Sunday, November 06, 2011

What Have the Greeks Ever Done for Us?


Greece: ask someone what they think about the country at the moment and the answer might well be resentment at the irresponsible borrowing, overgenerous retirement benefits, employment cronyism and reluctance to pay taxes which have led to the current economic crisis in Europe. The words hell and handbasket spring almost automatically to mind. 

Yet there is so much more to Greece than its present unfortunate predicament. 

Today we ask the question what have the Greeks ever done for us? We will begin by taking a look at the time Greece was (really) bankrupt.

The Modern Olympics
Greece had made an attempt to modernise and as such had massively over borrowed. By 1893 it had become too much and the Greek Prime Minister, Trikoupis (above, right), had to announce bankruptcy. It might not have happened had the export market for currants (then the biggest Greek export) collapsed. Greece was forced to give the running of its economy over to a commission of German, French and other European officials.

The same year the Congress for the Restoration of the Olympic Games met and its organiser, Baron Pierre de Coubertin (above left), swayed the delegates to award host nation status to the place where it had all begun, Greece. The Greek government, as you can imagine, were anaemically keen about the prospect. Coubertin called a public meeting in Athens and swayed the people of Greece with the words “The dishonor here would consist not of being beaten: it would consist of not contending”. Not only were the Greeks convinced, Coubertin (with no irony on his part) left the world the not the winning but the taking part slogan of the games.

The organising committee met for the first time only fourteen months before the games began. In a dazzling display of virtuoso Greek bravura they decided that they would not accept a penny from abroad. The people of the bankrupt state of Greece would raise each and every drachma.

And so they did. Local authorities held collections, rich merchants were targeted and appeals went out to the Greek diaspora through embassies and consulates.

It worked – the monks of Mount Athos even contributed. Altogether the people of Greece raised 1.5 million drachma, with a further million coming from a single individual, the mega rich expatriate merchant Georgios Averoff.

This was ten times more than the amount needed estimated by Coubertin. Greece successfully gave birth to the modern Olympics at a time when it was virtually destitute. Perhaps we really shouldn’t write it off as a spent force at the moment?

Trial by Jury
Juries began in Athens around 500BC. Although there was no public prosecutor anyone could bring a case against anyone else.

A judge would decide whether the injured party’s claims were sufficient, in terms of evidence for a trial to be called, by asking both parties questions. Juries were paid little for their services but you had to be a citizen aged over thirty to be on one.

In order to avoid bribery some juries had as many as five hundred people on them – no one could afford to buy so many people.

The jurors had to make an oath that they would listen to both sides equally. It wasn’t so much innocent until found guilty as innocent until found guilty by the jury (sound familiar?).

Theater
Even the word has origins in the Greek language and it cannot be denied that the western tradition of theater has its roots in Greece.

Every town in ancient Greece had at least one theater. It was so important that prisoners could be temporarily released from jail so that they could go and see the latest piece.

Competition between the different city states was fierce with many competitions. So many people wanted to watch that the theaters had to be built outdoors.

The staggered seating area, built on hillsides so that everyone could see what was going on in the stage area was called the theatron (and no prizes for guessing how that word went on to evolve).

Democracy
Around 500BC the city state of Athens became a democracy. Although it endured for only one hundred years it laid the roots for the political systems we know and (sometimes) trust today. Each year all the names of the citizens were placed in a hat (or ancient Greek equivalent) and five hundred names would be drawn.

These men (for women were not citizens but give them a break this was twenty five centuries ago!) would create the laws of the city for the next year. Once created, they would be voted on by every citizen and the majority decision was the one which passed. Imperfect this system may have been but without it we might not have our democratic systems today.

The Shower
The Greeks were the first to have a shower system that we today would recognize. Their aqueduct systems enabled water to be pumped in to large communal shower rooms (used by rich and poor alike). Their sewers meant that the water could be drained in the same way we drain our water. Discoveries at Pergamum and the pottery of the time indicate we would regard these as similar to the modern day locker room. All very 300 then. The Romans, as with many things, took this idea and made it their own.

The Analog Computer
More than a century ago an astonishing instrument was discovered by divers at the sea bed near the island of Antikythera. It flabbergasted authorities on the ancient world. Was it an astrolabe? Was it an astronomical clock? Or something else?

For many years, systematic examination of the object, now known as the Antikythera Mechanism failed to illuminate the purpose of this strange machine. Yet research over the last fifty years has shed some light. The machine was made around 200BC and is the most complex and refined piece of machinery yet discovered from the ancient world. There is no evidence of anything as sophisticated as this for the next thousand years. The Antikythera Mechanism is now understood to be dedicated to astronomical phenomena and operates as a complex mechanical computer which tracks the cycles of the Solar System.

Pizza
The Ancient Greeks liked their snacks and fast food as much as we do. They covered their bread with a combination of cheese, oils and herbs and called it πίτα. That’s pita to me and you (another word you can transparently see evolve over the millennia). Although it is argued that the word may even have Germanic roots, if we were to be transported back in time two and a half thousand years and given a choice of food in what is now Germany and Greece we would recognize the latter country’s offering. Plus we would pay for it in coined money. In what is now Germany at that point in time beads or shells might get you your dinner. No irony there, then.

All that maths!
Euclidean geometry, the Pythagorean theorem, trigonometry, the golden ratio. All Greek. And although these discoveries have brought untold misery to countless generations of schoolchildren, without them we would have no navigation, architecture, and so on - the list is pretty much endless. Let’s just say modern science and move on.

The catapult and crossbow
If you want to reduce the number of people killed in battle then the best bet, in ancient times (as it is now), was to have a distance between you and the enemy. Thanks to all that maths, the Ancient Greeks were able to create a catapult which increased the range and power of missiles.

Created to fire arrows (big arrows, enough to take out a Na'vi), the first catapult was deployed against the Carthaginians in 399BC. The crossbow came about even earlier, to the late 5th Century BC. Just think what your average Spartan would have thought of an Uzzi 9mm.

The Steam Engine
Hero of Alexandria invented the first steam engine but it was not used to draw carriages but to amuse children. Also known as a aeolipile or a Hero Engine, it consisted of a vessel, usually a sphere or a cylinder which rotates on its axis, having oppositely bent or curved nozzles projecting from it.

When the vessel is pressurized with steam, steam is expelled through the nozzles, which generates thrust due to the rocket principle.

The forces result in a rotational movement and the vessel spins on its access. Drag and frictional forces build up and (having canceled the accelerating torque) achieve a steady state speed.

In other words a steam engine, which must have enchanted those who were children at the same time as a certain Jesus of Nazareth. Hero did create automatic doors for a temple with the aid of steam power too, but the idea failed to catch on.



The E-volo – Manned Multicopter is a Show Stopper


Until this week if you owned an electric multicopter it was small, unmanned and sold to you as a toy (or if you are in the military a means by which to spy upon potential threats). This week may change all of that. A group of German engineers have successfully developed the first multicopter which can carry a man. It is battery powered and the world's first flight with a manned e-powered multicopter has now taken place.

The inventors, Thomas Senkel, Stephan Wolf and Alexander Zosel (pictured above with Senkel as pilot), hope that their joystick controlled multicopter, which they call the E-volo, will revolutionize transport in the future. Even from the pictures you can see why this might be popular for recreational purposes alone. Who wouldn’t want to have a go on what looks like a space hopper with sixteen rotors, and is flown by using a joystick as if you are playing a videogame? So, if the pilot stops inputting directional instructions via the joystick the E-volo simply hovers. It’s as simple as that.

The e-volo measures in the region of five by five meters and has four jibs with 4 propellers each. Including the batteries the basic weight comes to only 80 kg, meaning that it is an ultra light aircraft. The 16 propellers give it with the required uplift and simultaneously guarantee the required safekeeping. Its creators believe that GPS technology can easily be integrated in to the controls making navigation much easier.

It has other advantages, too. It is battery powered which means it is eco-friendly and is as safe as air transport can get: it will land safely even if a quarter of its rotors fail and because they are below the pilot a parachute could even be used if needs be. Industrial uses are also obvious – the multicopter could be used for inspecting pipelines, checking wildlife habitats without intruding upon it and taking aerial photographs. Yet the technology is not with us yet for the E-volo to carry more than one person or, indeed, make flights of more than twenty minutes.

That does not downside Senkel (who made the flight) and his colleagues. They believe it is just a matter of time before flights of sixty minutes or longer are possible – and at a remarkably low price. A one hour flight would cost, in terms of energy, around 6 Euros (just over US$8) and because the E-volo has so few parts the upkeep would not be expensive either. The end of the petroleum century means that alternatives must be developed. Who knows what the future holds for the E-volo!

All photographs courtesy of E-volo. To see the E-volo in flight, watch the video below!



Saturday, November 05, 2011

Where is it Fun to Stay?




The Chameleon’s True Colors



If you have a child under the age of eight go and extract them from their Xbox because they will love this! Likewise, if you don't have kids, open yourself up to a little regression. As ever I will make no excuses for including an animation aimed at children on Kuriositas because there is absolutely no point in being grown up if you can’t be childish every now and again!

Yet, having said that, this animation works on two levels and contains some good advice which, one way or another, most parents find important to pass on to their children: to your own self be true. It's also something about which some adults could be reminded from time to time. OK, it is wrapped up in the kind of gorgeous colors that kids adore and the song, by Carolyn Downie, is simple and to the point. Yet therein lies the beauty of this animated short by Neels Britz. I also like the way that some of the important words appear in both English and Afrikaans (I am assuming that one or both of the creative team are from South Africa).


I Look and Move



This is very, very cleverly done - it has certainly foxed me when it comes to the techniques that have been used here but I suspect it involved ropes!

Animated by Constantine Konovalov and Irina Neustroeva and the team of Russian animation house teeter-totter-tam, this stop motion animation is about the people who make the world turn – in this case literally!

It takes the idea that although there are obstacles in our path and life is certainly not a movie we do possess what it takes to make ourselves and others happy and be the director of our own lives.

Or you could just simply see it as a very clever piece of stop motion animation! If you want to see how it was made, click here.


Humans of New York


Humans of New York is something very special. A photographic census of the most populous city in the United States, it represents the outstanding work of a single photographer. It catalogues the city in a way a normal census never could, through the everyday lives of the humans who inhabit it, lived out on the streets as well as (occasionally) in their homes. So, who is the single human responsible for capturing so many so wonderfully?

Well, once upon a time there was a young man called Brandon Stanton (pictured left) who was a trader at the Chicago Board of Trade. While no Nick Lesson or Kweku Adoboli (we may have heard of him beforehand for other reasons otherwise!) something went badly pear shaped and he found himself jobless.

Blithely, his next career decision was to move to New York City and take photographs of strangers. Like you do. Yet we are so pleased that he made this (ever so slightly barking mad) decision because without that we would not have Humans of New York.

Brandon is the polar opposite of many photographers who conceal themselves in order to catch their subjects unaware. He actively engages his subjects writes many engaging posts about his various conversations and occasional adventures with them. There is also an associated Facebook page too which started as an appendage to the main site which has now acquired a separate life of its own.

Thanks to Brandon, we are able to give you an insight in to this amazing project by reproducing some of his photographs for you. Very generously he gave us free rein in our choice of which we reproduced (he wanted to see which we would decide might embody his work out of a choice of thousands).Click on any of the photographs to go directly to the site so you can choose your own favorite!

Humans of New York is one of those online projects which, once you have entered its world you might find it difficult to withdraw. Some websites come with a health warning (read between the lines!) but if anything, Humans of New York should come with a time warning. You can easily spend hours here perusing the thousands of remarkable portraits of the denizens of this most diverse of cities.

Grab a beverage and whatever else you need at hand when you have the urge to spend several hours on the interweb because you will not want to move from this site for quite a while.

Viral video by ebuzzing



Friday, November 04, 2011

The ArcelorMittal Orbit is Completed


It is twice the size of the Eiffel Tower and seventy two feet higher than the Statue of Liberty but has greatly divided opinion among those who appreciate a sublime combination of art and engineering.  Yet, love it or loathe it the construction of the ArcelorMittal Orbit was completed last week.



Planned as a habitable sculpture the tower is the architectural landmark of the 2012 London Olympic Games. Its creators hope and believe that it will become another of London’s iconic structures and be climbed by generations of visitors.

Work began in February and the top loop of the tower was put in to place last Friday, 28 October 2011. This had followed several days of delay as the winds had been too strong for the four man team to hoist the top ring up and slide it in to place. Its adherents, including London Mayor Boris Johnson hope that its presence in the English capital will thrust architecture in to new areas of adventure. Yet some observers find the spectacle of the tower somewhat disquieting.

Its price is rather unsettling even though it had been planned and budgeted for in advance of the ravages of the economic recession which has seen budgets cut for education and health in the UK. Its £22.7m (over $US36m) cost has led its detractors to claim that it will be the most expensive (and only) publicly funded squashed rollercoaster in the UK. Yet it does have to be pointed out that 19.2 million pounds were funded by ArcelorMittal, the international steel and mining company.

Others, however, can’t wait to set foot on its two observation deck and enjoy the promised spectacular panoramic views of London. Designed by London-based and hugely popular artist Anish Kapoor, his design of ruby red looping lattices of tubular steel was the winner of a contest for the major art venture to both welcome and celebrate the forthcoming games.

London Mayor Boris Johnson, who is not completely unknown for making hyperbolic statements, said “It would have boggled the minds of the Romans. It would have dwarfed the aspirations of Gustave Eiffel, and it will certainly be worthy of the best show on earth, in the greatest city on earth.”  It remains to be seen whether this significant structure strikes a similar chord with the rest of humanity.

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