Jinn of Quality and Risk

Terrorism did not originate in the Middle East. Rather, the word, along with terrorist, first appears in English in 1795 in reference to the Jacobins of France. They ruled France in what was called La Terreur (the Reign of Terror) from 1793-94. By 1798, the term was being applied generally to anyone who attempted to achieve political goals through violence and intimidation. You may want to contrast this with the American Revolution: the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Apart from that, the French know a few things about the good life. 

Dave Winer shares the story of his ascent from Mathematics to Software Development: I was a math major in college. It was kind of a fluke for me to be that, because I wasn't that good at math in high school. I was more of an English-major type, or Political Science or whatever, or truth be told, a dropout. ... but there was one life-changing [college] class, a math class for people who never really got math in high school. My teacher ... was a gift from heaven. But someone thought Dave was not good enough for "pure mathematics." [DaveNet : XML and academia]

For my part, it was a matter of facing/meeting a combination of people at the right time. Wanted to go into nuclear engineering at the age of 13, but a physics teacher warned me there was no future in nuclear power for social reasons (don't remember his name, but thanks! it was a pretty good call back in 1979). My math teacher, Noveraz, thought that although I was his best pupil I would never amount to anything in science — because... my proofs and demonstrations were inductive, not deductive as he wanted them. Taught me that some people believe in a dogmatic process, not truth and results (he happened to be deeply religious, btw). Then a bureaucrat gave us tests and advice on what career to pursue; he claimed he had never seen such excellent results in mathematical ability as I had — so... he advised me to go into rural engineering or advertisement. That was the end of my (limited) belief in the sincerity or competence of such employees of the State. Moved on to gymnasium at 15, where I was introduced to programming (UCSD Pascal on Terak then Smaky) by a great maths/physics teacher, Daniel Amiguet, who had a great sense of humour, a deep understanding of modularity, a gift for coaching, and excellent pasta at home! (Thanks!) So I went into Computer Science/Software Engineering (not just for the pasta, clearly). I knew I would not go into Mathematics because of that inductive vs deductive thingy; I also wanted to do something that had clear and direct impact in "the real life" as I used to say. Software development was perfect for me. 

The world's flags given (somewhat subjective) letter grades, with comments about their design — such as: colonial nonsense; automatic weapons on a flag are especially bad; looks good on a T-shirt; appears to involve a moustache sprouting from a flagpole; and is that a tennis ball? 

Millions die every year of malaria because of the irrational DDT ban. Although Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" claims have been thoroughly debunked by scientists in the past four decades, her malevolent influence lingers on and the DDT ban she inspired is directly responsible for the deaths of 100 million people since 1962. It is primarily children and pregnant women in developing countries who are being killed. All sane people must speak up against the toxicity of environmentalism. Read the full story: Environmentalism and malaria vs man... 

The search for optimal sleep patterns goes on. New findings about sleep duration and associated risks, without identification of causation, to be presented this week at the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, come on the heels of a controversial study published in February that suggested that people who sleep less than the recommended eight hours may live longer. The new studies pinpoint seven to eight hours as the optimal amount of nightly sleep rather than the five to seven suggested by the earlier report. 

Did I mention that I bought a Canon PowerShot S40 (a sophisticated collaboration of modern design and state-of-the-art digital technology that delivers astonishing resolution and brilliance) last April — at the Fashion Island Apple Store? (Newport Beach offers residents and visitors boating, water sports, golfing, gourmet dining and world-class shopping at the Fashion Island.)

I gathered 10 of the latest four-megapixel models, most priced from $400 to $600. ... I also wanted enough manual controls to take pictures like the pros: crisp close-ups of flowers with blurry backgrounds, spectacular frozen-action sports photos and those cool nighttime shots in which car taillights make colorful tracks. [NY Times] 

We believe that to be successful, companies must truly understand their customers. ... We go beyond demographics and attitudinal surveys, using ethnographic research to examine your customers' behaviors, attitudes, and mindsets in-context. [ex-Sapient people] 

Over the last 1 million years, the earth's climate record has revealed a 100,000-year cycle oscillating between relatively cold and warm conditions... when the sun is magnetically more active, the earth experiences a warmer climate, and vice versa, when the sun is magnetically less active, there is a glacial period. Right now, the earth is in an interglacial period (in between ice ages) that began about 11,000 years ago, and as expected, this is also a time when the estimated solar activity appears to be high. The current interglacial period happens to be The Rise of Mankind, from caves to space stations. A warmer climate is good for us. [Dartmouth College] 

The age to which human beings can live is increasing by more than a year every decade and shows no signs of reaching any biological limit... If the trend continues, a handful of children born in 2000 are likely to survive to the age of 130. The advance of the human lifespan may even prove more rapid still, given advances in medical science. 

The World Federation of Sleep Research Societies was founded in 1987, today with a combined membership of over 4000 sleep scientists and physicians. 

MRAP, an "antiracist" group in France, is trying to suppress publication of "The Rage and the Pride," a new book [about Islam] by Italian writer Oriana Fallaci. She has responded I remind [MRAP] that in France as in the West, there is freedom of thought and of opinion and of expression and of the press.

In a powerful article written after the September 11 massacre (Anger and Pride, translated from the Italian) Oriana Fallaci states The truth is that America is a special place, my friend. A country to envy, to be jealous of, for reasons that have nothing to do with wealth et cetera. It's special because it was born out of a need of the soul, the need to have a homeland, and out of the most sublime idea that Man has ever conceived: the idea of liberty... But liberty is anathema to the Muslim world, especially because it is a specifically Western achievement, the fruit and legacy of Ancient Greece, the Renaissance, and the Enlightenment.

In her book (based on the article quoted above) Fallaci apparently argues that violence and hatred are integral to the Muslim civilisation. She has been receiving death threats since her book was published in France. So, when will the West wake up and start acting with pride?
[linked to the Washington Post/AP, via OpinionJournal - Best of the Web Today]