Wednesday, March 20, 2019

768: The Bomb....

We use to depict the atom as a glowing nucleus shaped like a bunch of grapes, enmeshed within the intertwined loops of orbiting electrons. 
  
It is the very trademark of the 20th century. Yet what reality lies behind the symbol? Did the atom ever sit for its portrait? 
  
The truth is that no one has ever seen an atom, for it is far too small to see. Even if magnifying lenses could be made powerful enough, 
  
light waves themselves are so coarse that the atom would still defy visual examination. 
   
It would be like trying to feel the texture and angles of a grain of sand with hands encased in boxing gloves. 
  
Nevertheless, bit by bit, the minute terrain of the atom has been mapped from evidence that, 
  
taken piece by piece, is the most circumstantial imaginable. 
  
Taken as a whole, however, this evidence has built up a picture of the atom with proved usefulness, as demonstrated by the nuclear weapon and the power reactor. 
  
The accumulation of hints has been one of the most massive, protracted and diligent detective jobs ever undertaken by science.
  
Man began speculating about atoms long before science became an organized activity. 
  
Even to the ancient Greeks it appeared sensible to assume that there might be some kind of ultimate building blocks of matter. 
  
Then, many centuries later, the great Isaac Newton concluded that matter was formed in 
  
" ... solid, massy, hard, impenetrable, movable particles ... "-in other words, that the atom was something like a billiard ball.
Newton's idea was pure speculation. 
  
The first man to reason the atom's existence by cold intellectual deduction from a fact in nature was John Dalton (1766 – 27 July 1844), early in the 19th century.  
  
Dalton developed a theory of the relative atomic weights of elements. How he did that is beyond my apprehension, but the research history is fascinating.
    
In the period 1850 - 1930 physicists were experimenting with gases, electricity, magnetisms, elements, unknown radiations and try to unravel the whole thing.
  
I always thought that the nuclear bomb was developed by physicists in the USA in the second half of World War II. Wrong...
   
The Frisch–Peierls memorandum was the first technical exposition of a practical nuclear weapon. 
  
It was written by expatriate Jewish German physicists Otto Frisch and Rudolf Peierls in March 1940 
  
while they were both working for Mark Oliphant at the University of Birmingham in Britain during World War II.
  
What really was going on, I'l tell you in the next lecture, but one thing is already clear: 
  
the nuclear bomb is the most devastating legacy of the 20th century, which still shapes our world of today and into the far future.
   
Thank you for your attention again....
   
The Discussion

[13:20] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): thank you Herman
[13:20] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako):
[13:20] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): We have discovered a lot in this area indeed
[13:21] herman Bergson: What strikes me the most today is the fact that the human mind created the idea that matter is built of small particles
[13:21] herman Bergson: even the Ancient Greek had that idea..... out of the blue?!
[13:21] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): is that possible out of the blue?
[13:22] herman Bergson: I think I have an explanation......:-)
[13:22] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): And although we cant see atoms we have discovered and confirmed all its parts using particle accelerators and similar machines the latest being the higgs boson discovered by the LHC machine
[13:22] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): question is have we discovered everything here or is there more to see
[13:22] herman Bergson: When I was about 16 I had a discussion with someone
[13:23] herman Bergson: the question was....can you destroy something completely....
[13:23] herman Bergson: that is...go from something to nothing....
[13:23] Cream Biscuit: I don't think so...
[13:23] herman Bergson: and whatever we tried to think of....there always was something left....
[13:23] herman Bergson: a gas....ashes....
[13:23] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): Antimatter + Matter = total destruction + all matter converted to 100 % energy
[13:24] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): particles
[13:24] herman Bergson: eventually yes Beertje....
[13:24] Pip Torok: isnt that something left: energy
[13:24] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): would be a hell of a bomb, This concept is used in the movie Angles and demons
[13:24] herman Bergson: Energy is a modern term Pip....
[13:24] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): but LHC or any other accelerator cant produce and contain it like that so we can be calm
[13:24] herman Bergson: then I tried to think as an Ancient Greek....
[13:25] herman Bergson: what did he see....
[13:25] herman Bergson: he smashes a rock...pulverizes it....but he still keeps some residue....
[13:25] Cream Biscuit: She saw the nature 
[13:25] herman Bergson: cant make it disappear completely
[13:26] herman Bergson: Unfortunately the person who was wondering about it in those days was a man, Cream :-)
[13:26] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): until it gets so small it cant get any smaller = Atom which indeed is the greek word for Undividiable
[13:26] Cream Biscuit: hehe...
[13:27] herman Bergson: Indeed Bejiita
[13:27] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): well that is until u use these accelerators and smash it up, this was indeed the first use of these hence their other name atom smashers
[13:28] herman Bergson: But the thing is....even when you observe this pulverizing....it doe not necessarily lead to the conclusion that matter is built of small particles in general
[13:28] herman Bergson: and yet scientists used it as their model
[13:29] herman Bergson: I don't understand hardly anything about it, but when you read about the research they did in the 1880s and later....
[13:29] herman Bergson: the theories they developed and tested and got verified.....
[13:29] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): other proofs of this is why metals are conductive and why different elements (alkali metals, noble gases, halogens ect) behave the way they do which is due to their electron shell configuration
[13:30] herman Bergson: while they were unable to see what they were talking about.....only circumstantial evidence
[13:30] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): they still made conclusions that it had to work like this and surely it dies
[13:30] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): does
[13:30] herman Bergson: Bad part of the story is that we  have to deal with nuclear weapons now
[13:31] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): and 3 idiots (Trump Putin and Kim) with fingers on the button
[13:31] herman Bergson: yes Bejiita
[13:31] Cream Biscuit: blargh...
[13:31] herman Bergson: We'll discuss that aspect of the story in the next lecture
[13:32] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): nukes we could do without for sure but nuclear power im not so sure since it is the only source now of a large source of CO2 and smog  free electricity
[13:33] herman Bergson: That is an issue indeed Bejiita
[13:33] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): and when we all get electric cars what should then produce the power for these?
[13:33] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): we cant wait until its a storm outside (for the wind generators) to charge the cars
[13:34] Pip Torok: the sun?
[13:34] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): wasn't it Madam Curie who invented nuclear power?
[13:34] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): plus often we charge at night when there is no sun and often no wind either
[13:34] herman Bergson: no Beertje..but she did research on uranium and died of radiation illness
[13:34] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): and so the car is fled up before get to work in morning
[13:34] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): filled
[13:35] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): so we need lot of power during the night time for electric cars to be viable
[13:35] Pip Torok: or a means of conserving it at night
[13:35] herman Bergson: Well, Bejiita, guess that is another subject ,,,,but one of the two sides of nuclear power....
[13:35] herman Bergson: It had a good and a bad side....
[13:36] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): 2 edged sword
[13:36] herman Bergson: But that is with everything....
[13:36] herman Bergson: you invent a knife to cut the fruits...or the throat of your enemy
[13:36] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): same at work, i could use an angle grinder as a weapon as well as a tool
[13:37] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): it cuts whatever it touches
[13:37] herman Bergson: an interesting feature of the human being....
[13:37] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): luckily i use tools only as well tools
[13:37] herman Bergson: the intentionality defines the tools he uses, or she uses
[13:37] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako):
[13:38] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): even internet can be a threat
[13:38] herman Bergson: It has driven youngsters to commit suicide, Beertje, yes
[13:38] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): viruses and other shit floating around plus net trolls and cyber attaks
[13:38] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): people attack others without knowing them'
[13:39] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): really sad development :(
[13:39] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): just because there is a machine between they think they can say anything
[13:39] Pip Torok: its what was transmitted that caused her to suicide
[13:40] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): i could never do a such thing
[13:40] herman Bergson: the tool was the internet
[13:41] Pip Torok: averting ones ears to it may be the only answer
[13:41] herman Bergson: Well...maybe I can use this pro and con aspect of things like atoms or tools in the next lecture
[13:41] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): aaa give it a try
[13:41] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): absolutely
[13:41] herman Bergson: Yes Pip, but for that you need the power to do so...
[13:42] herman Bergson: That is not given to everyone, unfortunately
[13:43] Pip Torok: laughter could be that power
[13:43] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako):
[13:43] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ah
[13:43] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): people who are being hurt can't laugh about it
[13:43] herman Bergson: oh, I agree....but when it hurt, what is sent to you.....it will be hard for some to laugh
[13:44] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): well thats true
[13:44] Pip Torok: i was thinking of laughter as having the means to avert the hurt
[13:45] herman Bergson: Might help...but you first have to be able to start laughing...
[13:45] herman Bergson: Some time ago I received an email
[13:45] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): hugs then, but u have to be physically there
[13:46] herman Bergson: the message was that I was a pervert and that everything was recorded with the camera of my computer...they had registered all porn sites and my actions related to that
[13:46] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): aaa that one
[13:46] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): crazy stuff
[13:46] herman Bergson: And they would send it to all my contacts....the movies...
[13:46] herman Bergson: unless of course I would pay lots of euros...
[13:47] herman Bergson: That I handled and neutralized with laughter indeed
[13:47] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): in bitcoin i guess
[13:47] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako):
[13:47] herman Bergson: hehe...yes Bejiita :-)))
[13:48] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): that is why i don't like bitcoin, its not used for enything legal, it just consumes a lot of electricity and finances things like these + cryptlocker viruses and similar
[13:48] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): that's not a personal attack i guess
[13:49] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): it doesn't hurt you in the heart
[13:49] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): entire dark web runs in bitcoin
[13:49] herman Bergson: The mail mentioned my account name AND password....!
[13:49] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): can be hacked out
[13:49] herman Bergson: rpoblem was that it was a password I have used more than 10 years ago indeed....very peculiar :-))
[13:49] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): part of the script
[13:49] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): but still creepy
[13:50] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): THAT is interesting, must have been some old cache or similar
[13:50] herman Bergson: I must admit Bejiita....it was a bit creepy indeed...but yet I laughed :-)
[13:50] Pip Torok: 10 years ago not many of us were security-conscious
[13:50] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): they try ANYTHING these days and pick random victims
[13:50] herman Bergson: True, Pip
[13:51] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): to get cash
[13:51] Pip Torok: like predators seeking prey
[13:51] herman Bergson: So far not a single movie with me in it has gone viral....:-)
[13:51] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): to buy the next joint with
[13:52] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): much of this is just to finance narcotics use
[13:52] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): could be a best seller Herman
[13:52] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): these hackers are all crackpots i guess at least most of them
[13:52] herman Bergson: Yes Beertje...and I have already an advise for the music .....the song "Dirty old man...." :-)
[13:52] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): smiles
[13:52] Pip Torok: we all have our various needs ... for some it is narcotics
[13:53] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): the really bad things happen when part of the money finance weapons and soon its BOOM KABLAM in your neighbourhood with gang wars and innocents being killed
[13:53] herman Bergson: Yes Pip...the problem there is that some narcotics are legal and can be bought in a store and others are illegal
[13:54] herman Bergson: But we are cosy off topic again :-)
[13:54] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): as it should be by now
[13:54] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako):
[13:54] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): as always :)
[13:54] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): hehe
[13:54] herman Bergson: Indeed bejiita ^_^
[13:54] herman Bergson: Time to digest it all and dismiss class :-)
[13:54] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): when u think How did we end up here starting with this?
[13:55] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): well time for next show
[13:55] herman Bergson: So...thank you all again  for your participation :-)
[13:55] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): cu thursday same time
[13:55] herman Bergson: Class dismissed ...
[13:55] CB Axel: Thank you, Herman.
[13:55] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): thank you Herman
[13:55] Pip Torok: yes, thank you
[13:55] herman Bergson: My pleasure CB :-)

[13:55] CB Axel: See you Thursday.

767; The Problem of Racism...

In his testimony Michael Cohen called the president of the United States, Donald Trump, a racist ( and a conman and a cheat).
  
If someone would call me a racist in public, in particular, when I am the most important person in the country, I would sue that person for defamation immediately.
  
But oddly, Cohen's words didn't even cause a wrinkle in the White House pond. Yet the issue of racism is an open nerve in the US.
   
In America, the Keynesian economists from Harvard and Tufts University wanted to promote a fairer society after the war, 
   
but the biggest problem was not poverty as such: after all, there was more or less full employment. 
    
In America the traditional problem of justice emerged as a result of the war: racial equality. 
   
So many blacks had fought in Europe and the Pacific Ocean, and if they were expected to risk their lives for their country just like whites, why shouldn't they be treated equally after the war?
   
The document that would have just as much influence on American society as the Beveridge Report had on the British, 
   
was released when the war went on all fronts in favor of the Allies in January 1944. 
  
It was a gigantic work that required six years of preparation, with the title "An American Dilemma: The Negro Problem and Modern Democracy". 
   
The Swede Gunnar Myrdal (1898-1987) was invited in 1937 by Frederick Keppel, president of the Carnegie Foundation, that paid for the study, to write the work because the Swedes had no colonial past.
  
The lifestyle of the American black person, every aspect of his being, was conditioned, a reaction to the world of whites, 
   
and the main consequence was that blacks were outside the law and outside the various institutions of the country, and especially outside politics.
   
Myrdal's conclusion was just as critical as his analysis. Congress, he said, was not willing and, or able to correct the wrongdoing. 
   
Something else was needed and, according to him, this 'something' could only come from the courts. 
  
These, he said, were to be used as a way to enforce the legislation that had been included in the law books for years; 
  
this legislation must be designed to improve the conditions for the black people and to make it clear to the whites that times were changing.
   
In the US everything is not done primarily according to the bible, but according the Law. The days of today are exemplary.
  
An historical example: Brown versus Board of Education of Topeka, was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court  (Dec 9, 1952 – May 17, 1954) 
   
in which the Court ruled that American state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, 
  
even if the segregated schools are otherwise equal in quality.
  
This "equal in quality" refers to Plessy v. Ferguson, a former decision of the U.S. Supreme Court issued in 1896. 
  
It upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation laws for public facilities as long as the segregated facilities were equal in quality, a doctrine that came to be known as "separate but equal"
  
And then it is 1963: The Stand in the Schoolhouse Door Incident. It took place at Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama on June 11, 1963. 
   
George Wallace, the Democratic Governor of Alabama, in a symbolic attempt to keep his inaugural promise 
   
of "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever" and stop the desegregation of schools, 
   
stood at the door of the auditorium to try to block the entry of two African American students, Vivian Malone and James Hood.
   
However, the legacy of the 20th century for black people in the US is, that in the 21st century they are equal to any other person in the US with the same rights.
   
Thank you for your attention again...
  
Main Sources:
MacMillan The Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2nd edition
Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 1995
 http://plato.stanford.edu/contents.htm
Peter Watson: A Terrible Beauty (2000)

The Discussion

[13:22] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): thank you Herman
[13:22] CB Axel: I'm not seeing the equal rights.
[13:22] CB Axel: Blacks are still discriminated against.
[13:22] herman Bergson: That is the open nerve, Gemma
[13:23] herman Bergson: You have a president who not even protetsts against being called a racist
[13:23] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): yes
[13:23] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): terrible situation
[13:23] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): he knows he is an asshole and is proud of it!
[13:23] herman Bergson: I find that very telling and odd
[13:23] CB Axel: Well, I think Cohen was being kind.
[13:23] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): but to lots of the country cohen is a liar so
[13:23] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): it does not matter
[13:24] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): Trump probably takes racist as a compliment
[13:24] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): trump has a history of being one
[13:24] herman Bergson smiles
[13:24] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): wayyyyyyy
[13:24] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): back
[13:24] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): and his father
[13:24] herman Bergson: Got a point there, Bejiita
[13:24] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): possible kkk
[13:24] CB Axel: He forgot that Trump is also a misogynist and outright crook. The White House won't sue for defamation, because there is too much evidence for a lawsuit to be successful.
[13:24] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate) GIGGLES!!
[13:24] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): ...LOL...
[13:24] herman Bergson: That was my thought too, CB
[13:25] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): no they will be happy when he goes to jail
[13:25] herman Bergson: If there is one thing in life Trump really regrets, then it is his becoming president
[13:25] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): jail? bury him deep down in the largest trash dump there is
[13:25] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): well he is sure thinking of stayine
[13:26] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): nnno
[13:26] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): cause thats what e is, garbage
[13:26] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): Cohen going to jail
[13:26] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): he
[13:26] CB Axel: Anyway, when blacks aren't being jailed for longer terms for marijuana possession then white men are being jailed for money laundering, obstruction of justice, etc maybe then we can say racism is over.
[13:26] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): that is so so true
[13:26] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): trump that is
[13:26] herman Bergson: Indeed CB
[13:26] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): i was thinking that yesterday at the sentencing of Manafort
[13:26] CB Axel: And when blacks aren't being shot by cops just for being black
[13:26] herman Bergson: Isn't 80% of US prisoners black?
[13:26] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): 7 years
[13:27] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): possibly
[13:27] CB Axel: And when blacks can buy their way into elite schools
[13:27] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): ha
[13:27] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): well actually that has been going on for years
[13:27] CB Axel: Yes
[13:27] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate) GIGGLES!!
[13:27] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): ...LOL...
[13:27] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): i think that is how trump got to the business school
[13:28] CB Axel: I'm sure it is.
[13:28] herman Bergson: But there is one little light.....for the Law all are equal...whatever color you have
[13:28] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): where he was NOT at the top of his class
[13:28] CB Axel: And how all his dumb ass kids got into Penn.
[13:28] CB Axel: Instead of into the pen.
[13:28] CB Axel:  °͜°
[13:29] CB Axel: Those laws have been in existence for decades.
[13:29] herman Bergson: So you say there still is discrimination in the US
[13:29] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): how about the letter cohen wrote to threaten allllll his schools not to release his grades or sat scores
[13:29] CB Axel: Blacks do have it better than before those laws were enacted, but we still have a long way to go.
[13:29] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): and they never did!!!!
[13:30] herman Bergson: But how about Chinese or Hispanic people....are they discriminated in the same way?
[13:30] CB Axel: They are discriminated against, but not exactly in the same way.
[13:30] herman Bergson: Or do African Americans have a special position in it all?
[13:31] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): I remember a class i took with a Black professor on these topics and i asked him how long he thought it would be before racism disappeared adn he said 200 years
[13:31] CB Axel: Asians have been kept out of some top rated universities because they are Asian.
[13:31] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): not exactly the same Herman
[13:31] CB Axel: Hispanics are discriminated against much like blacks are.
[13:31] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): they are looked down upon but it is different
[13:31] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): still different
[13:31] herman Bergson: Does the historical fact that the blacks were slaves of the white play a role here?
[13:32] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): absolutely
[13:32] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): they were looked upon as apes
[13:32] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): and since they did not understand the language or customs as slaves
[13:32] herman Bergson: Every time you see a black American you think...hey man...you were a slave....when you see a Chinese person you don't have that feeling
[13:32] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): were  dumb
[13:32] CB Axel: I actually think that it might make things easier for blacks because they were brought here and didn't just move here "illegally."
[13:32] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): and unteachable
[13:33] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): why unteachable?
[13:33] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): too stupid to learn beertje
[13:33] CB Axel: They were thought to have inferior minds.
[13:33] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): really that was the thought
[13:34] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): nobody is too stupid to learn
[13:34] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): yes
[13:34] herman Bergson: I think that 200 years is a good estimate...
[13:34] CB Axel: I think 200 years might be right.
[13:34] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): Have you ever seen the movie  The Help
[13:34] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): Get that movie if you can
[13:34] CB Axel: That is a great movie.
[13:34] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): sure was
[13:34] herman Bergson makes a note
[13:34] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): I stil watch it on tv
[13:34] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): good example of mid 20th century thinking in the south
[13:35] herman Bergson: what is it about, Gemma?
[13:35] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): some of which stil today
[13:35] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): it is about Black workers in the homes of some people
[13:35] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): in a town of the south
[13:35] CB Axel: But even intelligent blacks were discriminated against. Just watch the movie "Hidden Figures."
[13:35] herman Bergson: ok
[13:35] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): and their treatment
[13:35] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): oh i just saw that !!!!
[13:35] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): the other day
[13:35] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): loved it
[13:35] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): but
[13:36] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): see The Help first
[13:36] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): then Hidden Figures
[13:36] CB Axel: Brilliant female mathematicians doing calculations for NASA had to go to another building just to use the toilet.
[13:36] herman Bergson: ok...good plan :-)
[13:36] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): half a mile run!!!!
[13:36] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): amazing stuff
[13:36] herman Bergson: I have heard about that
[13:36] CB Axel: I agree, Gemma. "The Help" speaks more to the point of this discussion than "Hidden Figures."
[13:37] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): ;eactly 
[13:37] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): some funny stuff in it too
[13:37] herman Bergson: Gonna be a nice weekend :-)
[13:37] CB Axel: lol
[13:37] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): great
[13:37] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): hopefully yes
[13:38] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): well the help does the south and hidden figures takes in some of the north
[13:38] herman Bergson: But though there still is discrimination, the situation has improved...there is no way back
[13:38] herman Bergson: The News shows don't seem to make a difference between black or white commentators
[13:38] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): no
[13:39] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): There are many improvements
[13:39] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): in most careers
[13:39] herman Bergson: I think that has a positive effect ....such people can become role models
[13:39] Blackrose (blackrose.baroque): not to forget the black president
[13:39] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): yes 
[13:39] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): right
[13:39] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): mm
[13:39] CB Axel: I listen National Public Radio a lot, and they've added many more Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians to the on-air people.
[13:40] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): and some of the women running for president will too
[13:40] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): but
[13:40] herman Bergson: In relation to his successor the black president was a disaster.....a source of renewed racism
[13:40] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): phoo
[13:40] herman Bergson: The ultimate frustration of white supremacists....
[13:40] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): He had to be very careful NOT to appear to have a hiddn adgenda of black take over
[13:41] herman Bergson: impossible...a black president....
[13:41] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate) GIGGLES!!
[13:41] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): ...LOL...
[13:41] CB Axel: I don't think racism was renewed. It just angered them enough that they decided to let their racism flag fly.
[13:41] herman Bergson: Indeed Gemma...
[13:41] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): and there were those who really believed that
[13:41] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): exactly
[13:41] CB Axel: Which I think is pretty much a good thing. When racism had to be hidden, we didn't know who the assholes were.
[13:41] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): white supremacy groups became stronger
[13:41] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): starting then
[13:41] CB Axel: Now they wear bright red hats. :-)
[13:41] herman Bergson: Very true CB
[13:42] herman Bergson: But yet we can look at the positive sides of developments in this matter
[13:43] CB Axel: I think Air Force 1 should be replaced by a 737 Max 8. :-)
[13:43] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): I heard a fellow on the Moth last week talking about his time in the service in Vietnam
[13:43] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): and programmed to crash on takeoff
[13:43] CB Axel: No need, Bejiita. They do that just fine on their own.
[13:43] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): He did not himself understand the racist stuff that was going on
[13:43] herman Bergson: Black Americans have more chances, are equal for the Law, can achieve important positions...
[13:43] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): Himself a Black but not really identifying as such
[13:44] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): even then in the viet village there were separate bars inn town for either
[13:44] herman Bergson: yes, Gemma, that can happen
[13:44] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): yep
[13:45] herman Bergson: But it is a complex proces....we are easily inclined to think in terms of US and THEM
[13:45] herman Bergson: thus also black and white soldiers equally could be inclined to do so
[13:45] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): i guess
[13:47] herman Bergson: Well..I guess the problem of racism still exists, as do its historical roots
[13:47] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): sadly it does :(
[13:47] herman Bergson: This time we must conclude that we didn't save the world today...but in 200 years...who knows :-)
[13:48] herman Bergson: So..keep up the good spirit and enjoy your weekend :-))
[13:48] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): and look a Burma
[13:48] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): and in china
[13:48] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): and iraq
[13:48] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): lots of racism against certain groups
[13:48] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): not Black
[13:48] herman Bergson: True...
[13:49] herman Bergson: But yet we should stay positive :-)
[13:49] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): yes
[13:49] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): it will change
[13:49] herman Bergson: Homo sapiens DID make some progress
[13:49] bergfrau Apfelbaum: thank you Herman and class/world :-) sunny weekend!
[13:49] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): hm
[13:49] CB Axel: There was a comedian years ago who pointed out that in Northern Ireland, a country with essentially no Blacks, Jews, or Muslims they still found things to fight about.
[13:49] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): ♥ Thank Youuuuuuuuuu!! ♥
[13:49] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): oh yes
[13:49] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): religions
[13:50] herman Bergson: Religion CB
[13:50] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): religion
[13:50] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): haggis:)
[13:50] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): I have to run off
[13:50] herman Bergson: Thank you all again for your participation....:-)
[13:50] herman Bergson: Class dismissed
[13:50] CB Axel: They fought about who was worshiping Jesus correctly?
[13:50] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ok cu next time
[13:50] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): thank you Herman
[13:50] herman Bergson: and bye Gemma :-))
[13:50] CB Axel rolls her eyes
[13:50] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako):
[13:50] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): hopes cb gets her finger  out of the electric socket
[13:50] herman Bergson: No no CB.....
[13:50] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): :))
[13:51] CB Axel: And kill my snakes!
[13:51] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): hahah trying to look like me?
[13:51] CB Axel: Never!!
[13:51] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate) GIGGLES!!
[13:51] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): ...LOL...
[13:51] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): bye now
[13:51] bergfrau Apfelbaum: bebye Gemma:o) ...soon on the golf course!
[13:51] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): cu around¨
[13:51] herman Bergson: The protestants were actually linked to Brittain
[13:51] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): bye Bergie
[13:51] herman Bergson: and the catholics to Ireland
[13:51] CB Axel: Herman, you are much more optimistic about the human race than I am. :-)
[13:52] CB Axel: Well, I'll see you all next week. Only one more week of the time being off.

[13:52] CB Axel: Bye bye

Thursday, March 14, 2019

766: Social Changes....

The Second World War was of course a dramatic time in history and we are inclined to think of death and destruction there.
   
However also there emerged positive things from this moment in history. One important issue was the introduction of social thinking in politics,
  
the consideration that the state also should have a social responsibility for the welfare of its citizens, not only its safety. 
  
In a previous lecture (764) I introduced William Temple and his 'christian social principles' and the suggestion, that this might be motivated by the fear of communism.
  
Before 1850 or so the state never saw the necessity to bother about the social welfare of the individual citizen. 
  
The result was a huge gap between poor and rich, massive unemployment and poverty. In the 1880s Bismarck in Germany initiated social actions of the state to support its citizens socially.
  
It was the beginning. The war stimulated this proces. John Maynard Keynes (1883 -1946), a British economist played an important role in this.
   
He immediately realized that the problem was not really about money but about resources: 
   
wars are won or lost through the possibility of quickly converting resources into ships, cannons, bullets and so on. 
   
Keynes also saw that the difference between a peacetime economy and a war economy was, that the peacetime workers spend extra income on the products they make themselves. 
  
In the war, extra money, apart from what the workers need to live on, goes to the government. Their money, through taxes was needed to pay for the war effort.
  
His second insight was that war offers the opportunity to stimulate social change, that the "equality of effort" 
  
which is necessary in a national emergency can be channeled into financial measures that not only reflect that equality of effort, but also stimulate greater equality after the war.
  
In other words, we are all in it and work shoulder to shoulder, so we also should be paid equally for the same efforts in this dangerous times.
   
Such ideas, once introduced in a society, can not easily be denied after the situation of  emergency is over.
   
A same development was seen in the US. First were measurements to introduce a greater social justice after the war.
  
The National Resources Planning Board formulated nine principles, which showed similarity with William Temple's six social christian principles. (see lecture 764).
    
In a still existing magazine, "New Republic", founded in 1914, you encountered statements like: 
  
"It is better to realize immediately that the old ideal of "Laissez faire" is no longer feasible ... 
  
A certain kind of planning and management will increasingly be needed."
   
This is what we inherited from the 20th century: the debate about the small / large government, but apart from this debate
   
at least one thing we have accepted: a high level of employment is a national priority and no longer an issue of "Laissez faire, laissez aller".
   
Thank you for your attention again....
   


The Discussion
   
[13:20] herman Bergson: The floor is yours...:-)
[13:20] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): thank you Herman
[13:20] herman Bergson: It might look like a small thing,
[13:21] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): no i think it's a huge change
[13:21] herman Bergson: but the responsibility of the administration to keep unemployment as low as possible is very important
[13:22] herman Bergson: You can hear Trump bragging about how many jobs he  has created for instance....it is a political issue
[13:22] Sousi (sousinne.ceriano): I would say it may not be a matter of the war as much as the fact that people after the war no longer had the option to survive off subsistence farming. I.e. unemployment with no social safety net meant people died
[13:23] CB Axel: Low unemployment numbers are important, but only if the kind of jobs people have pay enough for workers to live on.
[13:23] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): true CB
[13:23] herman Bergson: Minimum wage is issue number two
[13:23] CB Axel: What is the real unemployment number if many people are working 2 or 3 jobs?
[13:24] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): sometimes that is too low
[13:24] CB Axel: There's a saying here in the US that a rising tide lifts all boats, meaning that when the economy is good all will benefit.
[13:25] herman Bergson: But the fact that people died, Sousi, hasn't been a concern of the administration for centuries
[13:25] CB Axel: But anyone who owns a boat in tidal waters knows that when a higher than usual tide is coming the lines on the boat need to be loosened.
[13:25] herman Bergson: That, CB, has been proven not to be the case
[13:26] CB Axel: If the boat is tied too tightly to the dock by low wages, high health care costs, high education costs, high child care costs...
[13:26] herman Bergson: The profits of companies have increased in the past ten years....the wages haven't
[13:26] herman Bergson: at least not in the Netherlands
[13:26] CB Axel: that boat won't rise. It will be pulled under.
[13:26] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): true
[13:27] CB Axel: Our economy might be good, but we're all being swamped.
[13:27] Sousi (sousinne.ceriano): They DIDN'T die, Herman. If they had no work, they could go to the family farm, usually. After the war, this was typically rarely possible. It's the difference between an agrarian and industrial economy
[13:27] herman Bergson: But the stock holders and multinationals are not. CB
[13:28] CB Axel: Yes. Because they're not tied down.
[13:29] CB Axel: Our taxes aren't going to help the people who are paying them. They're going to prop up failing banks and other businesses and to the defense department.
[13:29] CB Axel: BTW, the defense department needs to go back to being called the war department.
[13:29] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): and to Trumps wall :(
[13:29] herman Bergson: Why is that so CB?
[13:30] CB Axel: We haven't fought a defensive war since WW II, if you could call that one a defensive war for the US.
[13:30] CB Axel: Let's just call it what it is: War Department.
[13:30] herman Bergson: I see :-)
[13:30] herman Bergson: But they will say....the wars we fought were to defend American interests
[13:31] CB Axel: Or the Big Industrial Killing Machine.
[13:31] herman Bergson: which were threatened
[13:31] CB Axel: There has to be a better way to do that.
[13:32] CB Axel: And what interest? Oil? We have oil.
[13:32] Sousi (sousinne.ceriano) sighs.
[13:32] CB Axel: I'd rather, if we have to, help out countries that sell us goods we don't have here.
[13:32] herman Bergson: To prevent a dictator to use mass destruction weapons for instance
[13:32] Sousi (sousinne.ceriano): I wish you a pleasant evening.
[13:32] herman Bergson: which could threaten the US
[13:33] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): bye Sousi
[13:33] CB Axel: Oh, like George W. Bush? He attacked a country that did nothing to us.
[13:33] herman Bergson: Yes..there are a lot of questionable issues here
[13:34] CB Axel: And yet we do nothing to Saudi Arabia. Some of the 9/11 terrorists came from there.
[13:35] herman Bergson: that Kushner fellow is negotiating big deals with the Saudis
[13:35] CB Axel: Did I offend Sousi?
[13:35] herman Bergson: I have no idea....
[13:35] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): don't know
[13:35] herman Bergson: If people don't speak their mind and just leave...so be it
[13:36] CB Axel nods
[13:36] Blackrose (blackrose.baroque): but the time after the war brought us also good things
[13:36] Blackrose (blackrose.baroque): we got the opportunity to study
[13:36] herman Bergson: that is what I said today
[13:36] Blackrose (blackrose.baroque): even girls
[13:36] CB Axel: Very true.
[13:37] Lai Fallen (laila.streeter) is offline.
[13:37] CB Axel: And women entered the workforce in greater numbers than before the war.
[13:37] herman Bergson: Next time I'll address racism  in the US
[13:37] herman Bergson: The war brought some changes there too
[13:37] CB Axel nods
[13:37] Blackrose (blackrose.baroque): yes
[13:38] Blackrose (blackrose.baroque): the introducing of tv was a big change
[13:38] Blackrose (blackrose.baroque): the world opened for us
[13:38] CB Axel: Good point.
[13:38] Blackrose (blackrose.baroque): (sometime I make a good point)
[13:39] herman Bergson: It did indeed, but it was not a consequence of the war
[13:39] CB Axel: But it also brought us cheap entertainment to distract us from reality.
[13:39] herman Bergson: these social and political changes were
[13:39] Blackrose (blackrose.baroque): we got a look in other countries
[13:39] Blackrose (blackrose.baroque): we never saw before
[13:39] herman Bergson: Even so much that an entertainment show host has become a presidfent :-)
[13:40] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): hmm
[13:41] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): the one with the biggest mouth wins
[13:41] CB Axel: I have never found him to be entertaining.
[13:41] CB Axel: I agree, Beertje.
[13:41] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): entertaining has not to be pleasant
[13:42] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): sometimes it's shocking
[13:42] herman Bergson: Since we are off topic now, I guess we'd better move on  :-)
[13:42] CB Axel: :-)
[13:42] herman Bergson: Time to dismiss class.....
[13:43] CB Axel: Thank you, Herman.
[13:43] Blackrose (blackrose.baroque): thank you Herman
[13:43] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): thank You herman
[13:43] herman Bergson: Thank you all again :-)
[13:43] CB Axel: See you all Thursday.
[13:43] CB Axel: Bye bye
[13:43] herman (hermanfox): Thank you herman...uh....dad

[13:43] Blackrose (blackrose.baroque): lol herman