blogossauro

O Blogossauro está de férias. Voltamos em breve!

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0400

O Blogossauro está de férias. Voltamos em breve!

“An unlikely suspect was fingered at the recent show trials of Iranian dissidents: Max Weber, whose ideas on rational authority were blamed for fomenting a ‘velvet revolution’ against the Islamic Republic.”

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:58:26 -0400

“An unlikely suspect was fingered at the recent show trials of Iranian dissidents: Max Weber, whose ideas on rational authority were blamed for fomenting a ‘velvet revolution’ against the Islamic Republic.”

"It is in the moment of defeat that the inherent weakness of totalitarian propaganda becomes visible...."

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:52:35 -0400

“It is in the moment of defeat that the inherent weakness of totalitarian propaganda becomes visible. Without the force of the movement, its members cease at once to believe in the dogma for which yesterday they still were ready to sacrifice their lives.”

- Hannah Arendt

The Hippos of Pablo Escobar

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:43:00 -0400

The Hippos of Pablo Escobar

5 de novembro.

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:34:20 -0400

5 de novembro.

“The ‘decision’ to open the border was not a conscious choice at all. [...] One of the most momentous events of the past century was, in fact, an accident, a semicomical and bureaucratic mistake.”

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:57:00 -0400

“The ‘decision’ to open the border was not a conscious choice at all. [...] One of the most momentous events of the past century was, in fact, an accident, a semicomical and bureaucratic mistake.”

Transcripts of Defeat

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:25:00 -0400

Transcripts of Defeat:

“Our soldiers are not to blame. They’ve fought incredibly bravely in adverse conditions. But to occupy towns and villages temporarily has little value in such a vast land where the insurgents can just disappear into the hills.” He went on to request extra troops and equipment. “Without them, without a lot more men, this war will continue for a very, very long time,” he said.

These sound as if they could be the words of Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top American commander in Afghanistan, to President Obama in recent days or weeks. In fact, they were spoken by Sergei Akhromeyev, the commander of the Soviet armed forces, to the Soviet Union’s Politburo on Nov. 13, 1986.

“Resposta”, de Frederic Brown (1954)

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:43:24 -0300

“Resposta”, de Frederic Brown (1954):

Dwar Ev soldou solenemente a junção final com ouro. A objetiva de uma dúzia de câmeras de televisão se concentrava nele, transmitindo a todo o universo doze enquadramentos diferentes do que estava fazendo.

Endireitou o corpo e acenou com a cabeça para Dwar Reyn, indo depois ocupar a posição prevista, ao lado da chave que completaria o contato quando fosse ligada. E que acionaria, simultaneamente, todos os gigantescos computadores da totalidade dos planetas habitados do universo inteiro - noventa e seis bilhões de planetas – ao supercircuito que, por sua vez, ligaria todos eles a uma supercalculadora, máquina cibernética capaz de combinar o conhecimento integral de todas as galáxias.

Dwar Reyn dirigiu algumas palavras aos trilhões de espectadores. Depois de um momento de silêncio, deu a ordem:

— Agora, Dwar Ev.

Dwar Ev ligou a chave. Ouviu-se um zumbido fortíssimo, o surto de energia proveniente de noventa e seis bilhões de planetas. As luzes se acenderam e apagaram por todo o painel de quilômetros de extensão.

Dwar Ev recuou um passo e respirou fundo.

— A honra de formular a primeira pergunta é sua, Dwar Reyn.

— Obrigado – disse Dwar Reyn. — Será uma pergunta que nenhuma máquina cibernética foi capaz de responder até hoje.

Virou-se para o computador.

— Deus existe?

A voz tonitruante respondeu sem hesitação, sem se ouvir o estalo de um único relé.

— Sim, agora Deus existe.

O rosto de Dwar Ev ficou tomado de súbito pavor. Saltou para desligar a chave de novo.

Um raio fulminante, caído de um céu sem nuvens, o acertou em cheio e deixou a chave ligada para sempre.

“Experts are more persuasive when they seem tentative about their conclusions, a study soon to be published in the Journal of Consumer Research suggests. But the opposite is true of novices, who grow more persuasive with increasing certainty.”

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 23:29:20 -0300

“Experts are more persuasive when they seem tentative about their conclusions, a study soon to be published in the Journal of Consumer Research suggests. But the opposite is true of novices, who grow more persuasive with increasing certainty.”

Martin Scorsese: 11 Scariest Horror Movies of All Time

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:17:22 -0300

Martin Scorsese: 11 Scariest Horror Movies of All Time

“[F]or the first time emerging economies will attract more than...

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:41:00 -0300

“[F]or the first time emerging economies will attract more than half of the global total.”

Interview with Charles Krauthammer on Der Spiegel

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 01:00:00 -0300

Interview with Charles Krauthammer on Der Spiegel:

Krauthammer: Obama misread his mandate. He was elected six weeks after a financial collapse unlike any seen in 60 years; after eight years of a presidency which had tired the country; in the middle of two wars that made the country opposed to the Republican government that involved us in the wars; and against a completely inept opponent, John McCain. Nevertheless, Obama still only won by 7 points. But he thought it was a great sweeping mandate and he could implement his social democratic agenda.

The benefit of Somalia's pirates

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:56:00 -0300

The benefit of Somalia's pirates:

Now the fishermen are able to catch up to £200 worth of fish per day in an area where the average daily earnings are less than £5.

"[T]he fact that I am dumber than I was before I took up the computer doesn’t mean that the computer..."

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 18:51:00 -0300

“[T]he fact that I am dumber than I was before I took up the computer doesn’t mean that the computer has made me dumb, though I want to believe that it has. Those who dismiss that belief always cite the bit in Plato’s Phaedrus where Socrates says that the invention of writing will wreck people’s ability to remember. To them I say, well, hasn’t it?”

- James Bowman, The Pursuit of Wisdom in the Age of the Internet

YouTube Comment or e. e. cummings?

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 08:37:00 -0300

YouTube Comment or e. e. cummings?

15 Things Kurt Vonnegut Said Better Than Anyone Else Ever Has Or Will

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 02:58:22 -0300

15 Things Kurt Vonnegut Said Better Than Anyone Else Ever Has Or Will

Poluição na China.

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 01:20:46 -0300

Poluição na China.

(via catastrofe)

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 01:16:56 -0300

(via catastrofe)

Photo

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 22:51:40 -0300

E assim caminha a humanidade?

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 22:48:00 -0300

E assim caminha a humanidade?:

George Friedman: O declínio dos EUA vem sendo previsto antes mesmo de sua emergência e depois do Vietnã todos diziam que ele era irreversível. No entanto, desde 1991, com o fim da União Soviética, eles se tornaram a única superpotência mundial. A história não se move tão rapidamente assim, e estamos falando de uma supremacia de apenas duas décadas. A economia americana responde a cerca de 25% de tudo o que é produzido no planeta, sua armada domina todos os oceanos do mundo. É o único grande poder com acesso tanto ao Atlântico quanto ao Pacífico. E, enquanto o Japão tem 364 pessoas por quilômetro quadrado e a Alemanha, 260, os EUA têm apenas 34. Ao contrário dessas duas grandes economias, os EUA seguirão crescendo em termos populacionais durante todo o século. Ou seja, quando você considera os fatos mais importantes na avaliação da força de um país - atividade econômica, poder militar e demografia -, é impossível pensar em outra potência neste século pronta para desalojar os EUA de sua liderança. O declínio, se acontecer, será lento.