Have we lost sight of everyday wisdom?

Barry Schwartz is an American pyschologist, author and professor of social theory and social action. In this TED Talk he makes a passionate call for practical wisdom as an antidote to a society gone mad with bureaucracy.

Manipulation of the Media

Just to prove that manipulation of the media is as old as the media itself, here are a couple of quotations I read recently. The description is taken from a wanted notice, purportedly signed by Pontius Pilate and later quoted by the Jewish historian Josephus:

"At this time, too, there appeared a certain man of magical power, if it is permissible to call him a man, whom certain Greeks call a son of God, but his disciples the true prophet, said to raise the dead and heal all diseases.
His nature and form were human, a man of simple appearance, mature age, dark skin, small stature, three cubits high [about five feet], hunch-backed, with a long face, long nose and meeting eyebrows, so that those who see him might be affrighted, with scanty hair with a parting in the middle of the head, after the manner of Nairites, and an underdeveloped beard."

This piece was later altered by Christian historians to read:

"... ruddy skin, medium stature, six feet high, well grown, with a venerable face, handsome nose, goodly black eyebrows with good eyes so that spectators could love him, with curly hair the colour of unripe hazel nuts, with a smooth and unruffled, unmarked and unwrinkled forehead, lovely blue eyes, beautiful mouth, with a copious beard the same colour as the hair, not long, parted in the middle, arms and hands full of grace..."

Taken from A Criminal History of Mankind, by Colin Wilson (Parragon, London, 1993).

At least both of the original authors agreed that Jesus had a centre parting. Other than that, I'm still undecided on his real appearance.

The Dor Yeshorim Organisation

Sat at home over the holidays, watching the television as usual, I came across a documentary about the Jewish Community in New York. Its probably common knowledge, but I personally wasn't aware of a system of genetic testing which is carried out on young Jews of high school age. These tests are administered by the Dor Yeshorim Organisation which was set up by Rabbi Josef Ekstein in the 1980s after he lost four of his children to Tay-Sachs disease (a genetic disorder caused when two recessive genes come together, one from each parent) and has expanded to cover other areas, including Israel.

Recessive genetic disorders are very prevalent in the New York Jewish comunity as it is a relatively small population with a very strong tendancy for intermarriage (over many generations). A simple (but possibly controversial) method for avoiding these problems is for prospective couples to have their test results checked for compatibility before committing to marriage.

Opponents compare the basic premise to that of eugenics (and with such a claim comes an inevitable comparison to the ideas of the Nazis). Certainly if you are a strong believer in the idea of "true love", then it is a bit off-putting. Furthermore, at what point should you stop? There will always be some deleterious genes in any genetic profile. You might argue, however, that it's natural to want to know as much as possible about your partner before you marry, and why shouldn't this involve delving into their genetic identity?

My initial response was to feel a bit uneasy about the whole premise. However, after thinking about it for a while, I can see a lot of value in the idea that a couple should be confident that they have done all they can to ensure they are able to have healthy children. Is it acceptable for a couple to decide that they shouldn't marry in order to prevent avoidable suffering and death in the next generation? Of course, if you feel strongly that it is wrong for your religion to dictate who you should fall in love with, then the ideas of Dor Yeshorim will be completely alien to you in any case. Certainly a good subject for a TOK presentation I think, and it is a good example of a subject in which religion and science meet.

Simon Singh and UK libel laws

Simon Singh is a science author and journalist based in the UK. I met him on a couple of occasions when he gave some talks in cafés in Brighton (before I ended up here in Mexico), and I've mentioned his science and maths books on this blog before. He's a terribly nice chap, but has recently fallen foul of UK libel laws following the publication of an article he wrote in his column in the Guardian newspaper.

In the article he was critical of the British Chiropractic Association (BCA). Specifically, he questioned their claims that manipulation of the spine can cure illnesses in children such as asthma, ear infections and colic, by altering the flow of blood around the body (these claims bear a striking resemblance to those made by proponents of Braingym). Its difficult to find a transcript of the original article, since many websites are scared of being sued for libel along with Dr. Singh. However, I did find a copy on a Russian blog, here.

The result of his article was a two year legal battle (costing him 200 000 pounds), after the BCA sued him. He has consistently defended himself on the basis that he had the right to "fair comment". In an initial hearing, the judge found in favour of the BCA, but this decision was reversed in the High Court a few days ago (1st April, 2010).

The most obvious result of the whole thing has been the mobilisation of science writers and bloggers in the UK in support of Singh, and the highlighting of inequities within UK libel laws. Many people (including celebrities, journalists and politicians) are currently calling for reform of the law because of their perception that it favours large organisations with the money to silence their critics. Dr. Singh has always claimed that science writers in particular must be allowed to publish without fear of being sued by the organisations they are investigating.

I wasn't previously aware of British libel law, but it seems that it has gained some notoriety over the years. The UN's Committee on Human Rights has attacked "libel tourism", where foreign businessmen and millionaires use the High Court in London to sue foreign publishers under defamation laws. Similarly, in one episode of South Park, Tom Cruise shouts at the American press "I'm gonna sue you...... in England."

Simon Singh's website can be found here, together with his petition to reform the law (which I will admit to signing myself).

Aramaic...an endangered language

The common language in the time of Jesus, Aramaic, is now so endangered the written version has become practically extinct. Now the only place left in the world where it has remained virtually unchanged since biblical times is losing its Aramaic speakers, as people leave to find work elsewhere. Maaloula in Syria is one of the oldest villages in the world, but is losing its culture and its language as the modern world encroaches:

Lost in Translation.....again

More proof that you should really know what you are saying before you write it on a signpost. This is a fairly old story now, but still funny. There is a legal requirement in Wales that all public signs should be written in both English and Welsh. This sign appeared on a Swansea street a few years ago:

Unfortunately, nobody bothered to check the translation with a native Welsh speaker, and it was later found to read "I am not in the office at the moment. Please resend any work to be translated".

The Logical Fallacy Song

At last... an explanation of logical fallacies that even I can understand. Made, incidentally, by a couple of straw men: