It's said that if monkeys hack long enough on a typewriter, than they will inexorably end up writing something that makes sense.
Let's see if this is also true for scientists...



Monday, 14 October 2013

It's 'Stand By Your Nationality' month!

I feel it's time to declare a 'Stand By Your Nationality' month!
Often, people from so-called third-world countries need to struggle to obtain a first-world passport to at last be able to have a successful career - or simply to survive. All those have the unfortunate tendency to then claim to be 'French', 'English', 'Canadian', etc, rather then their first, original, nationality (typically from Africa, Asia or Latin America).
I would urge all those dual citizens to be proud of their original nationality, and stand by their roots, whenever possible (i.e. not for administrative, professional or travel purposes...). Be proud to be from whatever 'underdeveloped' country you are, because the current 'underdevelopment' is simply the result of century-long forced exploitation by a 'developed' country. Be proud of where you came from, because most likely every step on the path was difficult and required hard work, perseverance and cunningness. And each time you claim your original nationality, you will shed good light on your country. 

Wednesday, 9 October 2013

Everything is natural

In a simplified way, we think that ‘natural’ (without human intervention or technology) is opposed to ‘artificial’ (produced by humans). This divide may be misleading and dangerous. We are, like it or not, a product and part of Nature. Hence, what we produce is also a product and part of Nature. Currently, our actions are not sustainable, because they push the current natural system, of which we are just a minor part, out of balance. Being all linked, systems-biological feedback, provided by ‘Nature’, will act on our planet (and us). We can, and do, act on our global system, but we cannot be separated from it. Whatever we do is natural, and we cannot stop Nature from acting on us.