sectio aurea or shoe-gazing

Via the always sublime Nag on the Lake, we discover that there exists a pocket-scope that helps a photographer triangulate his or her shot in order to telescope the proportions of the Golden Mean. I wonder how such a compass—integrated as an æthetic by-law into one’s picture taking might result as perfectly-timed, perfectly-framed images. Such a comely and perfect ratio probably comes both by accident and by design.

the price of eggs in china

Via the ever brilliant Kottke we are treated to an excellent primer on the origins of data-visualizations: infographics ISOTYPEs as persuasive tools and encapsulating representations, the mapping of information beyond geography, began to come into their own in the early nineteenth century. Of course, in line with our inherent distrust of Big Data and opinion polls that can be leverage for any message whatsoever, statistics can be biased and incomplete and return a not-so-flattering composite, but being able to present analysis in a way that’s not just publicly-digestible and nearly intuitive but also can disabuse certain assumptions and specious causalities.
Since compendious research was first presented in this format by a gentleman economist and apprentice of steam-engine inventor James Watt, called William Playfair, champion of the infographic and in turn inventor of the pie-chart was able to illustrate the relation between wages and taxes or the true cost of importing commodities or these elegant so called “rose charts” drafted by pioneering nurse Florence Nightingale that conveyed the causes of death for soldiers in the Crimean War was far surpassed by poor sanitary conditions rather than combat—previsioning the germ theory of disease and infection, among many others, helped to dispel native prejudices and create a more informed public. Let’s hope that there’s still honesty in demographics and polarity, but such compiling of numbers outside of individual human experience does beg the question whether we developed this way to limn huge volumes of data—which is rather taken for granted, out of a need to communicate what does not fit to lay wisdom and perhaps common-sense or that we compile facts and figures to rarified levels in order to showcase our drawing talents.

ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny

A few days ago in the raw aftermath of the latest mass-shooting, I recalled seeing a fleeting headline that one ought not be so quick to turn to the seemingly lone and mutually exclusive alternative explanation for such tragedies—aside from the matter of stricter gun control: mental health, assuming that imbalances and deviation from the norm risks further alienation by being a second to terrorism.
I didn’t know how to feel about something that at least initially struck me as backdoor apologies and perhaps cryptic political-correctness, and this essay by Steven Asma, for Æon magazine, that identifies the thread of toxic masculinity (the weaponized loser) I can’t say settles the matter but does add another dimension to ruminate over. Failure to domesticate and thus manage inchoate male aggression and drive is a failure to socialise an individual as a member of broader society, and a theme repeated again and again sometimes manifesting itself in awful ways. The scenario of the disassociated savage plays out equally badly in whatever context—be it the Cosplay Caliphate and cadet groups or a jilted young man raised in a civilised framework, just add ammunition to the equation. As much as civilisation seeks to domesticate these instincts, there are also coping mechanisms just as deeply ingrained and arguably all the trappings of society were engineered to curb, redirect or harness this drive. What do you think?

invisible touch

After somewhat of a hiatus, I learned recently that the dangerously fascinating National Public Radio series Invisibilia is back on the air with a new season and more intriguing stories about the invisible forces (and those who hold truck in them) that rule our lives and mold our perceptions.
I did enjoy reading the shows transcripts from time to time, but besotted as I am with my fine constellation of BBC Radio 4 podcasts (just listening to my stories), it did not occur to me that NPR might be served up in the same format. Be sure to check it out and ponder some intriguing and provocative profiles that very nicely compliments their cousins across the Drink. Closing every episode with a dance-party is all the more reason to tune in: she’s got something you just can’t trust, and it’s something mysterious and now it seems I’m falling for her, falling for her…