Friday, August 12, 2011

The Cassandra Syndrome

The Procession of the Trojan Horse in Troy
by Domenico Tiepolo (1773)
A comment by an economist with apparent Austrian School leanings, has prompted this posting.That economist was frustrated because he says he can explain the current economic malaise/crisis in Austrian terms, but no one either believes or listens to what he is saying. He likens his plight to that of Cassandra, of Greek mythology.
Cassandra of course foresaw the destruction of Troy and the death of Agamemnon, commander of the Greek army, but no one believed her. In the current context it's a situation that many of us can sympathize with and it has been named the Cassandra Syndrome. The Urban Dictionary defines Cassandra Syndrome as:
1) The condition of speaking the truth and having no one believe you.
2) The condition of being able to predict the future, be it the outcome of a particular event, or the reactions of others to the same event, and having no one believe your prophecy until it transpires.
3) Being able to see or understand things long before others, often resulting in them coming to the same conclusions long after your own initial analysis.

This morning, CBC Radio News reported on the FOX sponsored Iowa Republican Party nominees debate. In that report, Michelle Bachmann was mentioned, Mitt Romney was mentioned, and so on, not a word about candidate Ron Paul of course. To be fair most of the other candidates were not mentioned, but Ron Paul exemplifies the meaning of Cassandra Syndrome exactly. He is the only candidate that calls for peace, liberty, and limiting the power of government. He needs to be heard, to be listened to, and to be supported. Watch and listen to his answers, a Cassandra if ever there was one.

   



Thursday, August 11, 2011

Freckles on the sun

Astronomy was one of my first loves. The wonder of it is how much we don't know and are still finding out. There are far, far, more planets around distant suns than you or I can imagine..........watch.


Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Your life after death.....digitally.

So what happens to our digital life after we are gone? Adam Ostrow, a journalist, argues that we all have one thing in common, we will all die. Then what? Will our blogs be erased? Will our status updates on Facebook indicate the moment of death? Will we live on as part of the ever growing "cloud?" All good questions, a bit morbid maybe, but interesting.