Wednesday 28 October 2015

Random thoughts in the autumn

Today i gonna give you a lot of goodies. Trust me, I am not an engineer! Ha, ha!

* Let's start with M.C. Escher. Who is this? You probably do not know, but you have seen his work, i am sure of this. Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898-1972) is one of the world's most famous graphic artists. His art is enjoyed by millions of people all over the world, as can be seen on the many web sites on the internet. He is most famous for his so-called impossible constructions, such as Ascending and Descending, Relativity, his Transformation Prints, such as Metamorphosis I, Metamorphosis II and Metamorphosis III, Sky & Water I or Reptiles. But he also made some wonderful, more realistic work during the time he lived and traveled in Italy. Castrovalva for example, where one already can see Escher's fascination for high and low, close by and far away. The lithograph Atrani, a small town on the Amalfi Coast was made in 1931, but comes back for example, in his masterpiece Metamorphosis I and II. M.C. Escher, during his lifetime, made 448 lithographs, woodcuts and wood engravings and over 2000 drawings and sketches. Like some of his famous predecessors, - Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Dürer and Holbein-, M.C. Escher was left-handed. Find more of his prints here

** You got children? They eat sweets? Then you probably need to read this article that was published yesterday in NY Times. It is backed up by solid data, and i can even think about applying this for adults too, really. Check the article here

*** Now, in a futuristic twist, they are thinking how to program a self drive car in a moral dilemma,  the example when it is to choose between 5 workers being on the street and one worker on a side way, or between 5 workers and your own life, as i learned from my Harvard Justice course, with Professor Michael J. Sandel, i could easily answer to this. But i will let you to think about and eventually comment what do you think. With the unlike scenario when the car will kill you for the greater good (more lives saved), is this a revival of Jeremy Bentham work of early utilitarianism? Serious people, are we going back to the 17th century philosophies? It is very easy, and i will tell you what they need to do, you should pre-program your option and then deal with the consequences. If you choose to preserve your life at all cost, so be it. but it is your responsibility. The full article here


That's it for the moment. Have a nice week. See you soon.
G.

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