Reflections about 10.10.10

Today is October 10, 2010, which is the binary equivalent of 42. I was looking forward to this day, as 42 is the "Ultimate Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, The Universe, and Everything." Alas, my day was not fruitful in this respect, maybe we have to wait for another century for The Ultimate Answer. And then, the context could be very different, as human life may have few similarities with today's. Just think how life today compares to that of 1910, and how we now ridicule some aspects of everyday life then. If you still follow my train of thought here, what would people a century from now find ridiculous about our lives nowadays? Here are a few candidates, and only the far future will tell whether I am right.

1. We drive cars ourselves. How inefficient and, especially, dangerous.
   
2. We can pollute mostly for free.
   
3. Water is essential, yet cheap.
   
4. Nationalism.
   
5. The amount of garbage we generate, in particular paper and plastic.
   
6. Major projects are funded and conducted at the national level: space exploration, fundamental research.
   
7. Smoking tobacco.
   
8. Transportation centered on individual fuel engines.
   
9. How religious people are.
   
10. Circumcision.
    
11. We tolerate a huge dispersion in standards of living across the Earth.
    
12. Life-time insurance contracts between people of the same gender are illegal is many places.
    
13. Private and exclusive health care provision.
    
14. Immigration laws.
    
15. Patents and copyright.
    
16. Intelligent design.
    
17. We kill sociopaths.
    
18. We pay to put drug users in jail instead of taxing them.
    
19. We need new flu immunization every year.
    
20. TV and celebrity oriented leisure.
    
21. That abortion needs to be an option.
    
22. The catholic church can get away with child molestation on a grand scale.
    
23. We use toilet paper and flush with water.
    
24. We devote lots of resources to lawns.
    
25. We prefer pumping expensive carbon into the atmosphere rather than using free solar energy.
    
26. We expect physicians to know everything on the spot without looking it up.
    
27. The USA is a country, while Europe is not one.
    
28. Government officials are poorly paid and are expected to outdo themselves for the common good.
    
29. The right to privacy is somewhat enforceable.
    
30. Lawyers are powerful.
    
31. Prostitution often involves sex.
    
32. One needs to dress well to be respected (artists excepted).
    
33. Few babies with birth defects are born.
    
34. Farmers receive substantial subsidies, sometimes in areas not suitable for farming.
    
35. Many people know how to spell.
    
36. Rogue states.
    
37. Invasive surgery.
    
38. The belief that one needs to exercise to lose weight.
    
39. The waste of time in commuting.
    
40. Chemotherapy.
    
41. We eat animals.
    
42. How bad our lives are.
    

Is Europe a third world country?

Following up on last week's rant, why would an American arriving for the first time in Europe think he arrived in a third world country?

1. Cars are tiny, many people use bicycles or walk.
   
2. Food portions are small and rationed.
   
3. People live on top of each other.
   
4. Lots of idle people in the streets.
   
5. Many places do not accept plastic money, including hotels.
   
6. Ethnic hatred going far back in time.
   
7. No shyness about being naked.
   
8. Many monarchies.
   
9. And... passports are checked when you leave.
   

Is the US a third world country?

Of course it is not. But for a European who sets foot on the continent for the first time, several observations would lead to this conclusion:

1. Urban ghettos, homeless people, trailer parks are certainly not a showcase of an advanced and rich civilization.
   
2. High criminality and violence.
   
3. Rampant corruption, which is even legal. Politicians can be bought openly, and few people see a problem with that.
   
4. Crumbling infrastructure. Roads are full of potholes, in particular urban highways.
   
5. Telephone and electricity are still supplied through overhead cables that are high in maintenance.
   
6. Cellphones cannot be used to pay in stores.
   
7. Credit cards do not have chips.
   
8. No sidewalks in many places.
   
9. A quarter of all homes still use septic tanks.
   
10. Idle police officers watching every construction site on roads.
    

About this obsession with lawns

Why do people have this fascination with lawns? They are fundamentally useless and people devote large resources to it. Thinking about it, it is even absurd. You devote resources to remove naturally growing plants, pay for new seeds, then pay for fertilizer and devote resources to watering regularly so that the lawn grows well. Then you spend time or hire people to cut it short! And you just trash what you cut!

And do not tell me a lawn looks nice. I much prefer wild grass with wild flowers. Or that a lawn is useful, as it usually cannot not sustain much foot traffic on it. That space would be more useful if something were cultivated for consumption, or if it had some sheep or goats on it. And because the lawn needs to be perfect, leaves need to be picked up in the fall. Another useless effort.

So, why is our civilization obsessed with green and manicured lawns?

About books

A week ago, I argued that journals are dead. What about books? There are three types of books I want to distinguish.

Textbooks. They have turned into an abomination. They are expensive, too frequently revised, encourage both teacher and student to be lazy in class. I would do away with I were allowed.

Academic books. In economics, they rarely push the frontier of research. Over the last five years, I must not have read more than five. Were they to disappear, it would not be a big loss.

Entertaining books. By that I mean literary pieces in fiction mostly. This is a medium that is not going to disappear. Nothing beat being taken by a book and not be able to put it away. There is something physical about it that a Kindle cannot replicate. Something like what the following video describes.

The best political cartoon in years

Who is going to Japan?

I received this letter the other day. Fill in [...] with a name I am withholding:

Dear Parents of [...]

Congratulations! [...] has been nominated to journey to Japan as a People to People Student Ambassador in the summer of 2009. This is an opportunity to join high school students from your area on a fascinating educational journey.

[...] can experience 14 days of rewarding activities and meet the people of Japan, all while earning high school or university credit. Your local delegation will represent the United States overseas, experience new cultures, and make lifelong friends. Success and confidence await [...] in rewarding activities like these:

• Explore dramatic Mount Fuji, the spiritual symbol of Japan.
  
• Experience the depth of Japan's heritage as you enter Tokyo's Meji Shrine, Asakusa Temple, and Nakamise Market.
  
• Learn the art of the Japanese language and elevate your knowledge of Shinto when you ferry to a sacred island.
  
• Challenge your knowledge and viewpoint at Hiroshima's Peace Park, a memorial to World War II.
  

Etc...

I must say I felt very honored about this nomination for [...] and was wondering who would have nominated [...]. So I called the local high school, who informed me that they nominate no one for such programs, especially a cat. Now I must say that my cat [...] is of an age that would qualify for high school, hence probably the confusion.

The high school also informed me that it does not give credit for such travel, which surely disappointed me, as my cat would have received a head start if I were to register it for next year's freshman class. That credit would have come at a steep price, though, about US$6000. So I think I'll pass on the opportunity and not use the personal invitation number.