Dear Irene,
Thanks so much for stopping by, but how about another time?
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Saturday, August 27, 2011
A dancer's world
And just because I think this video is awesome and these guys are too cool!
Having fun in Montreal, Canada from Gianinni Semedo Moreira on Vimeo.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Theories and thrills
First step towards proving my theory that if you really, truly and whole heartily want something you will get it.
Get into a German class at Concordia University (NOT an easy feat when you're last minute and a co-op student and have to go through all the red tape). Done!!
Get into a German class at Concordia University (NOT an easy feat when you're last minute and a co-op student and have to go through all the red tape). Done!!
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Les 4 phases de la vie d'un étudiant
Phase 1: Ayant fini le secondaire et ne sachant pas quoi faire avec sa vie, tu te dis que ce n'est pas bien grave puisque tu as toujours le CEGEP pour le découvrir.
Phase 2: Ayant fini le CEGEP et ne sachant toujours pas quoi faire avec sa vie, tu te dis que bah ça peut être pire et que 3 ans d'université te donnent du temps en masse pour réfléchir à la prochaine étape et qu'à la fin tu sauras surement par où te diriger.
Phase 3: La fin de l'université approchant à grands pas, tu te trouves DANS LA MERDE, puisque t'es pas plus proche de savoir comment tu gagneras ta vie que tu l'étais il y a 4 ans à la fin de ton secondaire.
Donc la question suivante se pose: quand sommes-nous supposés savoir que faire de notre vie? Est-ce qu'il y a une date limite pour trouver la réponse à cette ultime question existentielle? En voyant des gens qui se cherchent encore rendus à 30 ans, je me dis que peut-être pas...
Phase 4: Arriver à la conclusion que la vie n'est qu'une suite d'essaies et erreurs et qu'avec un peu de chance on tombe sur la bonne variante avant 30 ans. Sinon, on est DANS LA MERDE.
Phase 2: Ayant fini le CEGEP et ne sachant toujours pas quoi faire avec sa vie, tu te dis que bah ça peut être pire et que 3 ans d'université te donnent du temps en masse pour réfléchir à la prochaine étape et qu'à la fin tu sauras surement par où te diriger.
Phase 3: La fin de l'université approchant à grands pas, tu te trouves DANS LA MERDE, puisque t'es pas plus proche de savoir comment tu gagneras ta vie que tu l'étais il y a 4 ans à la fin de ton secondaire.
Donc la question suivante se pose: quand sommes-nous supposés savoir que faire de notre vie? Est-ce qu'il y a une date limite pour trouver la réponse à cette ultime question existentielle? En voyant des gens qui se cherchent encore rendus à 30 ans, je me dis que peut-être pas...
Phase 4: Arriver à la conclusion que la vie n'est qu'une suite d'essaies et erreurs et qu'avec un peu de chance on tombe sur la bonne variante avant 30 ans. Sinon, on est DANS LA MERDE.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
"Amintiri din copilarie" ou les déficiences d'un enfant face au mois de septembre
Souvent je trouve une source de fierté dans mon habileté à être immature et enfantine. Dans mes envies de sauter partout et de chanter dans la rue malgré les regards des gens autour. Et puis au diable l'opinion publique! C'est bien pour ça que je n'irai jamais en politique (oui, bon, d'autres raisons aussi,, mais je divague...).
Par contre, j'observe un truc remarquable avec le passage du temps (parce que oui, je vieillis malgré moi). Dans les dernières années, tout a changé si vite autour de moi, que ce soit les gens, les conditions ou les situations. Et ça me terrifiait! Chaque mois de septembre j'avais une peur bleue de commencer une nouvelle année, de devoir encore socialiser avec des gens qui m'étaient inconnus. Et pour deux-trois semaines je redevenais l'enfant qui va à son premier cours d'école et qui essaye de rester aussi immobile que possible dans son banc pour attirer le moins d'attention possible. Et tu espères que le tout passera plus vite et que tu seras bientôt de retour chez toi (parce que prier pour que ce soit moins pénible c'est vraiment demander un peu trop).
Mais voilà que depuis quelques mois, ces cycles, ces changements, ces gens qui partent de ma vie, eh bien, ça ne me fait plus peur. Un peu comme avec le vent frisquet par une belle soirée d'été qui peut devenir même agréable lorsque tu décides de l'accepter comme une partie intégrale du paysage. Un peu comme le fait d'être pris dans la pluie et, une fois que tu es complètement mouillée, tu peux choisir d'arrêter de courir pour trouver un abri et juste savourer la sensation des gouttes d'eau sur ta peau. Un peu comme le fait de lâcher prise et juste se laisser emporter par le courant de l'eau. Tel un enfant, je n'aime pas perdre mes amis et j'ai peur de parler avec les gens que je ne connais pas. Mais tel un adulte, j'apprends à ne plus m'accrocher au passé et à ne plus me cacher de la vie.
Le changement peut être agréable lorsqu'on décide de ne pas s'y opposer. Le changement nous fait évoluer (parce qu'aussi surprenant que ça puisse l'être, l'évolution intellectuelle ne vient pas juste avec les lectures de Sartre et de Marx). Alors bienvenue la vie avec tes tournures inespérées et tes caprices. Bienvenue le mois de septembre que je n'hairai plus à présent (par contre je me réserve toujours le droit de hair le dimanche soir et le lundi matin.... on ne peut pas tout avoir dans la vie, non?). Et surtout, bienvenue le vent et le courant, mes nouveaux fidèles amis que je chérirai et à qui je ferai confiance pour m'amener par dessus des océans et des temps.
J'adore être un enfant et l'innocence qu'on peut ressentir dans la jeunesse. Mais parfois j'ai très hâte d'évoluer...
Par contre, j'observe un truc remarquable avec le passage du temps (parce que oui, je vieillis malgré moi). Dans les dernières années, tout a changé si vite autour de moi, que ce soit les gens, les conditions ou les situations. Et ça me terrifiait! Chaque mois de septembre j'avais une peur bleue de commencer une nouvelle année, de devoir encore socialiser avec des gens qui m'étaient inconnus. Et pour deux-trois semaines je redevenais l'enfant qui va à son premier cours d'école et qui essaye de rester aussi immobile que possible dans son banc pour attirer le moins d'attention possible. Et tu espères que le tout passera plus vite et que tu seras bientôt de retour chez toi (parce que prier pour que ce soit moins pénible c'est vraiment demander un peu trop).
Mais voilà que depuis quelques mois, ces cycles, ces changements, ces gens qui partent de ma vie, eh bien, ça ne me fait plus peur. Un peu comme avec le vent frisquet par une belle soirée d'été qui peut devenir même agréable lorsque tu décides de l'accepter comme une partie intégrale du paysage. Un peu comme le fait d'être pris dans la pluie et, une fois que tu es complètement mouillée, tu peux choisir d'arrêter de courir pour trouver un abri et juste savourer la sensation des gouttes d'eau sur ta peau. Un peu comme le fait de lâcher prise et juste se laisser emporter par le courant de l'eau. Tel un enfant, je n'aime pas perdre mes amis et j'ai peur de parler avec les gens que je ne connais pas. Mais tel un adulte, j'apprends à ne plus m'accrocher au passé et à ne plus me cacher de la vie.
Le changement peut être agréable lorsqu'on décide de ne pas s'y opposer. Le changement nous fait évoluer (parce qu'aussi surprenant que ça puisse l'être, l'évolution intellectuelle ne vient pas juste avec les lectures de Sartre et de Marx). Alors bienvenue la vie avec tes tournures inespérées et tes caprices. Bienvenue le mois de septembre que je n'hairai plus à présent (par contre je me réserve toujours le droit de hair le dimanche soir et le lundi matin.... on ne peut pas tout avoir dans la vie, non?). Et surtout, bienvenue le vent et le courant, mes nouveaux fidèles amis que je chérirai et à qui je ferai confiance pour m'amener par dessus des océans et des temps.
J'adore être un enfant et l'innocence qu'on peut ressentir dans la jeunesse. Mais parfois j'ai très hâte d'évoluer...
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
The equivalent exchange principle
In the past week, England has been assaulted by violent riots which have shocked the world and many theories have been put forward to explain this phenomenon. In the following article, Rebekah Hebbert explains these recent events by a lack of morality and the prevalence of relativism in western societies. And while I don't believe in pure relativism, here is however the rational outlook on the situation.
While Miss Hebbert is coherent, she makes one assumption which is at the basis of her argument with which I don't agree. She mixes relativism with anarchy when she says that doing no harm is an arbitrary moral principle. That is not true. If you are an extreme supporter of relativism, you believe that every person has the right to choose what they want to believe. It also comes with the principle that no belief is more important or has more value than any other. And if you are to take Descartes' principle of "I think therefore I am", you equate a person's existence or being with their cognitive activity and therefore their beliefs (I make here the assumption that all beliefs are the product of a rational process and while that is an entirely different argument, I do think that to be true for every person believes what they do either because of their education, their past, their disposition, etc.). Therefore, if all beliefs are equal, all people are equal. And if you respect all beliefs, you must respect all people and their right to live out their beliefs. And for that, you must not harm them. Relativism represents a person's freedom to think and to do whatever they want as long as it doesn't overlap with that of someone else and the difficulty stands in determining where one freedom ends and another one starts (material and physical damage on the other hand are way across the line so it's not hard to figure out that me hurting you or breaking into your house and stealing is not supported by a relativist philosophy). You can look at relativism as a continuum where everyone is connected and I can only push so far without bumping into the person next to me. Anarchy on the other hand is quite egocentric and does not consider others. It is individual freedom pushed to the extreme without taking into account the others around.
"Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost". That is the principle of equivalent exchange. If, for whatever reason, the scale points in favor of a group, all equilibrium is lost and sooner or later revolt will come in order to restore the balance (thesis and antithesis bring about synthesis like good old Marx said). The only damper on this particular revolt is that it was done impulsively and as a means to vent out accumulated frustrations and to get even. Therefore, instead of restoring any balance, it will achieve the exact opposite as the government's response seems to be a turn towards absolute control (actually, it kind of reminds me of the US' attitude towards communists during the Cold War). All that to say that we still have a long way to go until equivalent exchange will be respected (in England as well as everywhere else in the world; look at the Middle East or the civil wars over elections in Africa). But for that, we must recognize our problems for what they are. Not a question of philosophy or morality. But an imbalance of power and wealth that is not always distributed based on individual effort alone. Life's not fair, true! But we must strive to make it as fair as possible.
While Miss Hebbert is coherent, she makes one assumption which is at the basis of her argument with which I don't agree. She mixes relativism with anarchy when she says that doing no harm is an arbitrary moral principle. That is not true. If you are an extreme supporter of relativism, you believe that every person has the right to choose what they want to believe. It also comes with the principle that no belief is more important or has more value than any other. And if you are to take Descartes' principle of "I think therefore I am", you equate a person's existence or being with their cognitive activity and therefore their beliefs (I make here the assumption that all beliefs are the product of a rational process and while that is an entirely different argument, I do think that to be true for every person believes what they do either because of their education, their past, their disposition, etc.). Therefore, if all beliefs are equal, all people are equal. And if you respect all beliefs, you must respect all people and their right to live out their beliefs. And for that, you must not harm them. Relativism represents a person's freedom to think and to do whatever they want as long as it doesn't overlap with that of someone else and the difficulty stands in determining where one freedom ends and another one starts (material and physical damage on the other hand are way across the line so it's not hard to figure out that me hurting you or breaking into your house and stealing is not supported by a relativist philosophy). You can look at relativism as a continuum where everyone is connected and I can only push so far without bumping into the person next to me. Anarchy on the other hand is quite egocentric and does not consider others. It is individual freedom pushed to the extreme without taking into account the others around.
I believe that what happened in England is a mix of all the reasons mentioned in the article. Yes society is relativistic and yes conflicting points of view can stand side by side. However, the "do no harm" imperative has been respected because relativism holds it in high esteem. But when figures of authority such as policemen and business people break it by abusing their position, the equality of people principle comes into place. Therefore, if those in authority believe that hurting those in a lesser position is alright, then that last group of people will come to the conclusion that such a belief is valid for them as well. And here the continuum and connectivity breaks and we slip into anarchy. But this only happened because those in authority chose to break relativist principles in the first place. Kind of like Newton's 3rd law that states that if you exert a force on an object, that object will exert an equal and opposite force on you.
However, I have to say that pure relativism is impossible to attain in any society because stereotypes and prejudice exist, thus putting an imbalance in the perceived value of a person and his or her beliefs. For example, if I were to believe that people who are unemployed are in this situation because they are lazy and I were to consider laziness as a bad thing, then I would come to see these people as a bad thing for society and this would decrease their value as a person and the value of their beliefs in my eyes. But you see, if I were a pure relativist, I would never harm them because I would consider that there is no absolute truth so I cannot be sure that I am right and, in the offset chance that I am wrong, me harming them would become objectionable. So if we think about it, it is not relativism that is in cause here, but, on the contrary, the fact that people think that there is an absolute truth and that they possess it. Therefore, they would excuse harming others by saying that they work in the name of truth and goodness or if they are conscious that what they are doing is bad, then they would see it as just payback for a wrong that they have been done in the past (like the death penalty for criminals).
This situation in England started because a man who was being arrested by the police got killed in the process (we had something similar in Canada when a young black got killed by the police in Montreal North). Therefore, the policemen stereotype and their targets want justice for the wrong that they perceived has been done to them. Which brings us to the conclusion that, like I mentioned earlier, the problem is not relativism, but the belief in an absolute truth which is based not on reason, but on emotion, stereotypes and prejudice.
However, I have to say that pure relativism is impossible to attain in any society because stereotypes and prejudice exist, thus putting an imbalance in the perceived value of a person and his or her beliefs. For example, if I were to believe that people who are unemployed are in this situation because they are lazy and I were to consider laziness as a bad thing, then I would come to see these people as a bad thing for society and this would decrease their value as a person and the value of their beliefs in my eyes. But you see, if I were a pure relativist, I would never harm them because I would consider that there is no absolute truth so I cannot be sure that I am right and, in the offset chance that I am wrong, me harming them would become objectionable. So if we think about it, it is not relativism that is in cause here, but, on the contrary, the fact that people think that there is an absolute truth and that they possess it. Therefore, they would excuse harming others by saying that they work in the name of truth and goodness or if they are conscious that what they are doing is bad, then they would see it as just payback for a wrong that they have been done in the past (like the death penalty for criminals).
This situation in England started because a man who was being arrested by the police got killed in the process (we had something similar in Canada when a young black got killed by the police in Montreal North). Therefore, the policemen stereotype and their targets want justice for the wrong that they perceived has been done to them. Which brings us to the conclusion that, like I mentioned earlier, the problem is not relativism, but the belief in an absolute truth which is based not on reason, but on emotion, stereotypes and prejudice.
"Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost". That is the principle of equivalent exchange. If, for whatever reason, the scale points in favor of a group, all equilibrium is lost and sooner or later revolt will come in order to restore the balance (thesis and antithesis bring about synthesis like good old Marx said). The only damper on this particular revolt is that it was done impulsively and as a means to vent out accumulated frustrations and to get even. Therefore, instead of restoring any balance, it will achieve the exact opposite as the government's response seems to be a turn towards absolute control (actually, it kind of reminds me of the US' attitude towards communists during the Cold War). All that to say that we still have a long way to go until equivalent exchange will be respected (in England as well as everywhere else in the world; look at the Middle East or the civil wars over elections in Africa). But for that, we must recognize our problems for what they are. Not a question of philosophy or morality. But an imbalance of power and wealth that is not always distributed based on individual effort alone. Life's not fair, true! But we must strive to make it as fair as possible.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Larry's quest
Meet Larry. Larry was quite alike his peers in every single way. Literally. He was down to version 89.5623.AxznF.005 and all his 1.53*10^17 counterparts were genetically identical to him. Of course, he lost a couple along the way for some strange reason. He was never able to figure out why they disappeared from the colony in such large numbers, but that was something he was investigating on the side.
Maybe the narrative calls for a small backtrack here in order give a few more precisions on our little friend Mr. L. For little he was. Quite little actually. So little that you couldn't even see him. Yes, Larry was a unique strain of an E-coli bacterium that called home petri dish L5 in Lab H-415 of the Acme Labs research facility. Lab H-415 was known for its top secret experiments and was primarily made famous when researchers managed to condition two white mice to sing and dance at a specific tone of bell.
But this was all beyond Larry's comprehension. For him, existence resumed itself to finding nutrients, growing and duplicating. Finding nutrients, growing and duplicating, finding nutrients, growing and duplicating. It was an endless cycle, but that he did not mind. It was a cycle that he knew well and that he liked. He couldn't quite say when it all started or what he came from. Whenever he replicated, he felt his insides splitting and opening up.
It was not a pleasant process, that he would concede, but once it was done, it left him feeling relieved, but somewhat starving for companionship. For no matter how many versions accumulated, they remained, inexorably, versions of himself. His own organism segregated in many different parts but without an inkling of difference. For, if solitude is defined by the act of not having anyone but yourself as a companion, Larry was the loneliest creature that ever came to be. If he were to ask a question, no answer would ever come except for the reverberations of his own thoughts from the general collectivity or the crowd as he liked to call them. His thoughts were their thoughts, his questions, their questions. It was a never ending conversation with himself, an echo that he could not escape. Sometimes he even wondered if his reflections were in fact his own or if he was sometimes a part of the echo that bothered him so. The truth was that he was the crowd and the crowd was him. Like yin and yang, they were separate all the while forming a single entity.
But all this changed one day. It all started with a strong vibration and then a subtle change in the air. Larry could not quite say what had happened. It felt like replication, but somewhat more odd. And then he saw it. A version he could not recognize in the crowd. He thought he might be mistaken, but that was not possible for he knew all versions of himself and their versions and their versions' versions. Was this it? The change he was hoping so desperately for? His salvation? Finally, a mutation in the genes? But no.
As he got closer to the bizarre creature, he saw that the differences were too flagrant for them to be the product of one error in the code. The rod shape was replaced with round grape-like forms that aggregated in a small cluster. Maybe a malformation of the membrane? But no. That answer did not feel right and he could sense his versions in the crowd agreeing. Therefore, only one conclusion was left. This was an entirely foreign organism that had penetrated their midst! And the implications of this realization were huge!
It meant that their cozy petri dish was not the beginning, nor the end. It did not define reality in its entirety. It mean that there was something else out there. Something bigger that encompassed all that he knew and even more. And that idea intoxicated him. He wanted to know it, to see it, to experience it, all of it, at that moment precisely! He wanted to discover every inch of it with all that it had to offer!
And wouldn't it be amazing if Larry could do just that? Wouldn't it be amazing if Larry could discover the lab that surrounded his little petri dish? If he could see the scientists walking in and out, discussing their experiments, eating their lunches, venting their frustrations for 6 month's work gone down the drain? If he could see the two white mice three labs down the hall? And then, wouldn't it be amazing if he could comprehend all that?
On a somewhat less scientific note, but still in the same sense of looking out towards a greater world and reality, if you manage to bear with the mosquitoes, go out in your backyard tonight and catch the peak of the Perseid meteor shower! They should be there all night and despite the full moon, I'm sure that with a little patience it's possible to see them. In any case that's where I'm headed! They say you can make a wish when you see a shooting star. Does it still count when there are roughly 3 of them every 2 minutes and you are waiting for them to come?
Maybe the narrative calls for a small backtrack here in order give a few more precisions on our little friend Mr. L. For little he was. Quite little actually. So little that you couldn't even see him. Yes, Larry was a unique strain of an E-coli bacterium that called home petri dish L5 in Lab H-415 of the Acme Labs research facility. Lab H-415 was known for its top secret experiments and was primarily made famous when researchers managed to condition two white mice to sing and dance at a specific tone of bell.
But this was all beyond Larry's comprehension. For him, existence resumed itself to finding nutrients, growing and duplicating. Finding nutrients, growing and duplicating, finding nutrients, growing and duplicating. It was an endless cycle, but that he did not mind. It was a cycle that he knew well and that he liked. He couldn't quite say when it all started or what he came from. Whenever he replicated, he felt his insides splitting and opening up.
It was not a pleasant process, that he would concede, but once it was done, it left him feeling relieved, but somewhat starving for companionship. For no matter how many versions accumulated, they remained, inexorably, versions of himself. His own organism segregated in many different parts but without an inkling of difference. For, if solitude is defined by the act of not having anyone but yourself as a companion, Larry was the loneliest creature that ever came to be. If he were to ask a question, no answer would ever come except for the reverberations of his own thoughts from the general collectivity or the crowd as he liked to call them. His thoughts were their thoughts, his questions, their questions. It was a never ending conversation with himself, an echo that he could not escape. Sometimes he even wondered if his reflections were in fact his own or if he was sometimes a part of the echo that bothered him so. The truth was that he was the crowd and the crowd was him. Like yin and yang, they were separate all the while forming a single entity.
But all this changed one day. It all started with a strong vibration and then a subtle change in the air. Larry could not quite say what had happened. It felt like replication, but somewhat more odd. And then he saw it. A version he could not recognize in the crowd. He thought he might be mistaken, but that was not possible for he knew all versions of himself and their versions and their versions' versions. Was this it? The change he was hoping so desperately for? His salvation? Finally, a mutation in the genes? But no.
As he got closer to the bizarre creature, he saw that the differences were too flagrant for them to be the product of one error in the code. The rod shape was replaced with round grape-like forms that aggregated in a small cluster. Maybe a malformation of the membrane? But no. That answer did not feel right and he could sense his versions in the crowd agreeing. Therefore, only one conclusion was left. This was an entirely foreign organism that had penetrated their midst! And the implications of this realization were huge!
It meant that their cozy petri dish was not the beginning, nor the end. It did not define reality in its entirety. It mean that there was something else out there. Something bigger that encompassed all that he knew and even more. And that idea intoxicated him. He wanted to know it, to see it, to experience it, all of it, at that moment precisely! He wanted to discover every inch of it with all that it had to offer!
And wouldn't it be amazing if Larry could do just that? Wouldn't it be amazing if Larry could discover the lab that surrounded his little petri dish? If he could see the scientists walking in and out, discussing their experiments, eating their lunches, venting their frustrations for 6 month's work gone down the drain? If he could see the two white mice three labs down the hall? And then, wouldn't it be amazing if he could comprehend all that?
On a somewhat less scientific note, but still in the same sense of looking out towards a greater world and reality, if you manage to bear with the mosquitoes, go out in your backyard tonight and catch the peak of the Perseid meteor shower! They should be there all night and despite the full moon, I'm sure that with a little patience it's possible to see them. In any case that's where I'm headed! They say you can make a wish when you see a shooting star. Does it still count when there are roughly 3 of them every 2 minutes and you are waiting for them to come?
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
We thank you for your application, but unfortunately we do not accept Shreks within our midst
In a long series of things that don't make sense in this world, I recently discovered this dating website called Beautiful People (thank you MIS class!) where the basic concept is simple. You sign up, fill in all sorts of information about yourself and you are required to put up a picture (actually this is the first step after entering your name and e-mail). And in the following 48 hours, members of the site vote if they should keep you or not. And if they decide not, then you're out. As simple as that.
So if I get this right, you can be able to see my picture once, see what my height and weight is (luckily they don't ask for bra size), and decide if you never want to see me again?? Of course, the site is called "Beautiful People" so we don't want to be bothered with fat or, God forbid, UGLY people!! Actually, this past June, the website was attacked by the "Shrek" virus that allowed applicants to bypass the voting system and therefore be granted access directly. Once this was found out, from the 35,000 members that were concerned by this breach, the company ended up throwing out 30,000 because they didn't fit the bill (see article for more details).
Granted, from a business and marketing perspective, this site is genius! It offers its users a built-in filter which saves its members time since they don't have to bother with unattractive people. What's more, it confers exclusivity and prestige to those who actually get in (and who doesn't like to be part of a private party?). However, from a social point of view, what does this site teach us? Be shallow, focus on looks and as for those who don't fit your standards of physical beauty, push them to the back of your mind where you don't see them, you don't have to deal with them and as far as you're concerned, they pretty much don't exist. What does this promote? Segregation, discrimination and an overall excessive focus on looks.
But people are making money out of this so all is good. And actually, following this business model, I propose that the creators of this site take the next step in diversifying their product. Similarly to car companies that provide the luxury class and the economy class of their vehicles (Infiniti and Nissan, Lexus and Toyota, Acura and Honda), well I think that they should start working on UglyPeople.com. Think about it! This could be huge! Their selling pitch could be "you didn't make it to the top, but don't despair, because you still have a shot at the bottom!" They could even put some barriers to entry in order to make it seem more appealing. They could only accept people with a missing limb (or part of a limb... like a finger or a toe... or a nail) or those with visible scars on their faces. And then they could make a website for average people who didn't get into either of the two previous ones. And another one for single parents. And people over 40. And people under a certain level of income. And immigrants. And then we can all be happily isolated in our own little social bubbles where no one will ever come to disturb us or challenge us or make us think that life could be somehow different.
Somewhat on the same topic, here is a TED talk about how search engines' algorithms can lead us to a similar bubble where certain topics and websites will never ever reach us.
So if I get this right, you can be able to see my picture once, see what my height and weight is (luckily they don't ask for bra size), and decide if you never want to see me again?? Of course, the site is called "Beautiful People" so we don't want to be bothered with fat or, God forbid, UGLY people!! Actually, this past June, the website was attacked by the "Shrek" virus that allowed applicants to bypass the voting system and therefore be granted access directly. Once this was found out, from the 35,000 members that were concerned by this breach, the company ended up throwing out 30,000 because they didn't fit the bill (see article for more details).
Granted, from a business and marketing perspective, this site is genius! It offers its users a built-in filter which saves its members time since they don't have to bother with unattractive people. What's more, it confers exclusivity and prestige to those who actually get in (and who doesn't like to be part of a private party?). However, from a social point of view, what does this site teach us? Be shallow, focus on looks and as for those who don't fit your standards of physical beauty, push them to the back of your mind where you don't see them, you don't have to deal with them and as far as you're concerned, they pretty much don't exist. What does this promote? Segregation, discrimination and an overall excessive focus on looks.
But people are making money out of this so all is good. And actually, following this business model, I propose that the creators of this site take the next step in diversifying their product. Similarly to car companies that provide the luxury class and the economy class of their vehicles (Infiniti and Nissan, Lexus and Toyota, Acura and Honda), well I think that they should start working on UglyPeople.com. Think about it! This could be huge! Their selling pitch could be "you didn't make it to the top, but don't despair, because you still have a shot at the bottom!" They could even put some barriers to entry in order to make it seem more appealing. They could only accept people with a missing limb (or part of a limb... like a finger or a toe... or a nail) or those with visible scars on their faces. And then they could make a website for average people who didn't get into either of the two previous ones. And another one for single parents. And people over 40. And people under a certain level of income. And immigrants. And then we can all be happily isolated in our own little social bubbles where no one will ever come to disturb us or challenge us or make us think that life could be somehow different.
Somewhat on the same topic, here is a TED talk about how search engines' algorithms can lead us to a similar bubble where certain topics and websites will never ever reach us.
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