The art dealer Joseph Duveen was once attending a soiree at the New York home of a tycoon to whom he had recently sold a Durer painting for a high price. Among the guests was a young French art critic who seemed extremely knowledgeable and confident. Wanting to impress this man, the tycoon's daughter showed him the Durer, which had not yet been hung. The critic studied it for a time, then finally said, "You know, I don't think this Durer is right." He followed the young woman as she hurried to tell her father what he had said, and listened as the magnate, deeply unsettled, turned to Duveen for reassurance. Duveen just laughed. "How very amusing," he said. "Do you realize, young man, that at least twenty other art experts here and in Europe have been taken in too, and have said that painting isn't genuine? And now you've made the same mistake." His confident tone and air of authority intimidated the Frenchman, who apologized for his mistake.
There is, however, one situation where it pays to do the opposite when you can cover up a deception with a show of intelligence. In matters of smarts as in most things, appearances are what count. If you seem to have authority and knowledge, people will believe what you say. This can be very useful in getting you out of a scrape.
Processing: A Programming Language for Visual Art
some very colorful art that is in a dark background a large piece of paper has a big circular spiral design
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If you've ever dreamed of creating beautiful, interactive visuals with code, then Processing may be your new best friend. Originally developed as a tool for teaching computer programming in a visual context, Processing has evolved into a versatile programming language that artists, designers, and even scientists use to create stunning visualizations and interactive experiences.
What is Processing?
Processing is an open-source programming language and development environment built on top of the Java programming language. It was created by Ben Fry and Casey Reas in 2001, with the goal of making it easier for non-programmers to start learning how to code through visual, interactive projects. The language simplifies the process of working with graphics, making it accessible for anyone interested in combining art and technology.
Getting Started with Processing
To begin using Processing, you'll first need to download the Processing software for your operating system. Once installed, you're ready to start creating your first Processing sketch.
A sketch is the term used in Processing for a single program. When you open the Processing development environment, you'll be greeted with a simple text editor where you can write your code. To run your sketch, simply press the "Play" button in the top left corner of the window.
Let's create a basic sketch that draws a circle on the screen:
void setup() {
size(800, 600);
}
void draw() {
background(255); // White background
fill(0); // Black color for the circle
ellipse(400, 300, 100, 100); // Draw a circle at the center of the canvas
}
The setup function runs once at the beginning of your sketch and is used for any initialization code. In this case, we define the size of the display window with size(800, 600). The draw function is called repeatedly, making it ideal for animations or continuous updates to the screen. Inside draw, we set the background color, circle color, and draw a circle with the ellipse function.
Exploring the Processing Ecosystem
One of the strengths of Processing is its thriving community, which has produced a vast number of libraries and tools to extend the language's functionality even further. You can find libraries for everything from 3D graphics to computer vision, physics simulations, and even machine learning.
To browse available libraries, go to the "Sketch" menu in the Processing development environment and select "Import Library" followed by "Add Library." You'll be presented with a list of libraries you can install and use in your sketches.
Linking Art and Programming
Processing's focus on visuals and interactivity provides an excellent platform for artists, designers, and programmers to experiment with new ideas and collaborate. By combining creative coding techniques with traditional artistic practices, you can create captivating works of art that blur the lines between static and dynamic, digital and analog.
Take inspiration from the Processing examples and openprocessing.org, where you can find numerous examples of stunning art and interactive experiences created using Processing. As you explore the capabilities of this programming language, you'll discover that the possibilities are limited only by your imagination.
So grab your digital paintbrush, and happy coding!
Both Rrap and Dupain’s artworks Speechless (2017) and Sunbaker (1937) reflect how artworks may alter in contextual meaning and inter-relate in differing traditional and contemporary contexts, from a holiday candid moment to an iconic representation of Australian national identity in the Whitlam era of the 1970s, and to an appropriated critique of what it might mean to be ‘Australian’ in 2017. Capturing a nation grappling with social and economic struggles while aspiring for health and resilience, Dupain’s Sunbaker illustrates this through the monochromatic colour palette and the portrayal of a muscular male figure lounging on the beach, emphasising the bicep and forearm muscles as symbols of vitality. Under a contrasting context, Rrap's Speechless engages with contemporary cultural expectations by presenting an interactive nature with a cast-bronze and welded lectern of a human mould, capturing an alternative angle of Dupain's work to critique traditional ideals and subvert Australia’s reputation of leisure as an imagery of the past. Looking to Rrap’s statement, “Maybe these things are innocently conceived, but not necessarily innocently perceived,” emphasises how both artists invite viewers to confront the complex layers of identity and cultural narratives that have evolved over time. Together, they illustrate how context can change the perception and intentions of what it means to be Australian.
Reversal
To reveal the true nature of your intelligence rarely pays; you should get in the habit of downplaying it at all times. If people inadvertently learn the truth that you are actually much smarter than you look they will admire you more for being discreet than for making your brilliance show. At the start of your climb to the top, of course, you cannot play too stupid: You may want to let your bosses know, in a subtle way, that you are smarter than the competition around you. As you climb the ladder, however, you should to some degree try to dampen your brilliance.
Authority: Know how to make use of stupidity: The wisest man plays this card at times. There are occasions when the highest wisdom consists in appearing not to know you must not be ignorant but capable of playing it. It is not much good being wise among fools and sane among lunatics. He who poses as a fool is not a fool. The best way to be well received by all is to clothe yourself in the skin of the dumbest of brutes. (Baltasar Gracian, 1601-1658)
Image: The Opossum. In playing dead, the opossum plays stupid. Many a predator has therefore left it alone. Who could believe that such an ugly, unintelligent, nervous little creature could be capable of such deception?
Intelligence is the obvious quality to downplay, but why stop there? Taste and sophistication rank close to intelligence on the vanity scale; make people feel they are more sophisticated than you are and their guard will come down. As Arnold and Slack knew, an air of complete naivete can work wonders. Those fancy financiers were laughing at them behind their backs, but who laughed loudest in the end? In general, then, always make people believe they are smarter and more sophisticated than you are. They will keep you around because you make them feel better about themselves, and the longer you are around, the more opportunities you will have to deceive them.
Masquerading as a swine works wonders on those who, like tigers, are arrogant and overconfident: The easier they think it is to prey on you, the more easily you can turn the tables. This trick is also useful if you are ambitious yet find yourself low in the hierarchy: Appearing less intelligent than you are, even a bit of a fool, is the perfect disguise. Look like a harmless pig and no one will believe you harbor dangerous ambitions. They may even promote you since you seem so likable, and subservient. Claudius before he became emperor of Rome, and the prince of France who later became Louis XIII, used this tactic when those above them suspected they might have designs on the throne. By playing the fool as young men, they were left alone. When the time came for them to strike, and to act with vigor and decisiveness, they caught everyone off-guard.
The Chinese have a phrase, "Masquerading as a swine to kill the tiger." This refers to an ancient hunting technique in which the hunter clothes himself in the hide and snout of a pig, and mimics its grunting. The mighty tiger thinks a pig is coming his way, and lets it get close, savoring the prospect of an easy meal. But it is the hunter who has the last laugh.
All this made Blome feel he had gathered valuable information. He knew that Bismarck was aggressive the Prussian already had that reputation, and the way he played had confirmed it. And aggressive men, Blome knew, can be foolish and rash. Accordingly, when the time came to sign the treaty, Blome thought, is incapable of cold-blooded calculation and deception, so he only glanced at the treaty before signing it he failed to read the fine print. As soon as the ink was dry, a joyous Bismarck exclaimed in his face, "Well, I could never have believed that I should find an Austrian diplomat willing to sign that document!"
The night before the negotiations were to begin, Bismarck innocently engaged Blome in a game of quinze. The Prussian would later write, "That was the very last time I ever played quinze. I played so recklessly that everyone was astonished. I lost several thousand talers [the currency of the time], but I succeeded in fooling [Blome], for he believed me to be more venturesome than I am and I gave way." Besides appearing reckless, Bismarck also played the witless fool, saying ridiculous things and bumbling about with a surplus of nervous energy.
In 1865 the Prussian councilor Otto von Bismarck wanted Austria to sign a certain treaty. The treaty was totally in the interests of Prussia and against the interests of Austria, and Bismarck would have to strategize to get the Austrians to agree to it. But the Austrian negotiator, Count Blome, was an avid cardplayer. His particular game was quinze, and he often said that he could judge a man's character by the way he played quinze. Bismarck knew of this saying of Blome's.
Given how important the idea of intelligence is to most people's vanity, it is critical never inadvertently to insult or impugn a person's brain power. That is an unforgivable sin. But if you can make this iron rule work for you, it opens up all sorts of avenues of deception. Subliminally reassure people that they are more intelligent than you are, or even that you are a bit of a moron, and you can run rings around them. The feeling of intellectual superiority you give them will disarm their suspicion-muscles.
Keys To Power
The feeling that someone else is more intelligent than we are is almost intolerable. We usually try to justify it in different ways: "He only has book knowledge, whereas I have real knowledge." "Her parent paid for her to get a good education. If my parents had had as much money, if I had been as privileged...." "He's not as smart as he thinks." Last but not least: "She may know her narrow little field better than I do, but beyond that she's really not smart at all. Even Einstein was a boob outside physics."
i know you are somewhere out there somewhere far away i want you back i want you back my neighbors think I'm crazy, but they don't understand you are all i had you are all i had at night when the stars light up my room i sit by myself talking to the moon tryna get to you in hopes you're on the other side talking to me too or am I a fool who sits alone talking to the moon
A flame, exploded from within Calida's right hand. Causing the attacker to be pushed back by 5 miles. Then Calida Amani, dashes towards the attacker with an elbow strike in the head.
While there eyes were blinded by the high concentration of light.
Now, she continues with her assault by swerving around the attacker and getting behind there back. Calida grins, before placing her arm on there back.
Now, a high magical energy blows out from there hand, causing Calida's flames to rip out onto the attacker's body. Taking over the attacker's body with her own flames.
In the end, Harpending's reputation was ruined and he never recovered; Rothschild learned his lesson and never fell for another con; Slack took his money and disappeared from view, never to be found. Arnold simply went home to Kentucky. After all, his sale of his mining rights had been legitimate; the buyers had taken the best advice, and if the mine had run out of diamonds, that was their problem. Arnold used the money to greatly enlarge his farm and open up a bank of his own.
The effectiveness of the scheme, however, rested not on tricks like these but on the fact that Arnold and Slack played their parts to perfection. On their trip to New York, where they mingled with millionaires and tycoons, they played up their clodhopper image, wearing pants and coats a size or two too small and acting incredulous at everything they saw in the big city. No one believed that these country simpletons could possibly be conning the most devious, unscrupulous financiers of the time. And once Harpending, Ralston, and even Rothschild accepted the mine's existence, anyone who doubted it was questioning the intelligence of the world's most successful businessmen.
The logistics of the con were quite simple. Months before Arnold and Slack announced the "discovery" of the diamond mine; they traveled to Europe, where they purchased some real gems for around $12,000 (part of the money they had saved from their days as gold miners). They then salted the "mine" with these gems, which the first expert dug up and brought to San Francisco. The jewelers who had appraised these stones, including Tiffany himself, had gotten caught up in the fever and had grossly overestimated their value. Then Ralston gave the prospectors $100,000 as security, and immediately after their trip to New York they simply went to Amsterdam, where they bought sacks of uncut gems, before returning to San Francisco. The second time they salted the mine, there were many more jewels to be found.
