Value of a Brand Name

What is the difference in “value” between a painting not by Pollock (but that can’t be differentiated from a painting by Pollock) and a painting by Pollock?

The owner of three paintings attributed to contemporary abstract painter Jackson Pollock has rejected a scientific analysis by Harvard University researchers that questions the age and authenticity of the works.

“The authentication of works of art is still more art than science,” Matter said in a written statement posted on his website. “The point is that the science of attribution is still in flux, and no scientific test is definitive in the absence of traditional, time-tested art historical research.”

LA Times

Grimm joke and a question of grammer

This being Super Bowl week, Sports Illustrated posted Best Super Bowl Quotes and Dumbest Super Bowl Questions. My favorites –

Best Quote – from SB XVIII, Oakland Raider’s linebacker Matt Millen:

(After hearing that Redskins OG Russ Grimm had said that he would run over his own mother to win the Super Bowl) “I’d run over Russ Grimm’s mother to win the Super Bowl, too.”

Dumbest Question – from SB XXXIV, to St. Louis Rams’ defensive end, Jay Williams:

“Is Ram a noun or a verb?”

For your reading pleasure

The always enlightening and entertaining TMQ (Tuesday Morning Quarterback) – Gregg Easterbrook of ESPN.com

Americans Now Hear the Word “Pleasure” 100 Times for Every Actual Experience of Pleasure: TMQ is being driven crazy by the modern affectation of saying “my pleasure” in formal settings that have nothing to do with pleasure. When you call a Hyatt hotel and ask to be transferred to a guest room or the front desk, the Hyatt operator says, “My pleasure.” Lots of corporate-run chains are instructing workers to say “my pleasure” in situations far removed from what the word means. It’s even catching on with intellectuals; recently David Remnick, editor of the New Yorker, signed off from an NPR interview by invoking this phrase. (NPR: “Thanks, David.” Remnick: “My pleasure.”) “My pleasure” is a ridiculously overloaded surrogate for “sure” or “happy to do it” or “you’re welcome.” More, its adaptation as a hollow chestnut of mundane interaction seems part of the overall cheapening of the meaning of words. Pleasure is one of the greatest and highest experiences of life; in our short stay on this Earth, we know far too little. And pleasure is almost always intimate in nature. Using the word “pleasure” in contexts that have nothing to do with intimacy or delight seems a cruel little joke in a world of too much work and too little enjoyment.

Happy Danes

Talk about a dynasty. According to a recently published World Map of Happiness, the Danes are again the happiest Europeans, now for over thirty years in a row. Why are the Danes so satisfied with their lives? (NB: The referenced article is clearly meant to be humorous and is, in fact, quite so.)

Our analysis points to two explanatory factors. The Danish football triumph of 1992 has had a lasting impact. This victory arguably provided the biggest boost to the Danish psyche since the protracted history of Danish setbacks began with defeat in England in 1066, followed by the loss of Sweden, Norway, Northern Germany, the Danish West Indies, and Iceland. The satisfaction of the Danes, however, began well before 1992, albeit at a more moderate level. The key factor that explains this and that differentiates Danes from Swedes and Finns seems to be that Danes have consistently low (and indubitably realistic) expectations for the year to come. Year after year they are pleasantly surprised to find that not everything is getting more rotten in the state of Denmark.

Source: bmj.com

Eyes of the Beholder

Most of us think of our desires as essential determinants of who we are; that is, our self-identity is inextricably bound to what we desire. So, it comes as an unpleasant and rude awakening when someone tells us that our desires are not our own. Of course, at one level of consciousness we know how vulnerable we all are to suggestions that lead us to desire something. For instance, we know how commercials and advertisements work, but we still fall for it. When it comes to things that “really matter,” though, we like to believe that we desire them for their intrinsic value. However . . .

The first evidence that beauty is infectious is published today by scientists who have shown that when women see a rival smiling at a man, he becomes more attractive as a result.

Although we tend to think of attraction as reflecting personal preferences, our findings show that social learning (that is, ‘copying’ others) influences women’s preferences for men,” he said. “It is another example of what social creatures we are, where choices about what we wear and what cars we buy are influenced by others and are not as personal as we think.

First 28 female participants were shown eight pairs of faces and had to indicate which one in each pair they thought was more attractive. After this, participants viewed a short slideshow where they saw women looking at one of the faces in each pair with either a smiling expression (signalling a positive attitude to the looked-at man) or a neutral expression (signalling a more negative, bored, attitude to the looked-at man).

After the slideshow, participants repeated the initial face preference test and the team found that just 30 seconds of interest from another woman was enough to make a man seem more desirable.

Source: Telegraph.co.uk

Whose sidewalk is it anyway?

I wonder how many bottles “John Smith, John Doe, Bob Doe and Jane Doe” have to collect to pay off $1 million dollars.

A Manhattan antiques dealer has filed a lawsuit against a small group of homeless people claiming that they are disrupting his business by using the sidewalk outside his high-end East Side store as a urinal, a spittoon and an occasional dressing room, according to the suit and the dealer’s lawyer.

Besides seeking $1 million in damages — the dealer’s lawyer said he put in a figure for legal reasons — the suit also asks for a restraining order requiring them to stay at least 100 feet from the store. The suit notes that the antiques dealer is located “within the heart of New York’s most exclusive Madison Avenue shopping district,” with neighbors like Gucci, Chanel and Prada.

Source: The New York Times

Cost of war

$200 billion a year (and growing) are spent on the war in Iraq; it could have paid for:

a doubling of cancer research funding, treatment for every American whose diabetes or heart disease is now going unmanaged and a global immunization campaign to save millions of children’s lives.

Combined, the cost of running those programs for a decade wouldn’t use up even half our money pot. So we could then turn to poverty and education, starting with universal preschool for every 3- and 4-year-old child across the country. The city of New Orleans could also receive a huge increase in reconstruction funds.

The final big chunk of the money could go to national security. The recommendations of the 9/11 Commission that have not been put in place — better baggage and cargo screening, stronger measures against nuclear proliferation — could be enacted. Financing for the war in Afghanistan could be increased to beat back the Taliban’s recent gains, and a peacekeeping force could put a stop to the genocide in Darfur.

Source: The New York Times