Wednesday, May 12, 2021

Anarchy

Anarchy (pronounced an-er-kee)

(1) A state of society without government or law.

(2) A political and social disorder due to the absence of governmental control.

(3) Lack of obedience to an authority; insubordination.

(4) In casual use, confusion and disorder; the absence of any guiding or uniting principle; chaos.

1530–1540: From the Middle English, from the Middle French anarchie, from the Medieval Latin anarchia, from the Ancient Greek ναρχία (anarkhía) (lawlessness, literally “lack of a leader”), the construct being ánarch(os) (leaderless) ((ν- (an-) (not; without) + ρχή (arkh) arch(ós) (leader; power; authority) + -os (the adjectival suffix)) + -ia (the noun suffix).  Anarchy & anarchism are nouns, anarchist is a noun & adjective, anarchic & anarchical are adjectives and anarchically is an adverb; the noun plural is anarchies.

Lindsay Lohan Anarchy tattoo by TADEONE!

Use of the word began in the 1530s in the sense of an "absence of government" describing the Year of Thirty Tyrants (in Athens 404 BC, when there was no archon (leader)), as an abstract noun from anarkhos (rulerless).  The noun anarchism, denoting the political doctrine advocating leaderlessness, the idea that a community is best organized by the voluntary cooperation of individuals, rather than by a government, which is regarded as being coercive by nature, was first noted in the 1640s; from the 1660s, it was used to mean “confusion or absence of authority in general" and by 1849 in reference to the social theory advocating "order without power," with associations and co-operatives taking the place of direct government, as formulated in the 1830s by French political philosopher Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (1809-1865).  The adjective anarchic (chaotic, lawless, without order or rule) appears not to have been used until 1755 (the poet Walter Savage Landor (1775–1864) using it in 1824) although anarchical had existed since 1710.  The deliciously paradoxical anarch (leader of the leaderless) was used by John Milton (1608–1674), Alexander Pope (1688–1744), Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822) & Lord Byron (1788–1824) and is said to be a favorite word in undergraduate anarchist clubs during discussions about whether leadership in actually possible in such organizations.  Whether any consensus tends to emerge from these ponderings is hard to say because, being anarchists, they're not inclined to keep minutes. 

The Russian connection

Mikhail Bakunin.

One of the seeming contradictions in the histories of anarchism and nihilism, despite essentially being about the absence of systems and structures and having been unsuccessful as political doctrines, is that both have attracted theorists who have produced detailed descriptions of their intellectual underpinnings and created complex layers of categories.  For whatever reason, it does seem Russians authors were those most attracted, possibly because the movements became popular during the late tsarist epoch and may have appeared uniquely attractive to activists seeking a philosophy with which to excite revolutionary possibilities.  The three categories of Russian anarchism were anarcho-communism, anarcho-syndicalism and individualist anarchism, the ranks of all three drawn predominantly from the intelligentsia and the working class, though the most numerous group, the anarcho-communists, appealed also to soldiers and peasants.  Anarchy was, in pre-revolutionary Russia, a movement which was never envisaged as merely theoretical or utopian, it’s proponents bent upon radically reforming Russian society, by violent means if need be.  An underground movement during the reactionary time after the tumult of 1848, Nicholas I (1796–1855; Tsar of Russia 1825-1855) imposed a harsh crack-down, persecuting writers such as Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821–1881), Vladimir Dahl (1801-1872), and Ivan Turgenev (1818–1883) in a period known as the gloomy seven years (1848-1855).  The roots of Russian nihilism are present in early work of the political anarchists, most notably Mikhail Bakunin (1814–1876) but can be found also in the Byronic philosophy of negating social and political cant such as found in the narrator's critical position in Don Juan (1819-1824).

Attracted by the homophonic properties, one model adopted Anekee van der Velden (sometimes as Anekee Vandervelden) as her internet identity and, operating somewhere on the soft core spectrum, had for some years a presence on a number of platforms, the merchandise including calendars.  She seems to have been from the Netherlands and the Dutch name Anekee is an affectionate diminutive of Anna.  Anneke means “favor”, “grace”, “gracious” & “merciful” or “He (God) has favored me” (from the Hebrew חֵן” (hen) (grace & favor) or  חָנַן” = (ḥanán) (to show favor; to be gracious)) and her photographs do suggest God was generous in his favor.  This being the internet, there's the not untypical mystery about her identity and history.  Some sources say her real name was Anne Isabella Raukema (b 1988) while others deny this but all her accounts are now closed or inactive and there are reports of her death but the veracity of such things is difficult to determine.  

Ms van der Velden integrated the anarchist symbol (the upper-case A surrounded by a circle (in typography one of the enclosed alphanumerics)) into her branding which was a nice touch.  The symbol has been used for decades and there have been attempts to interpret the meaning but while the "A" is obvious (from the Ancient Greek ναρχία (anarkhía) (lawlessness, literally “lack of a leader”)) and the circle is regarded usually a some sort of boundary (though after that the deconstructionists can weave some complexities), what's probably more interesting is that the anarchist symbol is depicted most frequently in the combinations black on white or red on black, exactly the same color palette used by the communists in Weimar Germany (1918-1933) and "borrowed" in the mid-1920s by Adolf Hitler (1889-1945; German head of government 1933-1945 & head of state 1934-1945) to render the swastika.  Hitler made no secret of his purloining and always delighted in telling how he turned the imagery of his opponents against them.

The use of red and black in the iconography of anarchism dates from the earliest days of the various movements in the nineteenth century.  Red flags, scarves, shirts etc had for centuries been popular in political and religious movements, both for their vividness and the representation of "blood to be spilled" but after the color was adopted by first the more numerous socialists and later the communists (its allocation by US TV networks to the Republican Party was done apparently without irony), the anarchists switched to black and there have been various interpretations of that, ranging from "mourning for the exploited & oppressed" to "the cold fury of the exploited & oppressed"; depending on their world view, anarchists can make of it what they will.  In an allusion to both traditions, a heterochromic blend (diagonally bisected red and black) is sometimes used by offshoots such as anarcho-syndicalism & anarcho-communism.

Anarchy & anarcho-communist pencil mini-skirts.  Capitalism is actually selectively anarchic in that it lobbies ruthlessly for legislation and regulations which protect it from competition or increases their profits while usually maintaining a public position of opposition to "intrusive", "unnecessary", "inefficient" or other laws which may impose costs.  Their preferred model is "self-regulation", administered by suitably vague "guidelines" or "codes of conduct", the charm of this approach being nothing is enforceable and everything can be ignored.  Although it's doubtful anyone has run the numbers, the suspicion is there would be something of a correlation between the extent to which certain industries are allowed to run under a "self-regulation" model and the value of political donations made.

Tuesday, May 11, 2021

Cynosure

Cynosure (pronounced sahy-nuh-shoor or sin-uh-shoor)

(1) Something that strongly attracts attention by its brilliance; a focal point, that which draws the eye; a person who is the centre of attention.

(2) That which serves to guide or direct; a guiding star; a guiding principle in life.

(3) Ursa Minor or Polaris, the North Star, used as a guide by navigators (usually capitalized).

(4) As Cynosura, a nymph in Greek mythology

1590–1600: From the sixteenth century French cynosure (Ursa Minor; Polaris), from the Latin Cynosūra (Ursa Minor), from the Ancient Greek Κυνόσουρα (Kunósoura) (the constellation Ursa Minor (Little Dipper and literally “dog’s tail”)), the construct being κυνός (kunós) (dog's) + ορά (ourá) (tail).  The Greek kunós (genitive kynos) was from the primitive Indo-European root kwon- (dog).  Cynosure was the historic name of the constellation now known as Ursa Minor, containing what is now the “North Star” (although this concept was unknown in Antiquity), the focus of pre-modern navigation (sitting at the tip of the tail); there are however extant ancient texts which mention the entire constellation being used to indicated the direction of the celestial north pole.  Such was the veneration for classical world that the circulated explanation of the origin of Cynosura being “dog's tail” that it was until recently universally accepted but more recent scholarship noted it does not connect to the theme of the constellation, and no other constellation fitting the description exists, thus the suspicion of some etymologists that the derivation from the word for dog is false.  Cynosura is the alternative name for the constellation Ursa Minor or its brightest star, Polaris.  Cynosure is a noun and cynosural is an adjective; the noun plural is cynosures.

Lindsay Lohan in cynosure dress, 2014.

In Greek mythology, Cynosura was a nymph (an Oread) who lived on Mount Ida on the Mediterranean island of Crete and nursed a young Zeus during his early years when he hid from his father Cronus; in gratitude, Zeus immortalized her among the stars.  According to the Roman Poet Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso; 43 BC–17 AD) (in part III of Fasti (The Book of Days) ) Cynosura was a companion of the nymph Helice and together they took the infant Zeus into Mount Ida’s Dictaean cave, caring for him while the Curetes (also as Kuretes & Kouretes, the divine beings living in the cave and associated with the worship of the goddess Rhea) distracted his father Cronus so he would not devour his son.  All went well until Cronus arrived in Crete at which point Zeus transformed the nymphs into bears and made himself appear as a dragon.  Thus disguised, the three escaped the fury of Cronos.  Later, after Zeus had become the supreme god, he made the two nymphs immortal, Cynosura becoming Ursa Minor while Helice, the beloved of Poseidon, was transformed into Ursa Major, also known as the Great Bear or the Big Dipper.  However, in some of the tales in Greek mythology the origin of the two constellations are told in the stories of Callisto, a follower of Artemis, and her son Arcas.  In Antiquity (Greek or Roman), there were often “alternative facts”.

Monday, May 10, 2021

Vagrant

Vagrant (pronounced vey-gruhnt)

(1) A person who wanders about idly and has no permanent home or employment; vagabond; tramp.

(2) In law in a number of jurisdictions, an idle person without visible means of support, as a tramp or beggar.

(3) A person who wanders from place to place; wanderer; rover; wandering idly without a permanent home or employment; living in vagabondage:

(4) In botanical science, plants showing uncontrolled or straggling growth (or, in casual use), a leaf blown by the wind.

(5) In zoology (especially ornithology), an animal, typically a bird, found outside its species’ usual range (and used also to describe a migratory animal that is off course)

(6) A widely-distributed Asian butterfly, Vagrans egista, family Nymphalidae.

1400-1450: From the Middle English vagraunt (wandering about) from the Anglo-Norman vageraunt, wakerant, wacrant, waucrant & walcrant (vagrant).  It’s thought probably from the Old French wacrant & waucrant (wandering about), apparently the present participle of wacrer, waucrer & walcrer (to wander, wander about as a vagabond), from the Frankish walkrōn (to wander about), a frequentative form of walkōn (to walk, wander, trample, stomp, full), from the Proto-Germanic walkōną, wancrer & walkaną (to twist, turn, roll about, full), from the primitive Indo-European walg & walk (to twist, turn, move). It was cognate with the Old High German walchan & walkan (to move up and down, to press together, full, walk, wander), the Middle Dutch walken (to knead, full), the Old English wealcan (to roll), the Old English ġewealcan (to go, walk about), the Old Norse valka (to wander) and the Latin valgus (bandy-legged, bow-legged).  Vagrant, vagrantism, vagrantness, vagrantness, vagrance & vagrancy are nouns, vagrantly is an adverb and vagrantize is a verb; the noun plural is vagrants. 

The archaic equivalent was vagrom (ˈveɪɡrəm) and, although contested, the evolution may have been influenced by the Old French vagant (vagabond) which is derived from the Latin vagārī (to wander).  The Old French waucrer is interesting because of the twin suffixes, (the construct being walc- + -r- (frequentative suffix) + -en (infinitive suffix).  Both vagrant and vagabond ultimately derive from the Latin word vagārī, (wander).  Vagabond is derived from Latin vagabundus; in Middle English, vagabond originally denoted a criminal.  The use of vagrancy to describe a "life of idle begging, is attested from 1706 and in the 1640s it was used in the figurative sense of, "mental wandering", an allusion to the earlier literal meaning.  By the late eighteenth century, in English law it had become a catch-all for miscellaneous petty offenses against public order and this was, to varying degrees, effected in most English-speaking jurisdictions, often in a category of “statutory offences” whereby the police could arrest and impose periods of brief incarceration without any judicial review.  In some places, these arrangements lasted well into the twentieth century.

William Shakespeare (1564–1616) was masterful in the way his writing mixed light and dark, his fools deployed for the obvious comic relief but often it was they who proved more wise than sterner characters, revealing truths hidden to others.  Dogberry, the fool in Much Ado About Nothing (1600), is the only one in the cast with the sense to bring Don John and his comrades to justice and is an example of the use of the fool of as literary device in the Shakespearian theme of juxtaposing appearance and reality.

Dogberry's Charge to the Watch (1859), oil on canvas by Henry Stacy Marks (1829–1898).

Vain and proud of his role as Constable, at which he's demonstratively incompetent, earnestly Dogberry encourages his men to "comprehend all vagrom", by which he means “arrest all vagrants”.  Anticipating Mrs Malaprop by a hundred and seventy-five years, unlike some of the bard’s coinings, “vagrom” never entered standard English but did remain part of educated slang until late in the nineteenth century and, in that era, is documented among London police as a jocular collective noun for undesirables, vagrant or not.

Roots of the Queensland Vagrants Gaming and Other Offences Act (1931)

The first vagrancy law in the English speaking world was the English Ordinance of Labourers (1349).  A legislative response to the effects of the Black Death, it sought to increase the available workforce by making idleness (unemployment) an offence.   A vagrant was defined as a person who could work but chose not to, and having no fixed abode or lawful occupation, begged; it was punishable by branding or whipping.  Vagrants were distinguished from aged or sick, later formalised by Henry VIII's (1491–1547; King of England (and Ireland after 1541) 1509-1547) Vagabonds Act (1530) which granted a beggar’s licence those too old or otherwise incapable of working.  Vagrants continued to be dealt with harshly, punishments being more severe for a second offence and those guilty a third time subject to execution.  In an effort to encourage the industrious to dob-in malingerers, Edward VI's (1537–1553; King of England and Ireland 1547-1553) Vagabonds Act (1547) permitted, in addition to even more barbaric punishments, the vagrant could be given as a slave to the person who denounced him.  It's not known if either the governor of Texas or the state legislature looked at the 1547 act when drafting their 2021 anti-abortion legislation.

The wear & tear once associated with vagrants has become designer distress: Lindsay Lohan illustrates the tatterdemalion look.

In England, Elizabeth I (1533–1603; Queen of England & Ireland 1558-1603) revised the Vagabonds Act in 1572, retaining most punishments and adding the possibility of transportation to the American colonies, News South Wales (NSW) & Van Diemen's Land (later Tasmania) not yet available.  Execution was now possible for a second offence and any rogue charged a third time would escape death only if someone hired him to work for two years while changes to the act in 1597 banished "incorrigible and dangerous rogues" to the penal settlements overseas.  It wasn’t until 1795 that any attempt was made by the authorities to address the causes of vagrancy when a form of outdoor relief intended to mitigate rural poverty was instituted and the first recognisably modern vagrancy act was passed in 1824.  In Australia, Queensland’s Vagrants, Gaming and Other Offences Act (1931) contained elements of the 1824 English act and wasn’t repealed until 2004.  The repeal had the useful effect of it becoming lawful to wear felt slippers in hours of darkness while outside one’s place of abode.

Walmart doesn’t operate in Queensland but, had a store opened there after 2004, it would have been lawful to wear slippers when shopping.  While Queensland legislation is silent on the matter and there’s no case law, it may always have been lawful to go shopping wearing pajamas and a dressing gown so the 2004 reform seems sensible.

Sunday, May 9, 2021

Knave

 Knave (pronounced neyv)

(1) An unprincipled, untrustworthy, or dishonest person.  A rogue (archaic).

(2) A card (1 x hearts, diamonds, clubs, spades) in the standard fifty-two card pack of playing cards.  Also known as the Jack, the choice of word being sometimes used as an indicator either of class or geographical origin.

(3) A male servant of the lower ranks (archaic).

(4) A man of humble position (archaic).

Pre 1000: From the late Old English cnafa (boy, male child; male servant) from the Proto-Germanic knabon- (source also of the Old High German knabo (boy, youth, servant) and the German knabe (boy, lad)) and thought likely related to the Old English cnapa (boy, youth, servant), the Old Norse knapi (servant boy), the Dutch knaap (a youth, servant), the Middle High German knappe (a young squire) and the German Knappe (squire, shield-bearer).  The ultimate origin is a mystery, the most popular speculation being "stick, piece of wood".  Knave, knavess & knavery are nouns, knavish is an adjective and and knavishly is an adverb; the noun plural is knaves.

Cards and class

The sense of a "rogue or rascal" emerged circa 1200, thought probably reflective of a the (ever-present) societal tendency to equate the poor and “those of low birth" with poor character and propensity to crime, English poet & satirist Alexander Pope (1688-1744) in Essay on Man (1732-1734), capturing the feeling: “From the next row to that whence you took the knave, take the seven; from the next row take the five; from the next the queen.  To show mercy towards such a knave is an outrage to society!”  Despite that however, in Middle English didn’t lose the non-pejorative meaning, a knave-child (from the Scottish knave-bairn) being a male child.  The use in playing cards began in the 1560s, a knave being always the lowest scoring of the court cards.

Lindsay Lohan's Royal Routine (Ace down to the 10 in one suit) in The Parent Trap (1998).  The most desirable of the 40 different straight flush possibilities, under standard poker rules, the odds against holding a Royal Routine are 649,739:1 whereas those of any straight flush are a more accessible 72,192:1.  The difference in the math is there are fewer cards available for a Royal Routine to be assembled.

The use of Jack in cards came from the influence of French.  What the French called a valet, the English knew as a knave (in the sense of a young, male servant).  During the seventeenth century the French started to call such staff “Jack” apparently on the basis of it being a common name among the serving class; it was also the name used for the Knave of trumps at the game All Fours.  Although it appears widely to have been played by all classes, All Fours suffered, perhaps because it was a quick, trick-taking game, the reputation of being something enjoyed only by the lower classes and the choice of “knave” or “jack” came to be treated as a class-signifier, Charles Dickens (1812-1870) in Great Expectations (1860-1861) having Estella express scorn for Pip’s use of the latter.  The class-consciousness in English extends to the adoption of the German Bauer (farmer or peasant), as Bower, collectively to describe (usually when a pair of trumps (by color)) the Jacks in some games.  Knave survived in widespread use well into the twentieth century but US cultural influence has rendered it now mostly obsolete except for a few games where it persists and possibly among those who prefer a dish of tea to a cup.

In packs of cards, Knave (marked Kn) was used until Jack (J) became entrenched after 1864 when, US card-maker Samuel Hart published a deck using J instead of Kn to designate the knave to avoid confusion with the visually similar King (marked K).  Historically, in some southern Italian, Spanish and Portuguese decks, there were androgynous knaves sometimes referred to as maids.  This tradition survives only in the Sicilian Tarot deck where the knaves are unambiguously female and always known as maids.

Tarot

The Jack of Hearts signifies an honest young man in love. He is attractive, kind and generous, the card often announcing a new and intimate friendship. As a lover, the Jack of Hearts is trustworthy, even when absent he will be faithful.  Committed and sincere, he's a most eligible bachelor.

The Jack of Spades card indicates a young man of dark complexion, cunning and devious.  Intelligent, brilliant even, but cynical and exploitative, he will use you and walk away.  The Jack of spades is a sign you will face adversity from a ruthless person; he cannot be trusted.

The Jack of Diamonds represents the Messenger, symbolising also an unfaithful assistant or dishonest employee. The Jack of diamonds is a young man who comes and goes, taking more than is permitted and although quick-witted and cunning, is not trustworthy.

The Jack of clubs means a good friend.  Although flirtatious, he is a sincere, skilful and brave young man.  For a woman, this card represents her fiancé but for a man, it means a more successful and richer rival. This card also signifies education and intelligence.


Saturday, May 8, 2021

Dimensionality

Dimensionality (pronounced dih-men-shuhn-nal-i-tee or dahy-men-shuhn-nal-i-tee).

(1) The state or characteristic of possessing dimensions.

(2) In mathematics, engineering, computing, physics etc, the number of dimensions possessed or attributed to an object, space or concept; the nature of the dimensions, considered, in relation to each other or the external world.

(3) In architecture (usually in criticism or theory), as super-dimensionality, micro-dimensionality, complimentary-dimensionality et al, an expression used to critique the scale of designs.

Circa 1910:  A coining of mathematicians said to date from the early twentieth century (though actual use may pre-date this), the construct was dimension + -ality.  Dimension was from late fourteenth century late Middle English dimensioun, from the Anglo-French, from the Latin dīmēnsiōn-, from dīmēnsiō & dīmēnsiōnem, from dīmensus (measuring, measurement, dimension), perfect active participle of dīmētior (measured, regular), the construct being dis- (part’ separate; render asunder) + mētior (measure or estimate; distribute or mete out; traverse), from the Proto-Italic mētis, from the primitive Indo-European meh- (to measure).  The suffix –ality was a compound affix, the construct being -al + -ity and equivalent to the French -alité and the Latin -ālitās.  The -al suffix was from the Middle English -al, from the Latin adjectival suffix -ālis, or the French, Middle French and Old French –el & -al.  It was use to denote the sense "of or pertaining to", an adjectival suffix appended (most often to nouns) originally most frequently to words of Latin origin, but since used variously and also was used to form nouns, especially of verbal action.  The alternative form in English remains -ual (-all being obsolete).  The –ity suffix was from the French -ité, from the Middle French -ité, from the Old French –ete & -eteit (-ity), from the Latin -itātem, from -itās, from the primitive Indo-European suffix –it.  It was cognate with the Gothic –iþa (-th), the Old High German -ida (-th) and the Old English -þo, -þu & (-th).  It was used to form nouns from adjectives (especially abstract nouns), thus most often associated with nouns referring to the state, property, or quality of conforming to the adjective's description.  The derived forms from mathematics and other disciplines (extradimentionality et al) are sometimes hyphenated (extra-dimentionality et al).  Dimensionality is a noun; the noun plural is dimensionalities.

Being inherently a thing of numbers, in both pure and applied mathematics, dimensionality matters.  There is equidimensionality which, strictly speaking in the quality enjoyed by two (or more) dimensions exactly the same but the term has also been used in architecture as (1) a fancy way to say that things are (by mathematical standards) “roughly the same” and (2) a synonym for symmetrical.  Nobody seems to have come up with “hetrodimensionality” or something like that, asymmetrical apparently adequate.  In psychiatry, unidimensionality is the quality of measuring a single construct, trait, or other attribute; it's a clinical tool, an example of which is a unidimensional personality scale which would contain items related only to the respective concept of interest.  It's not the same as the pop-psychology term "one-dimensional" which is an allusion to functional, intellectual, emotional etc limitations in individuals or institutions.  A particular use of that appeared in the book One-Dimensional Man (1964) by German-American philosopher Herbert Marcuse (1898–1979).  Marcuse argued modern capitalism had reduced culture to a technological rationality and individuals to mere economic units, their value measured only by their industrial productivity.  Moreover, the genius of this system was that the false consciousness of the victims was manipulated to the point they became defenders of their own oppression.

Superdimensionality on the beach: A gigantic Lindsay Lohan.

Nondimensionality refers to quantity or measurement with no physical units attached, often represented as a ratio of two quantities that have the same units, such as the ratio of the diameter of a circle to its circumference (which is represented by the nondimensional quantity π, or pi).  It’s not quite a revenge on the physicists who have identified certain particles with dimensions yet no mass, nondimensionality being useful in that relationships between different physical quantities can be expressed without the need to have specific units of measure.  Unidimensionality (the opposite of multidimensionality) refers to a measurement or quantity involving only one dimension or aspect; it is used not to imply there is only one dimension but in situations where the critical quality can be described using a single variable or dimension.  The classic examples of unidimensionality are the three dimensions length, width & breadth.  Multidimensionality involves two or more dimensions.  The companion terms “curse of dimensionality” and “blessing of dimensionality” are both commentaries of the volume of data available but reference not the data but the processes applied to the information.  The curse of dimensionality is that in some cases there can be an unmanageable amount of data; there is simply too much information even to assess what should be discarded.  However, for other purposes, the same data set could be invaluable, the volume making possible what once was not, thus the blessing of dimensionality.

String theory: Lindsay Lohan in string bikini, Mykonos, Greece, 2014.

Extradimensionality underlies string theory, a (highly) theoretical construct which has provided a number of speculative frameworks in an attempt to unify what are still considered the fundamental forces at work in the universe (gravity, electromagnetism, and the strong and weak nuclear forces).  The essence of string theory in that the fabric of the universe is composed not of point-like particles in space but very small, one-dimensional forms (the nature of which varies according to the version of the theory) which act like “strings”, vibrating at different frequencies.  The strings are said to exist in another dimensional space-time than the four with which we are familiar (length, width, depth & time) and some string theorists have suggested there may be ten or more dimensions.  The most significant aspect of the behavior of the strings is said to be their interaction with both the space in which they exist and other strings in other spaces (although on the latter point some theorists differ).  The intricate equations describing the strings and their dimensions has allowed very complex models to be built and from these, the handful of people of the planet who understand both the mathematics and their implications have drawn a number of inferences about the universe said variously to be “fascinating”, “speculative” and “nonsensical” and one of the delights of string theory is that it can be neither proved nor disproved.  Word nerds however can be grateful to the stringers because they adopted “compactified”, the word describing the way the dimensions beyond the verifiable four are curled up (or scrunched) at scales so small they remain unobservable with current technology.

Superdimentionality

Model of Germania, built to scale.

Superdimentionality is the application of exaggerated dimensions to designs, some of which actually get built.  It a popular motif for the kitsch structures favored by tourist attractions of which Australia has many (the big pineapple, big prawn, big golfball, big lobster, big gumboot et al) but for Adolf Hitler (1889-1945; German head of government 1933-1945 & head of state 1934-1945), superdimentionality was the dominant concept for the entire Nazi empire; reichism writ large.  The idea was well documented in the plans for Germania, the re-building of Berlin designed by a team under Albert Speer (1905–1981; Nazi court architect 1934-1942; Nazi minister of armaments and war production 1942-1945), the centerpiece of which was the monumental Volkshalle (People's Hall), sometimes referred to as the Große Halle (Great Hall).  The hall would have seated 180,000 under a dome 16 times larger than that of St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican and in its vastness was a classic example of the representational architecture of the Third Reich.  Although it’s obvious the structure as a whole was intended to inspire awe, the details also conveyed the subliminal messaging of much fascist propaganda, fixtures like doorways sometimes four times the usual height, the disconnection from human scale emphasizing the supremacy of the state.

German conceptual H-45 battleship.

Hitler also thought the materiel supplied to his military machine should be big.  After being disappointed by proposals for the successors to the Bismarck-class ships to have the armament increased only from eight 15-inch (380 mm) to eight 16 inch (406 mm) canons, he ordered OKM (Oberkommando der Marine; Naval High Command) to design bigger ships.  Although none were ever built, Germany lacking the facilities even to lay down the keels, the largest (the H-44) would have had eight 20-inch (508 mm) cannons.  Even more to the Führer’s liking was the concept of the H-45, equipped with eight 31.5 inch (800 mm) Gustav siege guns but the experience of surface warfare at sea convinced Hitler the days of the big ships were over and he would even try to persuade the navy to retire all their capital ships and devote more resources to the submarines which, as late as 1945, he hoped might still prolong the war.  However, he never lost faith in the promise of bigger and bigger tanks, an opinion share by none of the tank commanders who were appalled at the designs of some of the monstrosities he ordered prepared.

Hitler’s study in the Reich Chancellery (1939) (left) and his (rarely used) big desk in the corner, the big doors behind (right)

Perhaps surprisingly, there’s no record Hitler ever complained the Mercedes-Benz built for his use were too small but then they were by even by the standards to which popes, presidents and potentates were accustomed, big.  Certainly, there’s no record of him asking Daimler-Benz for anything larger as Charles De Gaulle (1890–1970; President of France 1958-1969), in 1965 aghast at the notion the state car of France might be bought from Germany or the US (it’s not known which idea he thought most appalling and apparently nobody bothered to suggest buying British) requested of coachbuilder Henri Chapron (1886-1978).  Le General’s only stipulations about his Citroën DS Presidential were (1) it had to be longer than the extended Lincoln Continentals then used by the White House for Lyndon Johnson (LBJ, 1908–1973; US president 1969-1969) and (2) the turning circle had to be tight enough to enter the Elysée Palace’s courtyard from the rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré and then pull up at the steps in a single maneuver.  Chapron managed to fulfill both requirements although the contrast between the Citroën’s rather agricultural 2.3 litre (140 cubic inch) four-cylinder engine and the Lincoln’s 7.0 (430) V8 was remarkable, De Gaulle probably regarding the Lincoln’s additional displacement as typical American vulgarity.

Mercedes-Benz 770K (W150), Berlin 1939.

Hitler though would have been impressed by the big V8 although he would doubtless have pointed out the 7.7 litre (468 cubic inch) straight-8 in his Mercedes-Benz 770K was not only bigger but also supercharged and he’d have found nothing vulgar in any of the American machine’s dimensions.  The 770Ks used by the Führer were produced in two series (W07 (1930-1939) & W150 (1939-1943)) of what the factory called the Grosser Mercedes (the Grand Mercedes) and while the earlier cars were available to anyone with the money (seven between 1932-1935 purchased by the Japanese Imperial household for the emperor’s fleet and adorned with the family’s gold chrysanthemum), the W150s were made exclusively for the upper echelons of the Nazi Party although to smooth the path of foreign policy, some did end up in foreign hands such as António Salazar (1889–1970) dictator of Portugal 1932-1968), Generalissimo Francisco Franco (1892-1975; Caudillo of Spain 1939-1975) & Field Marshal Mannerheim (commander-in-chief of Finnish defense force 1939–1945 and president of Finland (1944–1946).  Though large and impressive, by 1938 the W07 was something of a engineering relic and although the demands of the military were paramount in the economy, resources were found to update the Grosser to the technical level of the more modern 540K by adopting a lower tubular chassis with revised suspension (the de Dion axle at the rear something which should have appeared on the post-war cars) and a new, five-speed, all synchromesh gearbox.  Making the selection of first gear effortless was of some significance because so much of the 770K’s time was spent at crawling speed on parade duty but, despite the bulk (and the weight of the armored versions with 1¾ inch (45 mm) glass could exceed 5500 kg (12,000 lb), speeds in excess of 160 km/h (100 mph) could be achieved provided one had enough autobahn ahead although at that pace, even the 195 litre (52 US gallon, 43 Imperial gallon) fuel tank would soon have been drained.  Some sources also claim five were built with two superchargers, raising the top speed to 190 km/h (118 mph) but the tale may be apocryphal.

Mercedes-Benz G4 during Hitler’s entry in Vienna following the Anschluss (the absorption of Austral into the Reich), 14 March 1938.  The statue in the background is of the Archduke Charles Louis John Joseph Laurentius of Austria, Duke of Teschen (1771–1847) and often referred to as “Archduke Karl”, mounted on the Heldenplatz.

Also appealing to Hitler was the big, three-axle G4 (W31).  The factory developed six-wheel (and ten-wheel for those with dual rear wheels) cross-country vehicles for military use during the 1920s but after testing a number of the prototype G1s, the army declined to place an order, finding them too big, too expensive and too heavy for their intended purpose.  Hitler however, as drawn to big, impressive machines as he was to huge, representational architecture, ordered them adopted as parade vehicles and the army soon acquired a fleet of the updated G4, used eventually not only on ceremonial occasions but also as staff and command vehicles, several known to have been specially configured, some as baggage cars and at least one as a mobile communications centre, packed with radio-telephony.  Eventually, between 1934-1939, fifty-seven were built, originally exclusively for the OKW (Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (Armed Forces High Command)) and OKH (Oberkommando des Heeres (Army High Command)) but one was gift from Hitler to Franco and the Spanish G4, one of few which still exists, was restored and remains in the royal garage in Madrid.  According to factory records, all were built with 5.0, 5.3 & 5.4 litre straight-eight engines but there is an unverified report of interview with Hitler’s long-time chauffeur, Erich Kempka (1910-1975), suggesting one for the Führer’s exclusive use was built with the 7.7 litre straight-eight used in the 770K Grosser.  Most of the 770s were supercharged so, if true, it's a tantalizing prospect but this story is widely thought apocryphal, no evidence of such a one-off ever having been sighted.

Friday, May 7, 2021

Nudge

Nudge (pronounced nuhj)

(1) To push slightly or gently, especially with the elbow; a gentle push.

(2) To give a nudge.

(3) To annoy with persistent complaints, criticisms or pleas; to nag.

(4) In behavioral economics (and other disciplines), the use of positive reinforcement and indirect suggestions as ways to influence behavior.

(5) In internet use, a feature of instant messaging software used to get the attention of another user, as by shaking the conversation window or playing a sound.

(6) In gambling (slot machines; fruit machines etc), the rotation by one step of a reel of the player's choice.

(7) Slightly to move.

(8) In slang as “giving it a (bit of a) nudge”, high alcohol consumption in the context of binge drinking.

1665-1675: From the Middle English, a variant of the earlier nidge & knidge, akin to the Old English cnucian & cnocian (to knock).  In other languages, there were similar forms.  There was the Yiddish nudyen (to bore), first noted in English in 1877, apparently derived from the Polish nudzić (sometimes written as nudnik in translation (and both from Slavic words meaning "fret, ache”)) and in the 1960s modern Yiddish adapted nudge (nudjh in Modern Yiddish) to mean complainer or nagger (presumably to satisfy the demand from daughters-in-law needing descriptors of Jewish mothers-in-law).  In the Nordic region, dating from the seventeenth century there was the Icelandic nugga (to push, rub or massage) and the Norwegian nugge or nyggje (to jostle, rub, push slightly with the elbow), from the Proto-Germanic hnōjaną (to smooth, join together), from the primitive Indo-European kneh- which may have had some relationship to the Ancient Greek κνάω (knáō) (to scratch, scrape), source of the English noun acnestis (the section of an animal's skin that it cannot reach in order to scratch itself, usually the space between the shoulder blades).  There was also the Scots nodge (to push, poke, nudge), knidge (to push, squeeze), gnidge (to rub, press, squeeze, bruise) & knudge (to squeeze, press down with the knuckles) and the Middle Low German nucke, nücke & gnücke (a sudden push, shock, impetus).  Nudge is a noun & verb, nudged & nudging are verbs, nudger is a noun, nudgy is an adjective and nudgingly is an adverb; the noun plural is nudges. 

Nudge theory

The most famous example of a nudge is the etching of the image of a housefly into the urinals at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport (actually an idea dating back decades).  It’s to nudge men towards “improving the aim" and one feminist critic suggested images of dartboards so “men could keep score.”  She may have been taking the piss.

First appearing in the 2008 book Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness by University of Chicago economist & Nobel Laureate Richard Thaler (b 1945) and Harvard Law Professor Cass Sunstein (b 1954), nudge theory was a concept now part of the behavioral sciences, political theory and economics.  It suggests the use of positive reinforcement and indirect suggestions to try to achieve non-forced compliance with desirable objectives.  Nudge theory attracted criticism from both left and right because it is a form of social engineering although the specifics of the critiques vary but it certainly was organizationally influential, the seemingly radical that government could maintain the freedoms enjoyed by citizens in the democratic West while simultaneously helping them make better choices in matters relating to their health, happiness & wealth.  Within months of publication, over 500 nudge units or departments had been created around the world, including institutions like the World Bank and the United Nations (UN).  However, in recent years, critics have challenged the both the effectiveness of the idea and even that nudges by governments are inherently less intrusive and thus more likely to sustain civil freedoms than other approaches (taxes, legislation etc).  One obvious difficulty for both sides of the argument is that any attempt to find a correlation between nudges and alleged outcomes cannot easily be reduced to numbers so conventional economic modeling is often not useful.

Lindsay Lohan at dawn, resting in a Cadillac Escalade, Los Angeles, May 2007.  The idiomatic Australian phrase “gave it a bit of a nudge last night” is an allusion to having taken too much strong drink.