Maureen! She’s cheap
They are counter productive because I just switch to another station while they are on
They are for a telephone directory enquiry service. Often they are very suggestive (one version included a child) & the tag line is always (lasciviously) Ooh Maureen! She’s cheap
They are counter productive because I just switch to another station while they are on
A nice life
Hedgehogs are rodents, they’re not cuddly; they’re flea ridden & they have no road sense
But they do have nice soft furry tummies
They can be roasted in clay – just like iguana
I expect they taste like chicken
I think I could eat a hedgehog, either because politeness (to my host) demanded it, or in a case of extreme emergency. I have eaten iguana
Hugh Warwick has written a book, My Life with Hedgehogs & has a website with the same title
But they do have nice soft furry tummies
They can be roasted in clay – just like iguana
I expect they taste like chicken
I think I could eat a hedgehog, either because politeness (to my host) demanded it, or in a case of extreme emergency. I have eaten iguana
Hugh Warwick has written a book, My Life with Hedgehogs & has a website with the same title
Related post
Monday, November 03, 2008
Changing sides
It was only when I heard a BBC news report this morning that I realised that Red is the colour of the Republicans in the USA. The Democrats are Blue!
According to Wikipedia however, this colour scheme became established only during the 2000 election, so that tv outlets would be consistent in their maps of results
Was Red the colour of European revolution before the Bonnet Rouge of the French Revolution? When did blue become associated with right wing conservatives – were they yellow during the time of Disraeli’s Primrose League?
I suppose these can be seen as just more examples of how which & what are considered ‘Left’ or ‘Right’ change & switch surprisingly over time
And after all, many people these days (at least outside America) probably believe that Abraham Lincoln was a Democrat
According to Wikipedia however, this colour scheme became established only during the 2000 election, so that tv outlets would be consistent in their maps of results
Was Red the colour of European revolution before the Bonnet Rouge of the French Revolution? When did blue become associated with right wing conservatives – were they yellow during the time of Disraeli’s Primrose League?
I suppose these can be seen as just more examples of how which & what are considered ‘Left’ or ‘Right’ change & switch surprisingly over time
And after all, many people these days (at least outside America) probably believe that Abraham Lincoln was a Democrat
Related post
Verbal acrobatics
I have just been reading Transformatrix, a collection by a poet new to me – Patience Agbabi
I am so glad we have been introduced. She makes me laugh & cry, & feel angry because sometimes I don’t know whether to laugh or cry
The bit I will quote here comes from Prologue, which was originally broadcast on the BBC World Service in 2000
Give me a noun
give me a verb
and I’m in motion
cos I’m on a mission
to deliver information
so let me take you to the fifth dimension.
No fee, it’s free,
you only gotta pay attention.
So sit back, relax,
let me take you back
to when you learnt to walk, talk,
learnt coordination
and communication,
mama
dada.
If you rub two words together you get friction
cut them in half, you get a fraction.
If you join two words you get multiplication.
My school of mathematics
equals verbal acrobatics
so lets make conversation.
I chose it precisely for its verbal acrobatics but also because I am thinking of putting together a small private collection of poems which use specifically mathematical references, analogy, metaphors – figures
I am so glad we have been introduced. She makes me laugh & cry, & feel angry because sometimes I don’t know whether to laugh or cry
The bit I will quote here comes from Prologue, which was originally broadcast on the BBC World Service in 2000
Give me a noun
give me a verb
and I’m in motion
cos I’m on a mission
to deliver information
so let me take you to the fifth dimension.
No fee, it’s free,
you only gotta pay attention.
So sit back, relax,
let me take you back
to when you learnt to walk, talk,
learnt coordination
and communication,
mama
dada.
If you rub two words together you get friction
cut them in half, you get a fraction.
If you join two words you get multiplication.
My school of mathematics
equals verbal acrobatics
so lets make conversation.
I chose it precisely for its verbal acrobatics but also because I am thinking of putting together a small private collection of poems which use specifically mathematical references, analogy, metaphors – figures
Bring back the chair
The kerfuffle over the Ross/Brand affair was enough to make me positively nostalgic for the old days when there was a Chairman of the BBC Governors
Somebody who could face the press (don’t any of the present high ups get media training?) to say it was unacceptable, those involved had been suspended pending enquiries, but that one disgraceful incident on a late night radio show, from which most listeners would know what to expect, did not threaten the very foundations of the BBC – don’t be so ridiculous, Boy!
Instead we have more regulation bureaucracy which hamstrings everybody while they work out who should do what
And the amendments to the rules which eventually emerge will just leave everybody confused over what they can or cannot do
And the staff will, like the staff in my bank now talk of their employer, start referring to the BBC as ‘They’, not ‘We’
Let us hope that Offcom will be able to decide in its wisdom that it is unnecessary to add insult to injury by fining the BBC. Licence payers will not take it kindly that yet more of their money has to go to pay for a transgression by somebody who gets too much already
Somebody who could face the press (don’t any of the present high ups get media training?) to say it was unacceptable, those involved had been suspended pending enquiries, but that one disgraceful incident on a late night radio show, from which most listeners would know what to expect, did not threaten the very foundations of the BBC – don’t be so ridiculous, Boy!
Instead we have more regulation bureaucracy which hamstrings everybody while they work out who should do what
And the amendments to the rules which eventually emerge will just leave everybody confused over what they can or cannot do
And the staff will, like the staff in my bank now talk of their employer, start referring to the BBC as ‘They’, not ‘We’
Let us hope that Offcom will be able to decide in its wisdom that it is unnecessary to add insult to injury by fining the BBC. Licence payers will not take it kindly that yet more of their money has to go to pay for a transgression by somebody who gets too much already
Friday, October 31, 2008
Unequal pay
Yesterday was the Fawcett Society’s No Pay Day - the day when women receive their last payslip of the year and begin working for free thanks to the 17% pay gap with men. Allegedly
This calculation is based on a comparison of average hourly rates of pay for full time employees, & so is, it can be argued, the ’purest’ measure of difference which is routinely available from the governments Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE)
As I was listening to a piece about this on the radio, where the presenter was jokily talking about women going on strike until after Christmas, I fell to wondering what would happen if, instead of calling out all women in solidarity, including those who earn above the average rate, the strike call went out only to those full time workers, regardless of gender, who earn below the average woman’s rate? Might we get a surprise & find that the men outnumbered the women?
Well I failed in my attempt to find the necessary figures on the National Statistics website & had to make do just with medians & means (2007 Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings First Release (Pdf))
It could be quite a close run thing
I was intrigued to see the emphasis on using the median rather than the arithmetic mean in most of this press release - understandable because this is one of those examples where average really does not mean most
On the governments preferred measure based on the median, the gender pay gap is ‘only’ 12.6%, not 17.2%
What is really interesting however is that, for men, the median is only about 80% of their mean, while for women it is 86%
Average pay for men is pulled up by the vast sums paid to relatively small numbers of very high earning men, women are more equal because so few of them are really big earners
Whichever measure is used, women’s earnings have risen more than men’s since 1997 – 51% on the median or 55% on the mean
For men the median rose by a relatively measly 42%. Their average however rose by all of 48% - yet another measure of how inequality has been increasing
Related post
This calculation is based on a comparison of average hourly rates of pay for full time employees, & so is, it can be argued, the ’purest’ measure of difference which is routinely available from the governments Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE)
As I was listening to a piece about this on the radio, where the presenter was jokily talking about women going on strike until after Christmas, I fell to wondering what would happen if, instead of calling out all women in solidarity, including those who earn above the average rate, the strike call went out only to those full time workers, regardless of gender, who earn below the average woman’s rate? Might we get a surprise & find that the men outnumbered the women?
Well I failed in my attempt to find the necessary figures on the National Statistics website & had to make do just with medians & means (2007 Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings First Release (Pdf))
It could be quite a close run thing
I was intrigued to see the emphasis on using the median rather than the arithmetic mean in most of this press release - understandable because this is one of those examples where average really does not mean most
On the governments preferred measure based on the median, the gender pay gap is ‘only’ 12.6%, not 17.2%
What is really interesting however is that, for men, the median is only about 80% of their mean, while for women it is 86%
Average pay for men is pulled up by the vast sums paid to relatively small numbers of very high earning men, women are more equal because so few of them are really big earners
Whichever measure is used, women’s earnings have risen more than men’s since 1997 – 51% on the median or 55% on the mean
For men the median rose by a relatively measly 42%. Their average however rose by all of 48% - yet another measure of how inequality has been increasing
The conclusion from all of this?
By calling for women to be paid more equally with men, we are also calling for them to be paid less equally with each other
Related post
Thursday, October 30, 2008
The occasion for this reason
It is now being taken as a ‘fact’ that the under-30’s think that the Jonathan Ross/Russell Brand row is being blown up out of all proportion, while their elders take it all more seriously
This is further being interpreted as evidence that the young have a different sense of humour than the old
I think there is a different explanation
The particular event which set this all off provides the occasion, but not the reason, for the row
The occasion for a lot of resentments & discontents to come to the fore. Disparate & different discontents, so that both Gordon Brown & David Cameron, for example, can appear to be on the same side
Among them, the compulsory payment of the licence fee & the justification we were given for the very large sums paid to Jonathan Ross. This was very similar to those used to justify the payment of bonuses to bankers & captains of industry, & thus now seem equally indefensible
As is well attested, gross inequalities of income in countries or in businesses cause unhappiness, & in this row even the BBC’s own staff are letting their resentments show
The young have just had less time to let their resentments simmer
This is further being interpreted as evidence that the young have a different sense of humour than the old
I think there is a different explanation
The particular event which set this all off provides the occasion, but not the reason, for the row
The occasion for a lot of resentments & discontents to come to the fore. Disparate & different discontents, so that both Gordon Brown & David Cameron, for example, can appear to be on the same side
Among them, the compulsory payment of the licence fee & the justification we were given for the very large sums paid to Jonathan Ross. This was very similar to those used to justify the payment of bonuses to bankers & captains of industry, & thus now seem equally indefensible
As is well attested, gross inequalities of income in countries or in businesses cause unhappiness, & in this row even the BBC’s own staff are letting their resentments show
The young have just had less time to let their resentments simmer
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Childish things
When beset by financial problems & unwelcome attentions one can always take comfort from child like habits
Making the tea
Although there must, these days, be few men who get to middle age before they encounter that strange being, a female colleague, it intrigues me that you can still hear, as I did last week on the radio, a working woman giving the advice: Never make the tea
It was the mid-70s & I had just become a member of a National Committee which dealt with technical matters. I was the only woman in a membership of about 30
Meetings were held about once a month & lasted all day. We were the host department, but everybody except the chairman, secretary & I came from outside. Morning coffee was delivered to the conference room in those large, pump-action vacuum flasks & the committee secretary & I usually got up to serve our guests while the discussion continued
One day the secretary was deeply involved in the discussion when the coffee arrived. No one else moved. I got on my feminist high horse & did not move either
There followed a bit of a hiatus until two of the other men got up & did their best with an unfamiliar task in unfamiliar surroundings
I realised that I was not being feminist, I was just being ungracious & rude
When the same thing happened again I got up & did the honours. As I did quite frequently, except when I too was involved in the discussion when coffee arrived
In fact I think I benefited form this. It really helped to break the ice, I got to speak to each man (black or white? etc) so they felt easier just chatting to me over the lunch break or contacting me about work, made me part of the team
It was always easier to fight the real battles – over pensions or the right to wear trousers to work – than to sort out, tactfully, these problems of etiket
It was the mid-70s & I had just become a member of a National Committee which dealt with technical matters. I was the only woman in a membership of about 30
Meetings were held about once a month & lasted all day. We were the host department, but everybody except the chairman, secretary & I came from outside. Morning coffee was delivered to the conference room in those large, pump-action vacuum flasks & the committee secretary & I usually got up to serve our guests while the discussion continued
One day the secretary was deeply involved in the discussion when the coffee arrived. No one else moved. I got on my feminist high horse & did not move either
There followed a bit of a hiatus until two of the other men got up & did their best with an unfamiliar task in unfamiliar surroundings
I realised that I was not being feminist, I was just being ungracious & rude
When the same thing happened again I got up & did the honours. As I did quite frequently, except when I too was involved in the discussion when coffee arrived
In fact I think I benefited form this. It really helped to break the ice, I got to speak to each man (black or white? etc) so they felt easier just chatting to me over the lunch break or contacting me about work, made me part of the team
It was always easier to fight the real battles – over pensions or the right to wear trousers to work – than to sort out, tactfully, these problems of etiket
Christmas has come early
Gordon Brown, who for 10 years has presided over, even encouraged, record levels of private debt, now proposes to rescue us by taking on massive, overt, debts in the public sector
And he sounds like a child with a new toy box
And he has gone back to I ... I ... I ... in his speeches & interviews
And he sounds like a child with a new toy box
And he has gone back to I ... I ... I ... in his speeches & interviews
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Showing authority
It seems strange to me that the writings of JB Priestly - the essays & novels, though not so much the plays – are so deeply unfashionable. This is one of those things I should quite like to keep coming back to check up on – see whether he has come back in to high regard
The following, from Over the Long High Wall (1972) gives food for thought in the case of Sarah Palin:
When women who have suddenly been given authority seem ill-at-ease & perhaps rather comic, it is usually because they have been forced to play the role in a masculine style: they are not being themselves, & it is society itself, with the masculine principle & its values high in the saddle, that is at fault. It can make women feel as awkward in high office as men feel in dress shops
As Gerard Baker said in The Times, It's hard to make a reasoned and fair judgment about the Alaska Governor, because of the cacophony of press comment, not least about her clothes.
The fair minded bit of me says Give her a chance, though to do what? On the basis of what I have read or heard of what she has said, the thought of her stepping suddenly in to the President’s shoes gives me the vapours. But then she reportedly has done a pretty good job as governor & may, away from the campaign trail, have a lot of sound common sense & good judgement to bring to bear on the issues
The following, from Over the Long High Wall (1972) gives food for thought in the case of Sarah Palin:
When women who have suddenly been given authority seem ill-at-ease & perhaps rather comic, it is usually because they have been forced to play the role in a masculine style: they are not being themselves, & it is society itself, with the masculine principle & its values high in the saddle, that is at fault. It can make women feel as awkward in high office as men feel in dress shops
As Gerard Baker said in The Times, It's hard to make a reasoned and fair judgment about the Alaska Governor, because of the cacophony of press comment, not least about her clothes.
The fair minded bit of me says Give her a chance, though to do what? On the basis of what I have read or heard of what she has said, the thought of her stepping suddenly in to the President’s shoes gives me the vapours. But then she reportedly has done a pretty good job as governor & may, away from the campaign trail, have a lot of sound common sense & good judgement to bring to bear on the issues
I don't get it
Plenty of people have now had their say about the Jonathan Ross/Russell Brand episode with Andrew Sachs on Radio 2
Yes, it seems filthy & in bad taste from what little I have heard. But one has to be a bit careful here – neither is unknown in BBC radio comedy. I remember the disbelief with which we greeted some of the jokes in Round the Horn when I was still a teenager. And Humphrey Lyttelton was loved for his Samantha jokes on Haven’t A Clue. Personally I felt that some of these went too far – towards sexism rather than just sex – but that’s the kind of objection that invites the putdown: hairy-legged feminist!
That seems to be part of the problem here – those that should have objected being afraid of being thought of as being too old fashioned or something
The thing which I need to have explained however, is what anyone could have thought was remotely funny about making unpleasantly explicit remarks to an elderly man about his granddaughter?
I can think of 3 possibilities:
They thought it was a modern take on the kind of tongue lashing which ‘Manuel’ used to get from John Cleese in Fawlty Towers
Somehow the grand daughter is part of ‘the joke’. Here is where I feel like the judge who asked Who are the Beatles? But if she is a celebrity herself then the idea of pairing up with Russell Brand may be funny to those in the know
It was somehow a put down of Brand himself – He’s having another of his fantasies – nobody fancies him!
The fourth, disturbing possibility is that it was just the attitude of the school bully throughout the ages– We was only having a laugh!
Suppose it was the other way about – I think Ross has a daughter,
Yes, it seems filthy & in bad taste from what little I have heard. But one has to be a bit careful here – neither is unknown in BBC radio comedy. I remember the disbelief with which we greeted some of the jokes in Round the Horn when I was still a teenager. And Humphrey Lyttelton was loved for his Samantha jokes on Haven’t A Clue. Personally I felt that some of these went too far – towards sexism rather than just sex – but that’s the kind of objection that invites the putdown: hairy-legged feminist!
That seems to be part of the problem here – those that should have objected being afraid of being thought of as being too old fashioned or something
The thing which I need to have explained however, is what anyone could have thought was remotely funny about making unpleasantly explicit remarks to an elderly man about his granddaughter?
I can think of 3 possibilities:
They thought it was a modern take on the kind of tongue lashing which ‘Manuel’ used to get from John Cleese in Fawlty Towers
Somehow the grand daughter is part of ‘the joke’. Here is where I feel like the judge who asked Who are the Beatles? But if she is a celebrity herself then the idea of pairing up with Russell Brand may be funny to those in the know
It was somehow a put down of Brand himself – He’s having another of his fantasies – nobody fancies him!
The fourth, disturbing possibility is that it was just the attitude of the school bully throughout the ages– We was only having a laugh!
Suppose it was the other way about – I think Ross has a daughter,
£750 an hour
A very expensive law case has opened in London. It is expected that the legal fees will amount to nearly £90 million, & could put an end to the status of London as the jurisdiction of choice for such international commercial battles
Since the case involves an aluminium smelter in Tajikistan, I wonder if the bigger problem, in the light of current difficulties, might not be whether there will be any money to pay the lawyers bills
Since the case involves an aluminium smelter in Tajikistan, I wonder if the bigger problem, in the light of current difficulties, might not be whether there will be any money to pay the lawyers bills
Monday, October 27, 2008
The smallest Hair upon the leg of a Gnat
New research suggests that today's 14 year old has the complex thinking ability that a 12 year old would have had a generation ago. This is blamed partly, if not entirely, on the short attention span which is encouraged by television & computer games etc
It is interesting to compare this with what JB Priestly wrote in 1972, roughly the same time that is now being compared with 2008:
We arrive now at the subject of attention.
Ours has been called the Age of Anxiety but it could also be called the Age of Necessary Attention. Outside our houses we have only to be inattentive to begin risking our lives - & other peoples. Even inside our houses or apartments there are probably all manner of appliances that cannot be left long unattended. We live in a world that demands more & more & closer & closer attention.
Nearly a century ago Bergson declared that our brains were largely instruments that had an inhibiting function, directing us to l’attention à la vie. Since then the immense development of technology, whether creating delicate instruments or racing cars & jet planes, has sharpened attention to a very fine edge. We are more & more aware of divisions of time that would have been meaningless to our forefathers.
When I first began recording for radio I was told Ten seconds from now, & this would have seemed utterly absurd to me sixty years ago, when I was already in my middle teens. (It is worth remembering that our forefathers travelled in stage coaches that left at dawn, noon or sunset, then trains brought in minutes – the 10.35 or the 4.26; and now on television screens, before some blast-off to the moon, we can see even seconds being split.)
I doubt if our ancestors could have understood a film, which is geared to our attentiveness. We can say that our present time, our personal now, has been so tapered that reality arrives through an increasingly narrowed slit
So we gain, perhaps more than we lose, from the speed with which we can change the focus of our attention
Would you like to be unable to understand a film?
It is interesting to compare this with what JB Priestly wrote in 1972, roughly the same time that is now being compared with 2008:
We arrive now at the subject of attention.
Ours has been called the Age of Anxiety but it could also be called the Age of Necessary Attention. Outside our houses we have only to be inattentive to begin risking our lives - & other peoples. Even inside our houses or apartments there are probably all manner of appliances that cannot be left long unattended. We live in a world that demands more & more & closer & closer attention.
Nearly a century ago Bergson declared that our brains were largely instruments that had an inhibiting function, directing us to l’attention à la vie. Since then the immense development of technology, whether creating delicate instruments or racing cars & jet planes, has sharpened attention to a very fine edge. We are more & more aware of divisions of time that would have been meaningless to our forefathers.
When I first began recording for radio I was told Ten seconds from now, & this would have seemed utterly absurd to me sixty years ago, when I was already in my middle teens. (It is worth remembering that our forefathers travelled in stage coaches that left at dawn, noon or sunset, then trains brought in minutes – the 10.35 or the 4.26; and now on television screens, before some blast-off to the moon, we can see even seconds being split.)
I doubt if our ancestors could have understood a film, which is geared to our attentiveness. We can say that our present time, our personal now, has been so tapered that reality arrives through an increasingly narrowed slit
So we gain, perhaps more than we lose, from the speed with which we can change the focus of our attention
Would you like to be unable to understand a film?
Winners & losers
Sales of the famous London black cabs have fallen by more than a third
The charter jet business is doing well – owners are having to sell up so they rent instead
Daily child care providers are doing well as mothers are forced back to work (for now). Super nannies for the super rich are losing their jobs
Queues are forming outside shoe repair shops which are busier than they have been since I were a lass. Bins which collect old shoes for recycling for charity are not as full as they were
A sandwich shop is advertising the Credit Crunch Lunch – a sandwich for £1. No extra ingredients or made-to-order
The charter jet business is doing well – owners are having to sell up so they rent instead
Daily child care providers are doing well as mothers are forced back to work (for now). Super nannies for the super rich are losing their jobs
Queues are forming outside shoe repair shops which are busier than they have been since I were a lass. Bins which collect old shoes for recycling for charity are not as full as they were
A sandwich shop is advertising the Credit Crunch Lunch – a sandwich for £1. No extra ingredients or made-to-order
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