Forever blowing bubbles

Am considerat ca strategic ar fi miscare corecta sa nu fac aplicatii ieri si astazi. Cred c-a fost bine, am reusit sa ma apuc de AA1000SES. Evident, n-am mers cat as fi vrut, dar e mai bine decat nimic. Ma bucur si ca ieri am stat in casa cea mai mare parte din zi. E foarte mult de descoperit in Londra, dar marele oras se poarta ca un balaur, gata sa inghita pe oricine ar vrea sa se ia la tranta cu el nepregatit. Mi-a aratat asta in cele doua seri cand am mers pe jos si pe intuneric intre doua statii de metrou. E posibil sa am la indemana armele potrivite, dar cu siguranta imi mai trebuie galetusa de otrava in care sa-mi inmoi sagetile cu care sa il atac, asa cum trebuie s-o fi facut-o Hercule, Cavalerul Trac, Hagen, Sfantul Gheorghe sau atatia altii.

Uh, dimineata blanda de duminica, o ard poetic. N-as fi vrut initial sa public pagiuna zilnica, dar ieri, cand am facut-o, am avut un numar de vizionari aproape dublu fata de vechiul record. Ceea ce inseamna ca exista o cerere. Asa ca probabil lucrurile prea personale o sa le ascund in spatele unor metafore cu referinte culturale de nivel gimnazial, si o sa continui sa pun pe blog pagina. Pana la urma, nici n-o voiam a fi vreun soi de jurnal, doar exercitiu. Si oricum, daca se intampla s-o mai si citeasca cineva, inseamna ca si-a depasit obiectivele.

As fi putut sa scriu aseara despre meciul lui United, m-am lasat putin furat si n-am mai facut-o. Nu stiu ce sa inteleg din faptul ca United joaca atat de prost. Bine macar ca vin punctele, mi-ar placea ca la un moment dat sa-l vad pe Mancini explodand pe BBC asa cum au facut-o la vremea lor Kevin Keegan si Rafa Benitez. Sper ca batranul vulpoi Ferguson stie ce face. Oricum, povestea cu “worst United team in years”, care vad ca incepe din nou sa circule, apare cam in fiecare an in perioada asta, si dispare subit pe undeva prin martie, cand oamenii incep sa mai adauge cativa centimetri la dimensiunile statuii pe care ar trebui s-o aiba Ferguson.

A fost complicat cu vazutul meciului, totusi. The Overdraft Tavern, singurul pub englezesc din zona n-au avut deloc de gand sa dea meciul, asa ca am haladuit vreo 40 de minute pe High Street North, intrand in toate casele de pariuri ca sa ccaut un loc unde se putea vedea meciul. Am gasit pana la urma un Paddy Power care sa-l dea, am ajuns fix in momentul accidentarii lui Chicharito, prin minutul 7. Ciudat sentiment, sa fii fan United in Londra, mai ales intr-un cartier in care fotbalul straneste pasiuni asa de puternice cum este New Ham. Desi n-am vazut prea multe tricouri cu West Ham pe strada, probabil in ziua in care vor ajunge in vreo semifinala de cupa sau vor promova, strazile se vor umple de Claret and Blue. Am inceput in schimb sa recunosc fete in Overdraft Tavern, pustiul care seamana cu Frank Lampard si care s-a bucurat cand a batut Crystal Palace era si aseara acolo. Tot aseara am descoperit si restaurante indiene “pure vegetarian”, desi pana acum nu am fost prea incantat de alea pe care le-am incercat. Sper sa gasesc unul bun la un moment dat. Unul care sa nu abuzeze de otrava care vad ca e foarte populara pe aici, Jalapeno.

In dimineata asta as fi vrut sa ma duc la o biserica ortodoxa. Am vazut ca-s doua in Londra, una in centru si una pe langa Wembley. As fi fost incantat sa vad arhitectura bizantina si canoanele picturii slave in Londra, dar am vazut ca cele care sunt au stil arhitectonic englezesc (o fi neo-gotic?), cu turle inalte si unghiuri drepte. Asa ca o sa ma duc la una metodista, sunt cateva in apropiere, foarte curios sa vad cum se desfasoara o slujba la ei. Si sper sa apuc cat mai repede sa citesc The Pilgrim’s Progress a lui Bunyan, cartea pe care Weber a socotit-o atat de importanta. Ca sa fac o parafraza dupa Lenin, cartile care au placut celor care au scris carti care mi-au placut sunt carti care imi plac. 09:09

Small differences part. I

Uh, 3 decembrie deja. Sunt, iata, de 4 zile in Anglia, si abia acum am reusit sa intru intr-o rutina suficient de comfortabila inca sa pot relua pagina zilnica. Lucrurile au mers destul de bine pana acum,  as fi sperat poate ca pana la ora asta sa ma apuc ceva mai serios de gasirea unui job pentru ca pana acum in cea mai mare parte am tatonat. Iar astazi si maine mi se pare ca e nepractic sa fac aplicatii, asa ca weekendul il voi dedica (sau voi incerca sa-l dedic) proiectului pentru Dragos.

Partea pe care n-am prevazut-o (si care a mancat, iata, cam doua zile) a fost punerea la punct a detaliilor logistice legate de stabilirea intr-o noua casa, intr-un nou oras, intr-o noua tara. M-am mutat de multe ori prin Bucuresti, dar de fiecare data duceam cu mine suficiente chestii incat sa pot incepe sa functionez imediat. Exista insa o serie intreaga de maruntisuri care devin importante abia cand lipsesc. Pe langa obisnuitele cosmetice, care sunt o cheltuiala recurenta si se pot lua cam de oriunde, n-am avut perne, cearceafuri, prosoape, tacamuri, farfurii, pahare, sau vreun instrument de bucatarisit de orice fel. Iar cand am fost la cumparaturi, nu mi-am dat seama ca zecile de pound shop-uri, piata, aprozarele, Tesco-ul, Sainsbury-ul, Primark-ul sau Argos-ul, aliniate cu toate pe High Street North, in jurul statiei de metrou, iti pot inghiti usor jumatate de zi.

Nu mi-am dat seama nici de imensitatea orasului asta. Stiind ca metroul londonez fucntioneaza impecabil, ma asteptam ca a ajunge dintr-un punct in altul sa fie o chestiune de relativ scurta durata. Estimarile mele extrem de aproximative m-au facut sa ajung cu vreo 40 de minute mai devreme alaltaieri, cand m-am intalnit cu Diana la Finchley Central, si cu vreo 20 de minute mai tarziu aseara, cand m-am vazut cu Ana Maria la Liverpool Street.

E drept ca nici n-am vrut s-o ascult pe Diana cand mi-a recomandat sa folosesc estimarile de timp pe care le face www.tfl.gov.uk , pagina oficiala a transportului metropolitan londonez. Mi s-a parut o chestie complicata si de utilitate relativ mica, dar e uimitor cat de detaliat si de precis iti pot face traseul, mergand pana la a-ti spune cati metri trebuie sa mergi pe jos si cat dureaza exact, in minute, drumul pana la destinatia ta. Am spus metri, nu? Ce reflex tampit, evident ca-i vorba de yards, sau de picioare X3. Aici lumea se masoara altfel. Si chiar daca multe supermarketuri au trecut si pretul pe kilogram la produsele vrac (pentru ca mie unul mi s-a parut inuman sa imi dau seama cat inseamna DE FAPT ca rosiile, de exemplu costa x pence per pound), inca e deconcertant sa vezi preturi la benzina de cateva zeci de lire. Probabil pe gallon, barrel, sau naiba stie pe ce unitati de masura a volumului  mai folosesc englezii. Foarte posibil ca treaba sa devina logica in momentul in care consumul masinii e dat in miles per gallon, treaba peste care inca nu reusesc sa trec.

Ni se pare, asadar, ca lumea se micsoreaza, ca devenim un sat global si ca stim tot mai multe despre tot mai multi, ceea ce e si adevarat, in buna masura. Numai ca ramane un anumit nivel – si probabil ca va ramane tot timpul, indiferent de cat de mult va evolua comunicarea – la care diferentele intre un loc si altul sunt suficient de mari incat sa ne faca sa ne simtim rataciti si relativ neputinciosi.

Mi se pare ciudat sa ma acomodez cu ideea ca dintr-o data fac parte din rasa minoritara, ca e foarte probabil sa nu am timp de doua calatorii pana in centrul orasului in aceeasi zi si alte asemenea. Acum doua seri, cand m-am intors din Finchley Central in East Ham, mi s-a parut ca am facut enorm, undea la vreo 80-90 de minute. Mi-am dat seama insa ca am strabatut vreo 80 de kilometri si am schimbat 3 linii de metrou in jurul miezului noptii. Nici macar nu incape comparatie cu Bucurestiul – singura retea de metrou pe care o cunosc – unde dupa 10 seara metrourile stau in statii cate 10-15 minute si unde distante ca aici nici macar nu exista. Oricat de inutil mi s-ar parea, faptul ca seful de tren isi cere scuze in difuzoare de cate ori metroul sta in statie mai mult de un minut sau se opreste pe linie mai mult de 10 secunde ofera pasagerilor un soi de siguranta, si probabil ca daca obiceiul asta ar disparea, londonezii ar incepe sa protesteze in secunda urmatoare. 10:22

Gaudeamusul de la care lipsesc

Noua ne plac mai mult cartile vechi. Consideram ca o carte nu e un simplu obiect inanimat, ci fiecare carte are o viata a ei, castigand ceva de la fiecare cititor, de la fiecare rasfoire, de la fiecare cafea varsata peste paginile ei sau de la fiecare dupa-amiaza lenesa in care a fost arsa de soare alaturi de cititorul ei care-a abandonat-o putin favoarea unei motaieli linistite. Cartile vechi sunt mai intelepte. Cartile noi, sunt ca niste nou-nascuti, pline de promisiuni si de potential, dar depinde de noi sa le implinim menirea. Cand cumperi o carte noua, primesti o noua viata fata de care ai raspunderea sa o ingrijesti si sa o dezvolti. Cand cumperi o carte veche, castigi pur si simplu un prieten. Un prieten care, pe langa povestea asternuta pe hartie, mai are de spus o poveste, ascunsa, pe care n-o poti citi nicaieri, ci trebuie sa o asculti in timpul pe care-l petreceti impreuna. O pagina indoita, o subliniere, o adnotare cu creionul pe margine, fiecare sunt intamplari din viata cartii care isi stabileste astfel cu povestea scrisa in paginile ei aceeasi legatura care exista intre un autor si opera lui.

A intalni din intamplare o carte

Am trecut astazi pe la Libraria Humanitas Kretzulescu. Stiu ca locul ala e rau. Foarte rar pot sa plec de acolo fara sa cumpar ceva si, in general e ca un fel de vale a plangerii, locul in care ma uit in timp ce in lumea de afara timpul incepe sa-si accelereze curgerea. Si totusi, asemenea printului din Tinerete fara Batranete, e un loc la care tanjesc, asa ca-l vizitez des. "Doar putin, sa vad ce-a mai aparut, daca e ceva nou" mi-am spus. "In plus, vreau sa mai arunc o privire la carea aceea, Istoria filosofiei limbajului, e ceva cu ea."

De cum intru, in dreapta usii, Dalai Lama.

- Buna seara, Sfintia Ta, ii zic. Cu ce ocazie pe-aici?

- Tashi delek, imi raspunde el zambind. Uite, a mai scos Humanitas o carte, am trecut sa ti-o arat.

- Ah, inca un ziarist care Te-a intervievat? am zambit condescendent.

- Uita-te si tu.

- Oh, Universul intr-un singur atom. Dar, Sfintia Ta, asta este o carte de referinta!

- Este, nu? Hu, hu!

- Trebuia tradusa de mult. Ma bucur ca in sfarsit s-a gandit cineva s-o faca. Bravo, Humanitas! Pusa cam prost, chiar langa Russell, dar asta tine mai degraba de gusturi. Stii ca nu prea-l am la suflet pe Russell...

- Ei...

- Bun, Sfintia Ta. Ma bucur ca te-am vazut. Abia astept sa citesc tonele de maculatura pe care-o sa le gasesc la Waterstone. Sau cine stie, poate ne mai vedem zilele astea pe-aici.

- Cine stie...

M-am mai invartit putin, fastacit de intalnirea asta neasteptata. Daca Dalai Lama incearca sa-mi transmita ceva?  Uff... astazi am vazut la anticarii de la Universitate si Logica cercetarii a lui Popper... inainte de admiterea la master am cautat-o ca nebunul degeaba. Ah, uite si Istoria Filosofiei Limbajului. De la inceputuri pana la Rousseau. Eh, ramasesem cu impresia ca pana la emipristi. Locke... destul de aproape. Sa vina volumul doi, ala e miezul. In fine, hai sa mergem. Salut, Michnik!

Ies din librarie. Arunc o privire in stanga usii. Masa pisicii, de Ondaatje. Frate, voi aveti ceva cu mine? Cartea asta abia a aparut in august. Cum de-ati tradus-o asa repede? Nu, nu si nu! Am zis ca nu cumpar nimic, nu cumpar nimic! Lasati-ma dracului in pace! 

Hmmm... Gaudeamus... lista...

Ethics 1/0

Bucharest Conference in Applied Ethics 2011, 4th edition, "Ethical Aspects in New and Emerging Technologies", 2010-10-28, Amfiteatrul Mircea Florian, Facultatea de Filosofie, Universitatea din Bucuresti

Just like Cristi Ducu promised, the 4th edition of Bucharest Conference in Applied Ethics (BCAE) went big. It had international attendance and the promise that over the years BCAE will grow in importance as the event gathering ethicians from all across Europe (maybe even the whole world?) and establishing a communication and partnership network between them. This time the use of English all throughout the conference was a must, as almost half of the audience was foreign. This blog post is also in English to respect and reflect the international aspect of the conference.

Just like every year, I attended less than I would've liked of the conference, so I will only speak about the panels I've witnessed. Also, since a few days have passed already and since I would not be able to compile a consistent and unitary report, my coverage will only consist of very specific ideas I found worthy of mentioning.

The first panel I attended, "Privacy vs. Democracy" addressed the ethical dilemmas arisen from the moral obligation of granting free access to information and the right to free speech and the need of maintaining control over the level of privacy for the information shared. I was quite surprised no one brought up WikiLeaks, it is probably the most illustrative case on the matter. Instead, the panel opened up with Adrian Florea's presentation of the NetCity project of providing underground broadband internet coverage to the whole of Bucharest. No ethical dilemmas here, as it was rightfully pointed out from the audience, but somehow the discussion was drawn towards sensible topics such as: how does NetCity establishes the rental cost of its network or whose responsibility is to fix the glitches in the internet coverage provided to the end user.

It is possible that Mr. Florea felt a bit cornered, since he rather swiftly directed the conversation towards more neutral topics, such as online's corporations attitude towards individual privacy. And so we got to facebook, the port of choice for internet moralists, and to the way in which user data can be used either by facebook or by third party applications without user consent. And this is a tricky one: the user consent is there, embedded in the terms and conditions of subscribing to the service that nobody reads. While this is true, one might say, it serves the corporation just right to hide such sensible points inside a 20-page document that nobody will ever read. My take on this is that, whatever the default settings are, the service you subscribe to will make some decisions for you via these default settings. The internet service, has thus two options: either getting awfully boring by forcing the user to make all the privacy (and usage) choices required and to lose business by this decrease of usability or go into the ethical grey area. The business choice is obvious. However, the moral and responsible company will strive to clean the ethical aspect of its business which, in this case, can be done by increasing users' awareness on the service provided. This can indeed be costly and, while it may look like a bad economic solution on the short term, on the medium and long term the benefits of having more and more educated clients creates a basis of trust and healthy economic choices that I think is essential for a sustainable economic environment. And this is true for all industries and all segments of the product supply chain, not only online enterprises.

It has also been discussed what attitude governments should have towards the online information flow and the risks attached to it and the auditorium seemed to agree on the fact that somehow, the government should interfere. I tend to disagree, or at most concede that, should a governmental intervention appear as necessary, this should be minimal, at most. My view is that the governments, the corporations and the civil society share the decision power on the market, and any increase in the authority of one of these actors means a decrease in the authority of another, or of both others. It is thus natural that an increase in authority of the civil society, of the individual (obvious after the informational boom and obvious in the online environment) is perceived as a threat by the government, so the government tends to interfere to preserve its status quo. If it does it by enforcing any kind of laws over communication, this is, in my opinion, censorship. Instead, should the government be sincere about wishing nothing but the well-being of its citizens (which equals a quantity of bullshit the size of Himalaya in my opinion), it should strive for increasing the educational level, the (computer) literacy of the individual. This way, the market regulates itself. Again, this is true for a lot more aspects of the economy (as well as politics, for that matter) than the ICT.

An interesting parallel has been drawn between the way the banks are managing customer money and the way the online corporations are managing user data. While each of the two has its specifics, it is true they confront a common set of risks associated with asset management. Therefore, management of this risk should be their concern, with the governments as the watch dog making sure the corporations don't lose sight of the customer's best interest. When the corporations will realize the risk decrease brought about by a more educated pool of clients, increasing education will be a very viable business decision, and the proactive stance will be the new competing environment Warren Buffet predicted.

Professor Vasile Baltac was the next speaker, speaking about a digital agenda for Europe which is apparently a current EU concern. He touched some interesting theoretical points, such as the four pillars of internet usability (infrastructure, affordability, content quality and ability to use, or knowledgeability), or the four user skills levels (awareness, literacy, competence and expertise). I feel the need to alter professor Baltac's view on "good" and "bad" content and to adjust his affirmation that the Bible is a "good" book, while Mein Kampf is a "bad" book. Beyond the highly debatable sentence, I strongly believe the valuation of things as "good" or "bad" is always subjective and should be the exclusive concern of the affected group (the stakeholders). Online ethics and the privacy issues have been reiterated, with a short glimpse at professor Baltac's belief that low quality online content should be "moderated". Whilst I agree to the freedom of an online enterprise to keep or throw away the content that it sees fit (including user-generated content), I will say again that moderation is a form of control and the first step towards downright censorship, and should only be used with great caution.

Last panel of the day had the building of an ethical infrastructure as a starting point, with an emphasis on the health care organizations. Led by a very pessimistic professor Valentin Muresan, the panel showed the increasing preoccupation of addressing the ethical issues in health care and research. It was the foreign guests who were the most active here, pointing to either the increasing importance of bioethics and the increasing number of bioethicians in the US, to the increasing request for ethical expertise in fields such as nanotechnology or to the development of the interdisciplinary academic programs providing both medical and ethical qualifications. Professor Muresan's pessimism looked a bit out of place in this context. There is, I agree, a lack of interest towards ethics, and the applied areas of philosophy in general, and a philosophical project, as applied as it might be, is a harder sell than the more lucrative ones. But this went on for some millennia already and complaining about it will do little to change it. Should be noted here that when forming bioethicians, the path followed is usually by giving ethical training to a biologist rather than giving biology training to an ethician. This is another source of frustration for ethicians, but the matter will fade along with the establishment of bioethics as a distinct domain, equally distanced from both biology and ethics. Religion would also have something to say to the future bioethics specialist. Emanoel Roman noted as bad the influence of a strong Romanian Orthodox Church over the field, as the church claims some sort of monopoly over deciding between good and bad. However, I believe a responsible bioethics study program should be closely related to axiology, and the official opinions of the churches should not be neglected. By the way, but for some semester courses in the first philosophy years, I have no idea about axiology being studied anywhere in Romania, which I think is a real shame.

The panel ended with Mirela Nemtanu's presentation on L'Oreal best practices. I thought it was a great intervention, both dense with information and with an easy to follow dynamics, supported by a very well-documented and carefully crafted presentation and delivered in the most corporate correct manner. Here's the points I extracted:

• "not knowing the law is not an excuse for not applying the law"
• Mrs. Nemtanu said - and probably believes - L'Oreal has a healthy organizational culture. I am just curios on how or if this is tested in any way
• the concepts of green chemistry, label ethics and ecodesign and the Ethisphere Institute
• L'Oreal's strive to stop tests on animals and the obstacles that, paradoxically enough, come from the legislative framework of some countries
• L'Oreal ethical department is ISO9001 certified (!) I find this both admirable and a waste of money.

On Saturday I only attended one of the four afternoon panels, namely the one started by Diana's presentation on Privacy vs. Sharing in Online Mentoring. I've met Diana at last year's BCAE and during the year passed my admiration for her has grown exponentially. I am proud to be able to call her a friend, and I didn't want to miss her presentation by any means. My view will therefore be biased, more biased than usual, as I never pretended objectivity anyway.

Now, compared to Diana's last year presentation - which was truly great, this one is quite disadvantaged. The thesis is weaker and it looks like a particular case of an ampler area, the documentation was less adequate and one could read between the lines that it was an ad-hoc, hastily compiled intervention. Plus the corporate smell that came with the WYGU logo, Diana's tribute to her employer. Nevertheless, it was the best presentation of the panel and, although I felt the need to challenge Diana's take on things almost every step of the way, there was plenty to learn from it. The ethical issue: how much you need to share, how much you want to share and how much you should want to share both as a mentor and as a mentee for an online mentoring relation to be functional and gain maximum efficiency.

Sursa foto

Then came the porn guy. Marco Annoni, from the University of Milan, who felt the need to pull a high-school prank by bringing forth a subject provocative enough in itself (pornography), so that there will be no real need for a strong thesis or a crafted argumentation. He was even half right, as his presentation drew quite some discussions around the subject. Here's why I thought it was weak, though:

• one of the strong arguments in defending pornography was that it can grow money for charitable causes. While this is true in theory, I'm guessing the possibility to actually happen is very low, as pornography entrepreneurs have quite a different profile than people engaging in charities. Also, charity does very well without porn. Also, Mr. Annoni couldn't name one case of a pornographic enterprise fueling money to charity. Rare as it might be, I'm sure it exists and his inability to name one shows a lack in documentation. I see nothing wrong with charities being funded by the porn industry. I just doubt it will become common ground.
• In defense of porn, Mr. Annoni invoked the harm principle. Quite handy, the utilitarian view in this case, quite inconsistent as well. It is hard to say if there is any harm done by porn consumption to children, psychically unstable adults and porn actors or how much, but this is a task for psychology, that Mr. Annoni made no mention of, like a good corporate marketeer of the early corporate era.
• Saying "porn is just as bad as a lot more socially accepted industries" is a highly flawed argument in defense of porn. If nothing else, it is an argument against the other industries. Yet this is how most of the body of Mr. Annoni's presentation was built.

I believe myself to be fairly open-minded. I have nothing against porn (on the contrary) and I'm an occasional consumer. I have quite a libertarian stance on it. But there are plenty of moral issues to be addressed in regards to the porn industry. The ethicians should bring porn to the ethical debate table, but it should be done in a serious and responsible manner. If, from the ethics standpoint, we treat porn like horny teenagers, we will get the results horny teenagers do. Namely, chuckles.

Quite appropriate, the presentation on porn was followed by one from a military background. Mr. Victor Greu from the Military Technical Academy. I will be harsh on him, and this should not be taken the wrong way, but his presentation was one of the most boring I've ever seen, checking most of the items on the list of things to avoid when making a presentation. All throughout what seemed an infinite number of slides the same static, standard layout template was used. All slides were made up of walls of text so long that it was hard enough to read them entirely at the speed of Mr. Greu, and any attempt in doing so would have resulted  in at least double the amount of time reserved for the presentation. This is way a big part of the presentation was simply skipped. Oddly enough, the most intelligible parts were leapfrogged, the ones not containing formulas with insufficiently detailed variables. The subject of the presentation, if I understood correctly, was the paradigm shift brought about by the information age, when information is becoming an essential commodity, substituting the fixed means of the industrial age. This leads to a so-called Knowledge Based Society (KBS), which will eventually require every individual to increase his technical abilities to fit in this new scheme. That's pretty much all I could extract from Mr. Greu's PowerPoint, I stopped following somewhere between slides 3 and 4.

The last presentation of the panel belonged to Mr. Vlad Niculescu Dinca and talked about a case study for the implementation of a Geo-spatial Information System in a local police department and the challenges arisen in the process. It was the most interesting subject, and it was well worth knowing more about how new technologies are accepted and gain their place in our daily lives or in our professional lives. It is the encounter between "the way it has always been done" and "the way it could be done better, but with some additional effort", always a fierce one. It was maybe Mr. Greu's anticlimactic presentation that almost emptied the room and sucked all of the attendance focus, or maybe Mr. Niculescu Dinca's way of speaking about his subject, but somehow the subject, albeit interesting, didn't stir the amount of debate it would normally have stirred. Me, for one, I was dying for a break. I got the parts of a script, I liked the idea of a script of any kind being composed of description, inscription and prescription, all of which cannot be normative.

I want to draw attention on one very interesting article from Mr. Niculescu Dinca that I've just found here. This is in line with the Post-phenomenology and Technology Ethics presentation that Robert Arnautu held last year in the Phenomenology and Ethics conference and, given that Mr. Niculescu Dinca and Mr. Arnautu were together, I would assume technology ethics and design-embedded ethics are subjects of a common research program.

That was it for me, I'm sure I've missed some very interesting presentations but it was impossible to see them all, as Saturday's 8 panels, went on simultaneously in two separate halls. One solution to this would be recording of the entire conference and uploading it online. This is a promise Cristi Ducu made last year as well, but so far I haven't seen any podcast of any of the presentations from last year.

As a general impression, the conference was bigger and better than all the previous ones. It had real depth and amplitude and it showed. The variety of speakers increased and the international coverage was real this time. The logistics part was flawless, and even the dialogue ethics, a shortcoming last year, was resolved. The start and end times were respected and the Q&A sessions were a lot more organized than last year. The subject of the conference drew plenty of interest, as well. It looked, overall, a grown-up and mature event, organized in the highest professional manner. From here on, there is only place for growth.

My sincere congratulations to Cristian Ducu, professor Muresan and the ethics department of the Faculty of Philosophy for this event. For me it is another confirmation that a combination between the right drives and an appropriate amount of passion is unstoppable on the way to success.

Marketing si comunicare

Am scris treaba de mai jos. Nu stiu ce inseamna, e in engleza. Nu stiu nici ce sa fac cu ea. Asa ca o pun pe blog:

As a marketing man, of course I would like you to buy my product. But this is not why I’m here. I am here to identify what you needs are, what your wishes are, and if my product can satisfy any of that or help you in any way. I do not want to trick you into buying my product. I will advise you against it and would not agree to you buying it if I would think it is not suited. Also, I would be the first one to recommend you a product of our competitors if it fits you better. My product will also have a different price depending on whether it satisfies a need – in which case it would be cheaper, or a wish – in which case it will be more expensive. I would do my best to have my product customized to your needs and wishes as much as possible. And I’m not just saying these. I fully believe in what I’m saying to you right now and I do it because I’m fully confident of the product I am selling.  Also, should it be the case that you will eventually not purchase my product, two things will happen:  

1. I will learn how to make the product better, which eventually will bring me more customers;

2. I will have earned your trust, which makes it very likely that we will do business together at some point in the future. 


I am an ethical marketer. Now, if you would be so kind to let me begin…

Mi-ar placea ca toti oamenii de vanzari sa fie asa. O parte chiar sunt.

Six and the City

Bineinteles ca voiam sa inscrie catralioane de goluri si sa joace cu verva si trairea a unsprezece George Best, dar asta n-avea sa se intample, in orice caz nu in viitorul imediat. Nu eram in stare sa apar neajunsurile echipei mele in fata lui tata - le vedeam si eu, si le uram - asa ca dupa fiecare tentativa slaba de a inscrie, dupa fiecare pasa gresita, ma invartosam in asteptarea oftaturilor si mormailelilor venite de pe locul de langa mine. (Nick Hornby - Febra Stadioanelor)

Manchester United - Manchester City 1-6 (Fletcher '81 - Balotelli '22 '60, Aguero '69, Dzeko '90 '90, Silva '90), Barclays Premier League 2011-2012, Matchday 9, 2011-10-23, Old Trafford, Manchester

Cred cu tarie in karma in fotbal. Cred ca bucuria fiecarei victorii e anulata de tristetea urmatoarei infrangeri si invers, ca tristetea unui sir de infrangeri, oricat de lung si de umilitor, e rascumparata cu varf si indesat la urmatoarea victorie, sau macar la urmatoarea victorie importanta.

Dupa meciul asta, sentimentele mele sunt destul de confuze. Ma uit peste pozele cu tabela de marcaj pe care scrie Manchester de doua ori si scorul de 6-1 pentru City si ma gandesc imediat la 8-2-ul impotriva lui Arsenal.  In general ma doare mai tare o infrangere in fata lui Arsenal sau Liverpool decat in fata lui Chelsea si mai ales City. Asta tine probabil de momentul la care am inceput sa urmaresc United, iar in momentul ala Arsenal erau echipa de batut. Dupa ce generatia de invincibili ai lui Wenger a disparut, United n-a mai avut decat de luptat cu recordul de titluri al lui Liverpool, care a cazut abia in vara asta. In afara de scurtul moment Mourinho, United a fost de cand o stiu eu cea mai buna echipa din Anglia, iar principalul rival i-a fost istoria mai mult decat  vreo alta echipa. Chelsea n-o sa ajunga la palmaresul lui United in timpul vietii mele, City cu atat mai putin. In plus, cand vine vorba de infrangeri in fata lui City, primul lucru la care ma gandesc e magnificul calcai al lui Dennis Law si povestea din spatele lui mai mult decat la milioanele seicului Mansour, la mercenarii din fotbalul mare sau la tampeniile lui Super Mario.

Mai mult, dupa rapida lor ascensiune m-am uitat la City condescendent, exact atitudinea pe care a incercat s-o induca Ferguson de cand cu faimosul noisy neighbours. Si, chiar daca am sustinut de mult, aproape imediat dupa ce-a venit seicul, ca asta va fi anul in care City va fi in sfarsit o echipa demna de luat in serios, in continuare nu ma pot abtine sa ma uit la City altfel decat condescendent. La fel de adevarat e insa si ca atunci cand pierzi atat de categoric in fata unei rivale, atitudinea e dictata strict de ce se intampla in teren, de bragging rights-urile de a doua zi, nicidecum de istorie, implicatii, clasamente sau orice altceva.

O metoda prin care putem sa incercam sa indulcim amaraciunea acestei infrangeri ar fi contextualizarea. Am putea sa spunem ca la pauza era abia 1-0, ca fara greselile lui Evans City n-ar fi dat primele doua goluri iar United n-ar fi jucat o repriza in 10, ca in minutul 90 era doar 3-1 etc.

Dar toate astea suna a scuze si dincolo de ele pentru istorie ramane doar scorul. Pentru United, ar trebui sa ramana in plus cateva lectii importante, macar pentru c-au fost invatate in cel mai dureros mod cu putinta: City a organizat excelent apararea, iar United doar a mimat patrunderile; Welbeck a fost absent aproape total din meci; jumatatea de sus a echipei e speriata de ideea de a trage la poarta (asta s-a vazut cel mai bine la golul lui Fletcher, destul de intamplator: uneori e suficient sa incerci, nu trebuie sa cauti pozitia perfecta, unghiul perfect, pasa perfecta); Evans nu e deloc ce-ar trebui sa fie, iar un fundas nu are voie sa fie atat de nesigur. Practic, dincolo de meritele evidente ale lui City, Johnny Evans le-a cam facut cadou victoria asta.

Iar daca vrem sa fim in totalitate cinstiti si sa recunoastem meritele celor care le au, ar trebui sa spun ca am fost impresionat astazi de Richards si de Silva, care au jucat fabulos. Super Mario are si el niste merite, dar inainte de a i le recunoaste ar trebui sa reusesc mai intai sa-l identific cu o creatura cat de cat apropiata de om pe scara evolutiei, ceea ce deocamdata nu se intampla. Cat despre mesajul lui ("De ce intotdeauna eu?"), printat cu fontul oficial al tricourilor lui City, mi s-a parut cel putin la fel de rizibil ca stirile pentru care o gramada de ziaristi prosti castiga bani de pe urma lui.

Si nu in ultimul rand, Mancini merita o runda de aplauze la scena deschisa, si pentru mine el e eroul zilei. Nu l-am crezut in stare sa duca in spate o sarcina atat de mare ca cea de a transforma City intr-o forta in Anglia, nu l-am crezut un antrenor bun si am crezut ca titlurile castigate in Italia au fost doar rezultatul unei conjuncturi favorabile. Dar locul unde United a pierdut azi meciul a fost apararea lui City, organizata atat de bine si de ermetic incat ai nostri au fost vizibil descumpaniti. Iar asta e in totalitate meritul lui Mancini.

Ei, dar asta n-a fost nici pe departe vreo finala de Champions League. A fost doar o etapa si, dupa ce o sa se aseze praful peste poza aia cu tabela o sa ramana faptul ca mai e inca destul din campionat, ca United sta mult mai bine decat anul trecut si ca e nevoie doar de un mic declic mental pentru a ne intoarce la scorurile ravasitoare din debutul de sezon.

Eu sunt mandru de echipa mea, mandru de faptul ca dupa golul lui Fletch, la 3-1 in minutul '83, credeam realmente ca meciul nu e pierdut si ca United are forta sa revina si deocamdata nu am nevoie de scuze sau de indulcitori. Tristetea infrangerii asteia va fi rascumparata cu siguranta la un moment dat si am invatat pana acum sa gasesc consolare in propria-mi tristete in situatii ca asta. Sufletul va mai plange putin, dar gura a inceput deja sa zambeasca fals, ca antrenament pentru victoriile ce vor veni si dupa care vom rade cu gura pana la urechi.

"Toate isi au vremea lor, si fiecare lucru de sub ceruri isi are ceasul lui [...] Plansul isi are vremea lui, si rasul isi are vremea lui; bocitul isi are vremea lui, si jucatul isi are vremea lui." (Eclesiastul, 3:1,3)

PS: Poanta cu Six and the City e inceputa de un pusti de-al lui Arsenal pe twitter, iar poza de deasupra exprima perfect o incertitudine cu care-am trait si eu pe tot parcursul meciului. :)