In his books, The Black Swan and Antifragile, Nassim Nicholas Taleb observes that freak disasters—rare, high-impact events—are unpredictable and often underestimated due to their low probability. He calls these “Black Swan” events, characterized by their extreme rarity, severe consequences, and retrospective predictability. Taleb argues that people and systems are overly reliant on normalcy and linear models, ignoring the potential for such outliers.
These disasters expose the fragility of complex systems, like financial markets or infrastructure, which are unprepared for extreme shocks. In Antifragile, he contrasts fragile systems with antifragile ones, which thrive under stress. Taleb emphasizes that freak disasters are not anomalies but inevitable in a complex world, urging risk management that accounts for uncertainty rather than predictability. He critiques overconfidence in forecasting and advocates for building resilience to mitigate the devastating effects of these unpredictable events.
We cover this ground, more than tangentially, in our activism in disaster management standards setting. Our coverage of this topic dates back to 1993 which the links below should reveal. We will expand upon this topic as more information is derived from this past week’s events in Kerr County Texas.
The International Trade Administration (ITA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) is requesting public comments to gain insights on the current global artificial intelligence (AI) market. Responses will provide clarity about stakeholder concerns regarding international AI policies, regulations, and other measures which may impact U.S. exports of AI technologies. Additionally, the request for information (RFI) includes inquiries related to AI standards development. ANSI encourages relevant stakeholders to respond by ITA’s deadline of October 17, 2022.
The choice of red, white, and blue in national flags often carries historical, cultural, and political significance. Here are some reasons why various nations have chosen these colors:
Historical Connections:
United States: The colors were chosen for their flag in 1777 and have been interpreted to symbolize valor (red), purity (white), and justice (blue). The colors were influenced by the British Union Jack.
France: The Tricolour flag adopted during the French Revolution represents liberty (blue), equality (white), and fraternity (red).
United Kingdom: The Union Jack combines elements from the flags of England (red and white), Scotland (blue and white), and Ireland (red and white).
Cultural and Political Significance:
Russia: The flag’s colors were adopted from the Dutch flag, symbolizing pan-Slavism (red for bravery, blue for faithfulness, and white for honesty).
Netherlands: The Dutch flag’s colors (originally derived from the Prince’s Flag) have historical roots, symbolizing the struggle for independence and liberty.
Czech Republic and Slovakia: Both countries use red, white, and blue to represent their Slavic heritage.
Influence and Inspiration:
Chile, Costa Rica, and Panama: These countries were influenced by the colors and symbolism of other flags (e.g., the French and American flags) during their independence movements.
Australia and New Zealand: Both countries incorporate the Union Jack in their flags, reflecting their colonial history with the United Kingdom.
Symbolism:
Croatia, Serbia, and Slovenia: The colors are traditional pan-Slavic colors, representing freedom and national unity.
Iceland and Norway: The colors reflect their historical and cultural ties to other Scandinavian countries.
The exact reasons can vary, but often the colors reflect a mix of historical alliances, cultural heritage, and political ideals.
Bitcoin is developed under an open-source model and released under the MIT License. As an open-source project, the Bitcoin source code is publicly accessible, allowing users to examine, modify, and distribute it within the terms of the MIT License.
The term “lively arts” is attributed to American writer and poet James Thurber. It was popularized in the mid-20th century as a way to describe various forms of performing arts, such as theater, dance, music, and other creative expressions.
Curtain for the Lviv Theatre of Opera and Ballet
“What art is, in reality, is this missing link, not the links which exist.
It’s not what you see that is art; art is the gap”
— Marcel Duchamp
Today we refresh our understanding of the literature that guides the safety and sustainability goals of lively art events in educational settlements. Consortia have evolved quickly in recent years, leading and lagging changes in the content creation and delivery domain. With this evolution a professional discipline has emerged that requires training and certification in the electrotechnologies that contribute to “event safety”; among them:
ASHRAE International
Standard 62.1: This standard establishes minimum ventilation rates and indoor air quality requirements for commercial buildings, including theaters and auditoriums.
Standard 55: This standard specifies thermal comfort conditions for occupants in indoor environments, which can have an impact on air quality.
RP-16-17 Lighting for Theatrical Productions: This standard provides guidance on the design and implementation of lighting systems for theatrical productions. It includes information on the use of color, light direction, and light intensity to create different moods and effects.
RP-30-15 Recommended Practice for the Design of Theatres and Auditoriums: This standard provides guidance on the design of theaters and auditoriums, including lighting systems. It covers topics such as seating layout, stage design, and acoustics, as well as lighting design considerations.
DG-24-19 Design Guide for Color and Illumination: This guide provides information on the use of color in lighting design, including color temperature, color rendering, and color mixing. It is relevant to theater lighting design as well as other applications.
Dance and Athletic Floor Product Standards: ASTM F2118, EN 14904, DIN 18032-2
Incumbent standards-setting organizations such as ASHRAE, ASTM, ICC, IEEE, NFPA have also discovered, integrated and promulgated event safety and sustainability concepts into their catalog of best practice titles; many already incorporated by reference into public safety law. We explore relevant research on crowd management and spectator safety.
…”Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts, For they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
New update alert! The 2022 update to the Trademark Assignment Dataset is now available online. Find 1.29 million trademark assignments, involving 2.28 million unique trademark properties issued by the USPTO between March 1952 and January 2023: https://t.co/njrDAbSpwBpic.twitter.com/GkAXrHoQ9T
