Blind horses

Posted on November 8th, 2008 by martijn.
Categories: Blind Horses, Some personal considerations.

Recently I have had the honour of being called a ‘blind horse with an intellectual defect‘. What did I do? Well actually my usual thing; point out the discrepancies in media reports about Moroccan-Dutch / Muslim youth and search for examples on the internet. But you have to admit (if you can read Dutch), it is actually quite funny, well-written and to a certain extent even true as my friends are telling me as well.

There is a lot to be said about ‘blind horses’ of course. First of all A nod is as good as a wink…to a blind horse. Second there are even jokes about blind horses:

One day a man passed by a farm and saw a beautiful horse. Hoping to buy the animal, he said to the farmer: “I think your horse looks pretty good, so I’ll give you $500 for him.”
“He doesn’t look so good, and he’s not for sale,” the farmer said.
The man insisted, “I think he looks just fine and I’ll up the price to $1,000.”
“He doesn’t look so good,” the farmer said, “but if you want him that much, he’s yours.”
The next day the man came back raging mad. He went up to the farmer and screamed, “You sold me a blind horse. You cheated me!”
The farmer calmly replied, “I told you he didn’t look so good, didn’t I?”

And third there are a lot of myths about blind horses. To name but five of them:

  1. A blind horse can’t have a good quality of life. This is certainly not true in my case; I’m a happy man, have a nice job, nice friends and family and so on.
  2. A blind horse is dangerous. In my case this is true. Not really by nature; by nature I’m quite innocent but I’m so clumsy I have been deemed to be a threat to my own life and that of others.
  3. A blind horse takes a lot more work to care for than a sighted horse. This is both true and not true. I can be a hermit sometimes (yes in an ivory tower) and you know hermits actually need a lot of care. On the other hand however hermits are satisfied with small things.
  4. You can’t put a blind horse on pasture. Certainly not true. I’m at my best on pasture.
  5. Blind horses arent’t “good for anything”. That is also true to a certaint extent. As an anthropologist you are better off not having to much expectations with regard to people actually listening to you. Researching the (seemingly) obvious or from an oppositional framework is mostly the cause for that. On the other hand being good in not being good for anything is quite a unique position (see the hermit above).

There are therefore several tips to deal with blind horses

  1. Get the best veterinary care possible. (Done)
  2. Give it time to adjust to blindness (Pertains more to the people surrounding me than to me; I’m quite used to it.)
  3. Keep it out of the herd (as if you can get me into it).

But there is more to a blind horse than meets the eye (no pun intended). Read for example Straw dogs, Blind Horses and Post-Humanism: the Greening of Gray? by John Barry. And what to think of this at Paul Jorion’s interesting blog on human complex systems, economy, anthropology, arts and fun (it is fun!):
Logic and semantics in Woody Allen’s “The UFO Menace”

The Hsiao Ch’ü provides numerous examples of valid and invalid inferences that could have served as templates to Professor Speciman:

“If you inhabit somewhere in a state, you are deemed to inhabit the state; if you own one house in the state, you are not deemed to own the state. If this horse’s eyes are blind, we deem this horse blind; if this horse’s eyes are big, we do not say that this horse is big. If these oxen’s hairs are yellow, we say that these oxen are yellow; if these oxen’s hairs are many, we do not say that these oxen are many” (Hansen 1983: 136-137)*.

“Why is it”, do the Mohists ask, “that if I say ‘This oxen is yellow’, I can infer from that that all his hair is yellow but not that every one of his eyes is yellow?” The answer is of course that the “yellowness” of an oxen derives from the collectively attained color of its individual hair but not from the color of his eyes. The same reasoning is easily transposed to the case of an outer space civilization: its being more advanced than ours by fifteen minutes does not derive from the collective outcome of each of its members being individually more advanced by fifteen minutes in everyday pursuits but by another of its features, e.g. in the present case, its technology being more advanced by fifteen minutes.

That such inferences need to be solved on a case by case basis underlines that their application does not derive from logic which can be formalized in a symbolic language, but from semantics. The incontrovertible presence of regularities in pattern turn out here to be deceptive.

So since the ‘incontrovertible presence of regularities’ often pertain to things we take for granted or misreadings of causes and effects or mistakes in logic, I thought it would be interesting to have a new category on this blog. One that pays tribute to me as a ‘blind horse with an intellectual defect’ (and the person who invented the phrase of course) and one that constitutes an attempt to bring about the deceptive nature of some patterns or general statements. See it as a combination of media watch, anthropology, media studies and me being a blind horse.

I need your help with that of course, so send me tips on Dutch or English articles that have something to do with the theme of this site. You can do that by using to comments section here or the mail form, or call me (since I have understood that my phone number has gone all over the world last night thanks to Abu L. ;)). Thank you in advance.

* Chad Hansen, Language and Logic in Ancient China, Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 1983

3 comments.

The Messenger of Peace

Posted on November 8th, 2008 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News.

Many of you have probably seen Ar-Risalah? If not, I think you should. You can watch it HERE. But…as Reuters has announced:
Movie planned on life of Prophet Mohammad

DUBAI (Reuters) – A movie drama about the life of the Prophet Mohammad is to go into production soon, and will be only the second English-language film of its kind ever made, its producers said on Monday.

“The Messenger of Peace” will be a remake of Moustapha Akkad’s “The Message,” a 1977 Hollywood classic starring Anthony Quinn which is often applauded by Muslims as an example of how commercial Western cinema can respect Islam.

“We have only the utmost respect for Akkad’s work but technology in cinema has advanced since the 1970s and this latest project will employ modern film techniques in its renewal of the first film’s core messages,” producer Oscar Zoghbi, who worked on the original, said in a statement.

Akkad, the Syrian-born executive producer of Hollywood’s “Halloween” horror films, was killed in a suicide bomb attack by al Qaeda on a luxury hotel in Jordan’s capital Amman in 2005.

In the original “Message,” the Prophet and his companions were heard speaking off-camera but never directly shown, in accordance with Muslim conventions forbidding their visual depiction.

Portrayals of Mohammad have triggered anger in recent years. Danish cartoons of him ignited protests, some deadly, by Muslims in many countries in 2006. The offices of a British publisher were attacked in September over a novel about the Prophet’s child bride.

“In the 21st century there is a real need for a film that emotionally engages audiences on the journey that led to the birth of Islam,” the statement quoted the film’s scriptwriter Ramsey Thomas as saying.

A spokesman for the producers said in an email to Reuters that details of the funding and production of the planned film would be released “in due course.”

The events of the Prophet’s life took place mainly in Mecca and Medina, Islamic holy cities in modern Saudi Arabia.

(Writing by Andrew Hammond; editing by Andrew Roche)

0 comments.

Translation of Ahmadinejad's Letter

Posted on November 8th, 2008 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News.

Translation of Ahmadinejad’s Letter – washingtonpost.com
Here is a Washington Post translation of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s letter to Barack Obama:

In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

Mr. Barack Obama

President-elect of the United States of America

I congratulate you on having gained the majority of the votes of those who took part in the election. As you know, the chances that God gives to his subjects pass swiftly. They can be used for the perfection of humanity and to the benefit of nations or, God forbid, to the detriment of nations.

I hope you will choose to honor the real interests of people and justice and equity over the insatiable appetites of the selfish minority. Use this chance to serve to the extent you can. And leave a good name behind for yourself.

People expect an immediate and clear response to the pressure for fundamental change in the American government’s policies, both foreign and domestic. This is the desire of all the world’s nations and of the American nation as well, and it should be the objective and basis of all your future government’s programs and actions.

On the one hand, the American nation, which has spiritual inclinations, expects your government to focus its energy and will on serving the people; dealing with the current economic crisis; restoring the country’s standing, morale and hope; eradicating poverty and discrimination; and renewing respect for individuals, their safety and their rights. It also expects policies that will strengthen the foundations of the family — part of the teachings of the holy prophets, who are also revered in America.

On the other hand, the nations of the world expect an end to policies based on warmongering, invasion, bullying, trickery, the humiliation of other countries by the imposition of biased and unfair requirements, and a diplomatic approach that has bred hatred for America’s leaders and undermined respect for its people. They want to see actions based on justice, respect for the rights of human beings and nations, friendship and non-intervention in the affairs of others. They want the American government to keep its interventions within its own country’s borders.

In the sensitive Middle East region, in particular, the expectation is that the unjust actions of the past 60 years will give way to a policy encouraging full rights for all nations, especially the oppressed nations of Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan.

The great civilization-building and justice-seeking nation of Iran would welcome major, fair and real changes, in policies and actions, especially in this region.

If steps are taken in the path of righteousness, toward the goal of carrying out the teachings of the holy prophets, it is hoped that almighty God will help and that the enormous damage done in the past will be somewhat diminished.

I ask the high God to grant all of humanity and all nations health and happiness, honor and prosperity, and to grant rulers and officials the ability to learn from the past and to use every chance to serve, to spread love and kindness, to eradicate oppression, to do justice and to follow the holy guidelines.

Mahmoud Ahmadiniejad

0 comments.

Translation of Ahmadinejad’s Letter

Posted on November 8th, 2008 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News.

Translation of Ahmadinejad’s Letter – washingtonpost.com
Here is a Washington Post translation of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s letter to Barack Obama:

In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

Mr. Barack Obama

President-elect of the United States of America

I congratulate you on having gained the majority of the votes of those who took part in the election. As you know, the chances that God gives to his subjects pass swiftly. They can be used for the perfection of humanity and to the benefit of nations or, God forbid, to the detriment of nations.

I hope you will choose to honor the real interests of people and justice and equity over the insatiable appetites of the selfish minority. Use this chance to serve to the extent you can. And leave a good name behind for yourself.

People expect an immediate and clear response to the pressure for fundamental change in the American government’s policies, both foreign and domestic. This is the desire of all the world’s nations and of the American nation as well, and it should be the objective and basis of all your future government’s programs and actions.

On the one hand, the American nation, which has spiritual inclinations, expects your government to focus its energy and will on serving the people; dealing with the current economic crisis; restoring the country’s standing, morale and hope; eradicating poverty and discrimination; and renewing respect for individuals, their safety and their rights. It also expects policies that will strengthen the foundations of the family — part of the teachings of the holy prophets, who are also revered in America.

On the other hand, the nations of the world expect an end to policies based on warmongering, invasion, bullying, trickery, the humiliation of other countries by the imposition of biased and unfair requirements, and a diplomatic approach that has bred hatred for America’s leaders and undermined respect for its people. They want to see actions based on justice, respect for the rights of human beings and nations, friendship and non-intervention in the affairs of others. They want the American government to keep its interventions within its own country’s borders.

In the sensitive Middle East region, in particular, the expectation is that the unjust actions of the past 60 years will give way to a policy encouraging full rights for all nations, especially the oppressed nations of Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan.

The great civilization-building and justice-seeking nation of Iran would welcome major, fair and real changes, in policies and actions, especially in this region.

If steps are taken in the path of righteousness, toward the goal of carrying out the teachings of the holy prophets, it is hoped that almighty God will help and that the enormous damage done in the past will be somewhat diminished.

I ask the high God to grant all of humanity and all nations health and happiness, honor and prosperity, and to grant rulers and officials the ability to learn from the past and to use every chance to serve, to spread love and kindness, to eradicate oppression, to do justice and to follow the holy guidelines.

Mahmoud Ahmadiniejad

0 comments.