Does this man ever shut up?

On 25 November 2009, I had the dubious pleasure to attend a seminar talk by Fred Singer while working at the German Aerospace Centre (DLR e.V.) in Stuttgart, Germany. With most of the audience researching in the field of solar energy or other fields related to finding alternate sources of energy, it is comforting that Singer did not find an audience to discredit the global effort to mitigate human impact on the climate on that evening.

For those of you that don't know who Fred Singer is (good thing if you don't), I think it would be apt to describe him as a lobbyist with a background in science. It would also be safe to describe him as a global warming denier of the first hour, further known for his denial of the harmful effects of passive smoking and the depletive effects of CFCs on the ozone layer. And this list is not even exhaustive.

Unfortunately, Mr. Singer often finds more receptive audiences around the world. And it is quite impressive how much this man travels at his advanced age (now 88). His visit at DLR in Stuttgart was just one stage on a whole 'Tour of Europe'. In 2010, he was invited by German MPs of the FDP party to a discussion panel. SPIEGEL journalist Cordula Meyer reported about this visit (vol. 37/2010) in a great article about Singer's crusade. Unfortunately, Mr. Singer has not been less productive since then. He frequently publishes on www.americanthinker.com, mostly discrediting research about anthropogenic global warming.

Very recently, research about the psychology of climate change deniers has been published in the scientific journal Psychological Science and I would be all to interested what Mr. Singer would have to say about these findings. The authors of the study assert that a strong faith in the free market coincides with a disposition towards rejecting climate science as well as other established explanations. The title of the paper is catchy - a good choice in this case ("NASA Faked the Moon Landing—Therefore, (Climate) Science Is a Hoax: An Anatomy of the Motivated Rejection of Science".) So, it seems there is evidence to claim that religious faith in free markets and the rejection of science often go hand in hand.

It is striking, in a sense grotesque, how impressively this study disarms the likes of Mr. Singer. However, he is also an academic and used to be a respected scientist, and on the other hand lobbied for several of the 'conspiracy theories' tested for in the psychological study.

Fred Singer is 88 years old. He put a lot of effort into convincing people, often policy makers, that there is no connection between second-hand smoke, the depletion of the ozone layer by CFCs, and most recently that there is no connection between climate change and human activities. Surely, these issues will not affect him at his age, unlike the generations born after him, who wish to reach that age, perhaps. So, I ask myself: When does this man ever shut up?

Maybe when we stop listening to people that reject science because it could undermine their faith in the free market. The published research gives us a good reason to do so...provided, of course, you don't reject this study as well.

Or we could fight back with the same weapons and ask: what conspirative group does Fred Singer belong to?

The Modern Messiah

A few days ago, it also occurred to me how Steve Jobs is seen as something like a Modern Messiah. I admit, Apple made being a geek cool. They forged the marriage between the quirky creative world with the technical digital world, that was - at least in pop culture - previously confined to grandma's basement (I am referring to the stereotypical hacker in a Hollywood movie). Chapeau, Apple,and thanks, Steve (although we also have to give some credit to, among others, Sergey Brin, Larry Page and Mark Zuckerberg.)

I thought this was just good fun at the time, a bit exaggerated, I wasn't really serious about it...

Now, look what I came across today...

www.apple.com/stevejobs

...the digital shrine of the binary brotherhood.

Millions have sent an email to 'rememberingsteve@apple.com' and they all appear on this website. Check some of these messages out. If they don't sound religious to you, I don't know what would. Here are some of my favourites:

" ... The man who changed everything. There is no part of our world and our lives that Steve Jobs did not make a huge impact on. ... "

" ... He's truly a memorable person. I'm not an Apple fan but I admire him as he brought the world the most genius design. He'll continue his Apple empire in heaven. God bless him. ... "

I read things like "heaven got a bit smarter" and how "Apple made such a big impact" on people's lives. I am baffled by the amount of devotion. Surely, Apple is one of the game changers of the 21st century IT giants. iPods, iTunes, iPhones, iPads...surely all tech revolutions. Much like Google Maps, the Kindle, facebook, YouTube...and the list goes on.

On the other hand, they have created needs where previously there were none. They are dictating what choices their customers get to make, how they are supposed to use their devices and their products are designed to be replaced by newer models frequently. Older operating systems are discontinued, plugs are unique and change from one model to the next, and software and content for its devices is monopolized. Truly not virtuous, but not unlike church.

You might say "Dude, Steve Jobs died in 2011!" and none of the above is new to you. All over the web, one can read about Steve Jobs, the Messiah, or about Steve Jobs, the super-villain (here, here and here ,for example). Yeah, that's true, but I've only just discovered Steve's digital shrine today.

I don't know about you, but I got quite accustomed to shouting out 'Jesus Christ' upon being taken aback by - oh, say - people taking Steve Jobs for their saviour. In the same awkward sense, it's could be time to honour the new saviour by switching to 'Steve Paul Jobs'!

Robot Running @ Hyde Park

Time for share some funny stuff!


Last summer, a student from the Royal College of Art approached me for help with a video for one of his courses. He wanted to put make a clip about an idea he came up with related to our technologically assisted work-outs and he was looking for someone in front of the camera.

Here is the result:


The concept is the following: Runners are stereo-equipped, wired and connected to the devices of all kinds today. The question is whether we could be manipulated if these gadgets get hacked.

Since I'm not such a fan of running with earplugs anyway, I find the whole concept to be far fetched. The video is well done though :-)

Looking for a good movie?

If you have not heard about the film "The Visitor" yet, it's about time. It's an impressive depiction of how our society is not able to keep up with the modern age of migration. Some find themselves a few miles, a few hundred miles or a few thousand miles from the place we were born. To me, this is the most normal and natural thing nowadays and it is time that our communities and, more importantly, our administration accept and embrace this.

The power of predictions

In my very earliest post, I made a prediction: this blog is not exceptional in the sense that it will not be abandoned at times. Now that the Olympics are over, the focus of this blog will have to shift from the most exciting spectacle on Earth to the "profanities" of life. In this sense, I can already give away that the next few posts will deal with bit of the research I did in a professional sense, that is as an engineer. So, the profanities of life will include an escape into the nanotechnology realm, the world of renewable energies and maybe, hopefully, potentially beyond that...

Absolutely unbelievable what is now going on in London. We seem to have found out what the Brits' favorite color is: Gold!

They are >> aus dem Häuschen<<, to put it in a catchy German proverb. From my perspective, I've never seen the Brits like that unless they had spent too much time in the pub. Make no mistake, I love it. Rowing, cycling, athletics, tennis (?) - this is how sport ought to be celebrated. Sober, ecstatic Brits cheering and chanting, waving the Union Jack and celebrating every single competitor - they deserve every single medal they bring home...or actually in this case keep in the country!

The excitement goes on...

OK, here we go with some taste of the London Olympic experience:

The usual touristic hotspots - Oxford Circus, Westminter Bridge etc. - are rather deserted. Rightfully so, everybody looks to the epicentre of World Sports, the Olympic Park, and the other Olympic sites around the city.

From a first hand Olympic experience in Volleyball at Earl's Court, I confirm that those at the venues are incredibly excited about the events. Team GB is getting an incredible support from the crowds. Unsurprisingly, they are doing very well in the competition.

Out of all these great performances, a few deserve special attention in my opinion. British Cycling is one of them. Initiated with a silver medal for Lizzie Armistead on the road on Sunday, followed with a stellar performance by Bradly "King Wiggo" Wiggins around Hampton Court, the British Track cyclists have now taken control of the Velodrome. They have been smashing one world record after another. Team Sprint, Team Pursuit, Keirin... and I am certain there will be more records as well as gold medals to come.

There is just one thing left for me to say: Tune in to the BBC today (and tomorrow, and the day after...) and enjoy the show!