Old laws, modern impacts

Planet Money of NPR is one of my favorite Podcasts. Recently, it had two episodes, back-to-back, that made me think about old laws in different parts of the world and what impacts they have in modern days. 

 

The first story was about lunch time in France. If you have done any business in that country, you would know that lunch in France is not munching sandwiches at your desk. They like to go out to eat and devote more than one hour to this activity. What I did not realize is that there was, until recently, a law that required people not to eat in office.

 

The reason was, in the old days they needed to clean up work places after so many hours of being occupied…. fumigate and so on. So, people were forced to leave office buildings during midday. So, a natural outcome was they ate lunch outside their offices instead of just cooling their heels. Recently, the law was changed so workers can be more like us, Americans, and eat in their offices without risking arrest (I jest).  However, people still prefer to eat lunch out and it is now a French tradition. Why? Because they enjoy camaraderie and time away from work in the middle of the day.

 

Result: This old law continues to be beneficial even in the modern days, not in the way it was intended but because it promotes better work environment. 

 

Another story dealt with a law that is related to the expiry date stamped on food packages. We are all familiar with these dates…good if used by xxx, not to be to be sold after yyy, and so on. Not only are there multiple ways these dates are reported, but there is no consistency and different states have different rules.

 

A specific example cited was for milk sold in Montana. The law in that state says that a grocery stores need to stop selling milk by twelve days after the cow was milked, while in most other states it is about twice as long. The reason for the law is that in the old days milk did not last that long which is clearly not applicable any more given the modern ways of storing and treating it. All other states have changed but not Montana. Now it is difficult to make change in that state due to a powerful milk lobby. If they increase the days milk is allowed to stay on shelf, outsiders may come in. Currently they don’t because twelve days does not allow enough time to transport milk from long distance and sell it. 

 

Result: People in Montana pay higher price for their milk just because of an old law. Not so good, but not the end of the world.

 

It is hard not to bring up another old law which is causing a devastating impact, unlike the milk law in Montana. This one applies throughout US, and is not really a law but a constitutional amendment. You know what I am talking about. It is the second amendment which gives citizens the right to carry guns. This law was created in the days of militia and fear of a malevolent government. Just as is the case with the prior two examples, this reasoning does not apply in the modern times, but it is almost impossible to make changes. Once again there is a lobby involved, the NRA. Thanks to the vicious circle of gun manufacturers, NRA and greedy politicians, this amendment remains in force.

 

Result: Terrible. Massacre after massacre, with no end in sight.

 

How gullible do you have to be?

How self-centered do you have to be to put your re-election ahead of doing public good that you were elected for?

 

How power hungry do you have to be that you are prepared to sacrifice democracy in order to cling to power?

 

How spineless do you have to be that you have no ability to stand up to blatant lies told by a ruthless megalomaniac?

 

How ruthless do you have to be to tell blatant lies when you know they are so?

 

How heartless do you have to be to make statements like “banning assault weapons is off the table” after watching the carnage being committed using them?

 

How financially driven do you have to be to run a business that assist in perpetuating what you know to be lies? 

 

How greedy do you have to be to put the profits you make from making and selling weapons ahead of the harm they are causing in the society?

 

How cynical do you have to be in order to hide behind “Second Amendment” when you know it was not created with the modern society or weapons in mind?

 

How hypocritical do you have to be to believe that the lives of fetuses need to be protected but those of innocent victims of gun violence do not?

 

How racist do you have to be to believe in ideas such as The Replacement Theory?

 

How gullible do you have to be to believe that humans are not responsible for the rapid change in climate; vaccines don’t work; or it is not a gun problem, it is mental illness problem?

 

Very. 

Color and casting

 In 1984, a TV series called Far Pavilions premiered. One important role was that of Anjuli, an Indian woman. Amy Irwing was cast in that role because for some reason the makers of the series did not think an Indian actress was capable of fitting the bill. I clearly remember Amy Irwing, looking like she was dipped in chocolate, gamely playing along. However, the casting looked fake. 

 

Shortly afterwards came a TV series called Mahabharata (1989-90), based on the Indian epic. Almost none of the characters was Indian; they were white and black Americans. However, unlike in the previous example, no one was painted brown to resemble the skin color of Indians. The producer was making a statement that skin color should not matter in telling a story. Besides, how would one know what exactly how the many of the characters in Mahabharat really looked like? 

 

That did not go well with many Indians. They were particularly troubled by black actors playing Indians…you see many Indians are extremely conscious of the color of skin. It is like having a black actor play Jesus. 

 

Fast forward to Bridgerton, a TV series we finished watching. It is a period piece set in England of the last century. What is curious is that many leading parts are played with dark-skinned folks, including the queen. Unlike the case with Mahabharata, we know exactly what was the skin color of the upper crust of the English society. It wasn’t black, so there is no ambiguity. Thus, the point being made in Mahabharata was further advanced by Bridgerton. 

 

From white folks playing dark skinned part, we have come to dark skinned people playing white folk’s part. From the days of white folks not trusting a dark-skinned person to play a dark-skinned character, we have advanced to producers creating shows in which the skin color does not matter.

 

And why should the skin color matter? How long will it be when we become completely unaware of the color of the other person’s skin? 

 

Certainly, not in my life time. My granddaughter’s? Maybe. 

 

Maybe not.

Why buy an original?

 

The world of art (fine art, photography) is going through a major upheaval. Artificial intelligence is making it possible not only to make superb copies of fine art but also create “original “works. Also, investment in physical art is moving toward that of a digital form. Note the outlandish prices being offered for digital images that are “original” as confirmed by technologies such as NFT. 

 

Originals, copies, AI, fakes, outlandish prices. What’s going on? What is going to happen?

 

Thinking through this, I went back to the basics. Why would one acquire a piece of art…physical or digital? Then the next question would be: Why not buy a copy instead of original? 

 

According to me, here are five factors that lead you to answering these questions. 

 

Factor 1. The pleasure the work provides by looking at it. 

 

Why does certain artworks give pleasure, and others do not? It is a matter of individual taste.  A refrain I have often heard from buyers (or appreciators) is that “this work speaks to me.” There may be several reasons for that: The work reminds him (her) of some pleasant memory…the scene, the person in the artwork, the atmosphere. Maybe the subject, the composition, and the lighting are very appealing. For abstract art, looking at it engages a different part of the brain. That might do the trick and the work of art speaks to him. 

 

One point to keep in mind is that the same feelings can be invoked by a copy as an original art work, especially now that an AI driven “artists” can exactly duplicate each brush stroke in case of fine art, and by simply pressing the duplicate button on a laptop, one can make exact copies of a digital art.

 

Factor 2. The authenticity of the work. 

 

By authenticity, I do not mean “original”.  Rather, for example, that the scene presented in a photograph is real, exactly as captured by the camera without any significant alteration. 

 

The value of this factor was brought home to me by a comment from one of my relatives who wanted to print and display one of my photos of a bee and a flower. He wanted to make sure that the bee was real and not Photoshopped from somewhere else. Only then he was going to make a print. Now, even if the bee was Photoshopped, he would have gotten the same pleasure from looking at it (Factor 1 above) but he put a higher value on a realistic representation of nature, than a fake one.

 

The same argument is made by the judges in a photo competition I frequently enter. The images have to be authentic, not Photoshopped. Unless, of course, the artwork is entered in a “Creative” competition. Then anything goes, and this Factor does not apply. 

 

Factor 3. The pleasure of owning an original. 

 

There is some inherent pleasure of owning the “original” even if a copy provides the same pleasure if you look at it. Of course, if there is no original, there will be no copies. Copies get made because the original has such appeal (Factors 1 and 2), and the artist becomes well-known because of those Factors.

 

People go through great lengths in ensuring the work of art they are acquiring is original. If it is a masterpiece from a well-known artist, there is a trail of ownership, so the originality may be assured. Unless a hidden work appears in someone’s cellar. Then the brush strokes are examined and the chemical composition of the paint is evaluated to ensure it is not a fake. Once again, in the world of AI, this will become increasingly difficult.

 

For digital images, NFT (Non-Fungible Token) is one way to assure the owner that he owns the original. This is a welcome development for digital artists.

 

This Factor---the pleasure of owning an original--- has emotional reasons rather than rational. Perhaps the next Factor augments the reason for owning an original more strongly. 

 

Factor 4. The bragging value of owning an original

 

This comes to play if the artist (or photographer) is famous. “Hey, I own an original Van Gogh, while you can afford to own only a copy.”

 

How do you separate this factor from the one above? There is a simple test: If you can not tell anyone or show anyone what you own, what will you purchase? The answer reveals your true love for owning the original, not the bragging rights that come with that.

 

Frequently, artwork does get purchased anonymously, and one of the objectives might be that the owner does not want to brag, just get the deep happiness of owning an original. However, the other objective might be to keep the artwork away from potential thieves. 

 

To me, Factor 4 is likely to be a big reason why people are paying outlandish prices for owning originals of famous artists.

 

Factor 5. Art as an investment

 

I argue that this is not a separate factor but inherently intertwined with the others above. 

 

A basic assumption in anything that is purchased for investment is it can be sold for a higher price at a future date. For the next person to offer a higher price, not only does he have to be convinced that the item being offered is an original, not a copy, but he has to get more pleasure of owning an original than the first buyer, and/or have a larger need to brag about it (Factors 3 and 4 above). 

 

If that were not the case, the second buyer would get a copy and not purchase the original from the first buyer.  The investment cycle will then collapse. In future, the first buyer will not pay top dollars for an original, if it were just for investment purposes because future transactions may not materialize. Unless of course it is a speculative investment; a bet on an unknown artist. Even then, the value will depend on that unknown artist becoming better known so that Factors 3 and 4 come into play. So, Factor 5 is based on Factors 3 and 4, not independent.

 

The final point to ponder is whether the museums will continue to buy the originals, and pay a premium. 

 

Yes, that may hold true. Afterall, why would visitors pay a premium to see the original Mona Lisa in the Louvre, and not a copy hanging in my den? As long as that is the case, museums will buy originals and brag about them to attract visitors.

 

Hmmm, museums bragging instead of individuals. 

 

Aha! 

I am angry

 I am angry

I am angry at Putin for what he has wrought. Just to satisfy his ego and misdirected interpretation of history, he has invaded a sovereign nation. His troops are indiscriminately bombing cities and town, killing hundreds of people and making millions of people refugees. There is no telling of how far he is going to take this invasion and what incalculable suffering he will impose on innocent people.

 

I am scared

 

I am scared that Putin has no easy way to save his face. There is no off-ramp from the insane situation he has found himself into. He is like a cornered cat. He has already indicated that Russia has nuclear weapons and so no one should mess with it. Isn’t there a plausible scenario that he will lash out and use this “final” option? What will happen then? How will the world avert an all-out nuclear war? 

 

I am irritated

 

I am irritated about the stand that some of my right-wing friends have taken. “This war would not have happened if our country was not being ruled by a weak president,” they say. Really guys? Don’t you think Putin would have preferred a friendly president like Trump if that was the reasoning behind his attack? How far are we going to take party politics? What will it take for us to be united in our response? A mushroom cloud?

 

I am sad

 

I am profoundly sad when I see the steady column of refugees pouring into neighboring countries. Our modern technology allows us to virtually participate in the horrors that have fallen on these women and children. Hungry, tired, scared and with no place to go. What did they do to deserve this?

 

I am glad

 

I am glad that it is not me or my family in that situation. Here we are sitting in our comfortable houses where the principal worry is how much traffic we will encounter when we go out, and where will we park our car. Yes, the gas price is going up, but for most of us it is a minor inconvenience.

 

I am confused

 

I am confused about my feelings. How can I be happy when there is so much suffering? How can I continue my normal life under the threat of a nuclear war? How can I make any future plans when the world as we know it might be going through a metamorphosis? How could we have allowed the creation of a world order that is so fragile that one madman can upend it?

 

I am angry

Facts to fiction, fiction to facts

  

We live in interesting times when facts become fiction and fiction become facts. Let me elaborate.

 

Facts becomes fiction when it is very easy to twist truth. Reality gets portraited as just a hypothesis or figment of someone’s imagination. Climate change is one such area where even after tons of evidence that it is happening and we, the humans, are responsible for it, there are folks who believe that the whole thing is fiction. Either mad scientists running around for research money, or extreme liberals looking to overthrow the current economic order are responsible for this fiction. 

 

As I have mentioned before once you start believing that somehow facts are not facts, there is enough “evidence” to justify your belief. Internet directs you to videos by “experts” and “scholarly” papers that agree with you. 

 

Facts become fiction. 

 

At the same time fiction becomes facts. 

 

I am particularly fond of science fiction stories related to space travel and instant communication. Remember “First men in the moon” by H. G. Wells? Or Dick Tracy using his Apple Watch to communicate?

 

One fiction I would love to become facts is cheap space travel and colonies on Moon and Mars. The recent advances in commercial space travel is the right step in that direction.  It is not too fanciful to imagine that such a possibility will allow people, at least some fraction of population, to escape earth if it becomes inhabitable due to climate change in not-too-distant future. 

 

Under that scenario, fiction becoming facts will come to rescue of people who though facts were fiction. 

 

Wouldn’t that be the ultimate irony?

No, you can't

 Ah, retirement. Now is the time to do what I want. I can fly over to different place, some quite remote. I will take in what each place has to offer. When I am not flying around, I will drive to all the National Parks nearby and absorb beauty of what my country has to offer. Back home, I will relax. For lunch I will make myself a sandwich with ham and cheese. For dinner, it will be a fish or a steak now and then. Before dinner, I will have a glass of wine, and somedays, a sip of Bourbon. Finally, after dinner, I will have a dessert. I will have a great time.

 

Ah, retirement.

 

Hold on. Haven’t you heard it is time to retire retirement? If you don’t get engaged in some other activity, your brain will turn into a mush and you will die an early death.

 

Now is the time to do what I want.

 

Privileged, aren’t we? Think of all the poor people who have to work their rear ends off. You should be ashamed of having wealth that allows you to retire. Give up all your ill-gotten goods.

 

I can fly to different places, …

 

Fly? Did you say fly? Do you have any idea of the greenhouse emissions these airplanes are creating? It is people like you who have doomed our planet to severe climate crisis.

 

… some quite remote.

 

Here comes the privilege once again. By going to remote places, you will destroy flora and fauna of every corner of the earth. Haven’t we ruined our planet enough already?

 

I will take in what each place has to offer.

 

I know exactly what you mean. You will take thousands of pictures and post them all over. Then your ego will be boosted when people praise you. It is time to listen to all the gurus and get off this ego bandwagon.

 

When I am not flying, I will drive …

 

And how much emission will you add to what is already an unsustainable load on the environment? I can understand if you are driving to see your doctor, but driving just for fun? Come on.

 

... to all the National Parks nearby, and absorb beauty of what my country has to offer.

 

Overrun all the National Parks, that’s what your action, and that of all people like you, will do. Have you seen pictures of a bison being chased by hundred tourists? 

 

Back home, I will relax.

 

Relax? As I said before, this is the surest way to head for an early end to your life. Haven’t you read what sedentary life can do to people?

 

For lunch, I will make a sandwich of ham and cheese.

 

Good god! Ham? Cheese? First, you will kill all the pigs and eat them. Not only it is bad for pigs, it is terrible for the environment. Then, you will add cheese. Have you thought of what that will do to your cholesterol? Also, what is cheese made up of? Animal milk. How many calves will be left without nourishment so you can indulge yourself with cheese? Finally, bread. Haven’t you heard that the processed carbohydrate is terrible for you? Makes you diabetic. Kills you through heart diseases. 

 

For dinner, it will be fish, …

 

We are already wiping out most of fish in the ocean. Now, you will become an active participant. When there are no fish left, it will be your fault.

 

…or a steak now and then.

 

You must be kidding. You certainly have no regard for your health, do you? If refined carbohydrate does not kill you, steak will. 

 

Before dinner, I will have a glass of wine,

 

You thought wine is good for you, didn’t you? Read the latest in medical journals. Wine is bad for you, period. Ruins your liver, makes you crazy, increases chances of cancer.

 

and somedays, a sip of bourbon. 

 

Wine is not enough for you, is it? You have to drink whiskey? Are you out of your mind? Just multiply every bad thing wine does by a large factor and you get the effects of whiskey.

 

Finally, after dinner, I will have a dessert.

 

There we go again. Sugar!! It will wreck a havoc on your body. You seem to have a deep-seated desire to shorten your life.

 

I will have a great time.

 

No, you can’t