We are becoming increasingly dependent on computers. They are used in businesses, hospitals, crime detection and even to fly planes. What things will they be used for in the future? Is this dependence on computers a good thing or should we he more auspicious of their benefits?
Model Answer:
Computers are a relatively new invention. The first computers were built fifty years ago and it is only in the last thirty or so years that their influence has affected our everyday life. Personal computers were introduced as recently as the early eighties. In this short time they have made a tremendous impact on our lives. We are now so dependent on computers that it is hard to imagine what things would be like today without them. You have only got to go into a bank when their main computer is broken to appreciate the chaos that would occur if computers were suddenly removed world-wide.
In the future computers will be used to create bigger and even more sophisticated computers. The prospects for this are quite alarming. They will be so complex that no individual could hope to understand how they work. They will bring a lot of benefits but they will also increase the potential for unimaginable chaos. They will, for example, be able to fly planes and they will be able to co ordinate the movements of several planes in the vicinity of an airport. Providing all the computers are working correctly nothing can go wrong. If one small program fails disaster.
There is a certain inevitability that technology will progress and become increasingly complex. We should, however, ensure that we are still in a position where we are able to control technology. It will be all too easy to suddenly discover that technology is controlling us. By then it might be too late I believe that it is very important to be suspicious of the benefits that computers will bring and to make sure that we never become totally dependent on a completely technological world.
We have been living in the nuclear age now for over half a century. Since the first atomic bombs were developed, nuclear technology has provided governments with the ability to totally destroy the planet. Yet the technology has been put to positive use as an energy source and in certain areas of medicine. To what extent is nuclear technology a danger to life on Earth? What are the benefits and risks associated with its use?
Model Answer:
These days, many people are afraid of nuclear technology because of the dangers associated with its use. In my opinion, although it is true that nuclear weapons pose the greatest threat to life, the use of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes also carries some serious risks.
Nuclear power stations provide an important source of cheap power for many industrialised nations and some developing countries. However, there is always the danger of radiation leaking from these plants. Even though safety precautions are taken, there have been numerous disasters such as the explosion of a nuclear plant in Russia not long ago.
Nuclear technology is even used to help cure some diseases such as cancer. Radiation can be applied to the body to burn away cancerous cells. This is, however, a dangerous procedure, and the application of radiation is almost always painful and not always successful.
The most worrying aspect of nuclear technology, though, is its use for military purposes. Enough atomic bombs have already been built to completely destroy the planet, and the real danger is that one day some country will start a war with these weapons. Too many countries now have the technology required to make such bombs, and there is currently much debate about how to control the situation.
In conclusion, nuclear technology certainly has positive uses, but is, nonetheless, dangerous. However, it would have been better if it had never been used to create nuclear weapons. If life on Earth is to continue.
"You know as well as we do," the delegates said, "that the standard of justice depends on the equality of power to compel, and that in fact the strong do what they have the power to do and the weak accept what they have to accept." When the Melians responded that this denied the notion of fair play, the Athenians said that those in power determined what was fair and what was not. The Melians argued that this authority belonged to the gods, not to mortals. "Our opinion of the gods and our knowledge of men," replied a member of the Athenian delegation, "lead us to conclude that it is a general and necessary law of nature to rule whatever one can."
Hilma Af Klint is currently recognised as the earliest Western-European artist practicing in a modernist, abstract style. In the 1900s, she was a member of ‘De Fem’, a theosophically inspired Swedish occult group, where she and other women explored transcendental spirituality. Learning from this collective pursuit shaped her art process, particularly in works like ‘Altarpieces No. 1’. Moving away from traditional representation, Af Klint’s commitment to automatic drawing led her to embrace abstraction instead. Aiming to paint visions from the astral plane, she was inspired by the spirit Amaliel, giving her work a sacred, otherworldly quality. Admist her polychromatic palette, composed with geometric forms, reflects a desire to make the invisible visible, representing a transcendence into higher spirits, with the focal point being a sun-like shape tapered from a pyramid-like form synonymous with the idea of the connection between realms. Finally, her abstract style bridged physical and spiritual worlds, signalling a cultural shift in art's capacity for secular spirituality.
Both Rrap and Dupain’s artworks, Speechless (2017) and Sunbaker (1937), reflect the influence of their respective family-of-origins and their interest in the role of the ‘body’ in art. Partly influencing this work, Rrap’s brother, the well-known performance artist Mike Parr, along with his friends, engaged in performance art, often hanging out with Julie and prompting her own personal interest in this art form. Equally important, Dupain’s father was one of the first Australians to operate a private gymnasium, where locals(largely male)were able to invest in their health, vitality, and physical well-being. Resultantly, this environment fostered Dupain’s fascination with the human body, which is powerfully reflected in his photograph Sunbaker, where the strong contrasts of light and shadow highlight the sunbather’s muscular form. Stemming from this focus on the human physique, combined with his understanding of the beauty of the natural landscape, informs the meanings and messages in his work, emphasising themes of vitality, leisure, and the intrinsic connection between the body and its environment. On the other hand, Rrap’s Speechless is shaped by an irreverent approach that challenges conventional seriousness in art. Nurtured in a creative environment, Rrap incorporated interactive elements into her work, inviting viewers to choose between standing up to speak on pressing issues or lying down and remaining 'speechless'. This duality reflects her belief in the power of agency and participation, as opposed to another pervading assumption of an Australian, lackadaisical attitude; Thus, reflecting how both artists’ personal experiences inform their engagement with their own body-centric art creative practice
Use The Surrender Tactic: Transform Weakness Into Power
Transgression Of The Law
The island of Melos is strategically situated in the heart of the Mediterranean. In classical times, the city of Athens dominated the sea and coastal areas around Greece, but Sparta, in the Peloponnese, had been Melos's original colonizer. During the Peloponnesian War, then, the Melians refused to ally themselves with Athens and remained loyal to Mother Sparta. In 416 B.C. the Athenians sent an expedition against Melos. Before launching an all-out attack, however, they dispatched a delegation to persuade the Melians to surrender and become an ally rather than suffer devastation and defeat.
Duveen knew that the art market was flooded with fakes, and that many paintings had been falsely ascribed to old masters. He tried his best to distinguish the real from the fake, but in his zeal to sell he often overplayed a work's authenticity. What mattered to him was that the buyer believed he had bought a Durer, and that Duveen himself convinced everyone of his "expertness" through his air of irreproachable authority. Thus, it is important to be able to play the professor when necessary and never impose such an attitude for its own sake.
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.
