Human Nature

Human nature is the responsible for the financial crisis, in Greenspan opinion (watch the BBC video here). And former Federal Reserve Chief does not just talk about current one: all of them, he says, from the South Sea Bubble in the XVI Century to todays.

The amazing thing is that the Homo Economicus is the only model economists use today: this is not serious at all. Current economy should not be considered a real science (in fact, it is a religion right now) since its models do not fit its subject. To make a long story short: the main problem is that economists are pure mathematitians that excuse their failures and dogmatic excesses about society by blaming the "unquenchable human nature" (Greenspan). How can coexist ideas like deregulation, free market and invisible hands in the very same discourse with "unquenchable human nature" and still pay these people such bonuses?

To have a remote chance of understanding human nature it has to be taken into account factors like art, for example, that are not reasonable or driven by interest. Any map of human soul that does not count on subjective impulses, beside moral attributes and mathematical skills is not going to be fully human. Economist should have the capability of dealing with the contradictions of human nature. So, little hope of fixing current state of the art of society in the hands of current leaders, I am afraid. Last hope are politicians...

Estilo blogero del premio Nobel

«O Caderno de Saramago», o livro do blogue from Fundação Jose Saramago on Vimeo.

Hasta el más pintado puede columpiarse con esto del blog. Los comentarios de la actualidad calientan la pluma como se le calienta la boca a los oradores en público.

El caso de Saramago es ejemplar en este sentido. Toda la sutileza y poética de su escritura se desvanece al calor de sus enfados por lo que pasa y no le cuadra en sus esquemas. Que los comunistas no aceptan la realidad tal como es ya lo demostraron suficientemente en la historia. Que un medio como el blog podría hacer a todo un premio Nobel abandonar la autonomía estética de la literatura es algo novedoso.

Como dice Umberto Eco al respecto: resulta "simpático" verlo perder los papeles en su libro El cuaderno, escritos del blog.

Principles against poison

Yes, I know that I have already linked Ouroussoff's article in a recent post. The thing is that I have read the article again (thanks to a reader of the blog from New Zealand) and have decided to give it its own space.

The most "delirious era in architecture" is not going to be over just like that: years, maybe decades will be needed to overcome this "poisonous cocktail of vanity and self-delusion" (Ouroussoff).

By the way, have you notice that there is a consensus about "desintoxication" (see post under this) and "poisons" in the realm of contemporary form creation...?