15 bandas. Historia y Discografía completa

Aquí se concentrará el siguiente proyecto: Sumar algunas de las bandas más representativas que conozco. La idea es sencilla. Sumar discografía e historia de la forma más amena posible. Siempre comprometiéndome a mantener tanto los links como la información debidamente actualizada y bien presentada. El material que me propongo presentar no es inédito. Tampoco agregaré información en demasía, siempre con el fin puesto en redondear lo que de otra forma sería insulso. Siendo quizá un poco más dificultoso pero ciertamente, logrando una presentación didáctica e informativa. Que, sin ser compleja, sirva como medio de descarga.

Las bandas en cuestión. Como reza el título son quince. Siendo un trabajo inabordable de otra forma, presentaré a modo de índice esta pantalla, con el fin de mantener todo en su lugar, también para que sea más fácil acceder a los sucesivos post que se irán dando con el tiempo.

A la hora de decidirme por Qué bandas integrarían el trabajo, he de admitir que mucho a tenido que ver mi gusto personal. A qué negarlo. Si me comprometiese a invertir tiempo en bandas que no son de mi predilección seguramente el resultado no sería el mismo. Algunas más trabajadas que otras, sin dudas, pero con el tiempo iré completando lo que considere pobre o insuficiente.

Las bandas son:

THE DOORS
THE PIXIES
PINK FLOYD (el viernes estará completo)
THE JIMMY HENDRIX EXPERIENCE (noviembre)
THE ANIMALS (noviembre)
PESCADO RABIOSO (noviembre-diciembre)
JANIS JOPLIN (diciembre)
DEEP PURPLE (diciembre)
THE BEATLES (diciembre)
PATRICIO REY Y SUS REDONDITOS DE RICOTA (diciembre-enero)
THE CLASH (enero)
SUPERTRAMP (enero)
SUMO (enero)
THE BEACH BOYS (enero-febrero)
LED ZEPPELIN (febrero)

Como más arriba se menciona. Este post estará continuamente actualizado. Si finalmente la tarea que me propongo realizar resulta más sencilla de lo que creo iré agregando otras bandas. Pero la primer prioridad será concluir estas 15, que no poco esfuerzo ameritan.

En estas semanas estaré recopilando todo lo que pueda acerca de PINK FLOYD para ir preparando el próximo post. Siendo esta una de las bandas que más me gustan, el esfuerzo que me propongo realizar será doble, tanto material discográfico como fílmico será subido en su correspondiente post. Post que seguramente en estas semanas estará finalizado. Las fechas son pesimistas. Mi idea, siempre y cuando encuentre el tiempo, será concluir antes con este proyecto.

Algunos discos, dependiendo de cada caso, no los subiré por distintas cuestiones. En principio presentar la discografía y un Greatest Hits me parece un poco contradictorio. Pero tampoco es de mi interés material que por ser "inédito" generalmente se difunde, más para la obtención de ganancias que por méritos musicales.

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Albert camus

Nuestros conciudadanos se habían puesto al compás de la peste, se habían adaptado, como se dice, porque no había medio de hacer otra cosa. Todavía tenían la actitud que se tiene ante la desgracia o el sufrimiento, pero ya no eran para ellos punzantes. El doctor R. consideraba que, justamente, esto era un desastre, porque el hábito de la desesperación es peor que la desesperación misma. Antes, los separados no eran tan infelices porque en su sufrimiento había un fuego que ahora ya se había extinguido. En el presente, se los veía en las esquinas, en los cafés o en casa de los amigos, plácidos y distraídos, con miradas tan llenas de tedio que, por culpa de ellos, toda la ciudad parecía una sala de epera. Los que tenían un oficio cumplían con él en el estilo mismo de la peste: meticulosamente y sin brillo. Todo el mundo era modesto. Por primera vez los separados hablaban del ausente sin escrúpulos, no tenían inconvenientes en emplear el lenguaje de todos, en considerar su separación enfocándola como a las estadísticas de la epidemia. Hasta allí habían hurtado furiosamente su sufrimiento a la desgracia colectiva, pero ahora aceptaban la confusión. Sin memoria y sin esperanza, vivían instalados en el presente. A decir verdad, todo se volvía presente. La peste había quitado a todos la posibilidad de amor e incluso de amistad. Pues el amor exige un poco de porvenir y para nosotros no había ya más que instantes.

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Albert Camus
La peste. Edición Sol90

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El huérfano

Antes del tiempo,
Cuando la esencia era la cosa,
Y nada, excepto la cosa, emitía esencia,
Deambularon taciturnos y lóbregos señores,
Por todo el universo,
Hablando un idioma perdido, desoyendo la materia que los había forjado,
Sucumbiendo ante la inexistencia de memoria social,
En un espectáculo siniestro,
Donde la belleza de las cosas ocupaba el espacio todo,
De lo cotidiano,
Y no permitía lugar,
Para divagaciones matemáticas,
Ni para paradigmas obscenos,
Ni para literatura universal.

Estos señores no sacaron fotos,
No emitieron juicios,
Ni fundaron partidos políticos.

Serían la encarnación de perfectos anarquistas,
Lejos de cualquier nimiedad terrenal,
Lejos de las guerras,
Del hambre,
Del racismo.

El deambular cumplía con la esencia perfecta, para la cual habían sido construidos,
Máquinas, observatorios andantes y toscos,
Mudos y sosegados. Temerosos y compasivos.

No construían ni destruían. No adoraban. No comían. No bebían.
Su objetivo era no plantearse objetivos. Su objetivo era existir.
Existir, todo lo posible, manifestando lo menos posible.

En algún punto de historia, esto cambió.
La modificación sobrevino a los planteos, a las dudas, a la razón.
El comienzo del cambio, fue el fin de la inmutabilidad,
Y todo debió ser transformado, todo se procesó a fin de encajar en el gran cálculo.
Todo debía cerrar; el azar, el amor, el infinito, el sexo.

Comenzaron a revelarse los sentidos. El resultado de insuficiencia sensorial fue suplido por el racionalismo, por la falta de necesidad. Fue asociado al exceso. Y finalmente prohibido.

Lo prohibido resultó ser insuficiente. Altas cuotas de tecnología derrochaban ocio entre una población de seres cada vez más retraídos. Experimentaron con la música, con el arte en general, desarrollaron el surrealismo, el cubismo, el impresionismo.

La notoria insuficiencia dio lugar a un desarrollo hostil, inarticulado y absoluto. El fin fue puesto en la energía. Los sistemas que se desarrollaron desde entonces buscaban la frontera perfecta entre el consumo y el aprovechamiento. Todos los sistemas tendieron desde allí al equilibrio.

Creyeron poder detener el avance. El poder absoluto del cambio. Sobrevinieron crisis teológicas y grandes guerras intelectuales. Todos luchaban por hacernos independientes de la energía. Por hacernos inmortales.

La inmortalidad no era el fin. Nunca se halló algún fin determinado. Quizá el fin era el mero determinismo. La necesidad de hacer sobre el ser hecho. La imposición de exigir en lugar de ser exigido. Cierta notoriedad filosófica finiquitó el paradigma. La existencia resultó ser productivamente ociosa.

El ser, esa indeterminable posibilidad de existencia, según concluían los cálculos, iba perdiendo necesidad. Habiendo creado un medio perfecto para el ahorro energético absoluto, el ser se convirtió en víctima, fue expulsado de su propia creación.

Ante la innecesidad práctica de existir. La máquina declaró que todo ser era contraproducente para el objetivo de ser. Y que la eternidad, víctima de su propia codicia, no podía cobijar compañero.

Después del fin del tiempo, algunos señores máquina, eternos dentro de un sistema agotado, alejados de los sentidos divinos, perderán la memoria y se volverán humanos.

El primer niño es siempre huérfano.

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Multiverso

El mejor laberinto que podría construir, sería uno con dos entradas por lado, cada una de las cuales estaría representada por un número. Construiría la estructura en virtud de este singular sistema: por cada una de las dos entradas, es decir 1 y 1(n) respectivamente, distribuiría X cantidad de pasillos, y por ende, X cantidad de intersecciones. Para determinar el número de pasillos, sumaría X + X(n), es decir, sumaría la cantidad de pasillos resultantes, con su producto inmediatamente anterior.

Para comenzar, sumaría el primer pasillo, es decir 1, con el segundo pasillo, es decir 1(n). A su producto le sumaría la cifra inmediatamente anterior, generando un orden proporcionalmente creciente de pasillos, y por ende, un orden proporcionalmente creciente de intersecciones. Esta progresión numérica, y porqué no topográfica, estaría distribuida prolijamente en la superficie infinita de cualquier materia. La primer secuencia sería de una intersección por lado, la segunda constaría de dos intersecciones por lado, la tercera de tres, la cuarta de cinco, la quinta de ocho, la sexta de doce y así subsiguientemente.

Si graficáramos el plano, obtendríamos una proyección creciente de X(n) en su segmento vertical. Deberíamos obviamente evitar la yuxtaposición de pasillos, dilatando los espacios vacíos entre aquellos, horizontalmente. Así pues, garantizaríamos una extensión razonable y suficiente de ramificaciones sin necesidad de superponer pasillos contra pasillos.

Para emular las dimensiones de la física, los lados del laberinto serían 4, o si se prefiere, serían 3 y un cuarto, llamado tiempo, que sólo se manifestaría indirectamente sobre los otros tres.

A medida que elijamos un pasillo, nos iremos acercando o alejando del centro del laberinto, y esto variará la percepción de tiempo, así pues, a medida que nos acerquemos al centro el discurrir de las cosas irá acercándose a 0, mientras que los pasillos exteriores de la estructura, se aproximarán al de una aceleración infinita. Como el tiempo es sólo una manifestación externa, será necesario comenzar con un participante por lado, garantizando la interacción entre uno y otro a través de un pasillo determinado, cuya existencia es marginal e improbable, pero ineludible.

El laberinto, descansando sobre una superficie cualquiera, de ser plano, violaría las leyes de la física. Su forma, sin serlo, será pues semejante al de una esfera, aunque achatándose en su ecuador, imitando casi la forma de una pera.

Como ya hemos dicho, cada secuencia de intersecciones, será la suma de las dos anteriores, pero impondremos cierta singularidad; por cada 7 números primos resultantes, introduciremos una nueva esfera que imite a la anterior, y que aunque más pequeña, poseerá la misma cantidad de intersecciones, afectando sólo las proporciones de las mismas.

El centro, siguiendo las reglas básicas de toda lógica, será aquel cuyo tamaño sea inferior al de la estela que genere el paso de los participantes. Triunfando quien llegue primero al mismo, al momento en el que se produzca el inevitable atoramiento del participante, quien gozará indudablemente del más envidiable premio, es decir, la eternidad.

Para garantizar el estado óptimo del sistema, será necesario acotar que quien se aventure hacia los extremos deberá soportar, como ya hemos aclarado, una aceleración infinita y por ende, perderá el juego. Gracias a la inexistencia de magnetismo en la estructura, será imposible identificar un punto cardinal, y por lo tanto, no será posible determinar una posición exacta y eludir así el peligro que supondrían los lados más externos del núcleo. También impondríamos el siguiente comportamiento; por cada vez que se elija un lado determinado, no se podrá luego elegir el contrario. Por lo tanto, de virar hacia la izquierda, en las siguientes cuatro intersecciones, no se podrá virar hacia la derecha, y viceversa, esto garantizará cierta eficacia en relación a la regla anteriormente expuesta, es decir, el de la inexistencia de un punto cardinal determinado.

Los primeros pasillos, no serían tales en función de la estructura, sino sólo en función del recorrido, evitando el exceso de vacío y por ende, el de una extensión determinada de superficie imposible de recorrer. Las rectas meramente abstractas que testifiquen el recorrido, podrán desde luego ser recorridas nuevamente, pero estará prohibido cortarlas. La forma de cruz evidenciará inmediatamente este suceso.

Cuanto mayor sea el número de participantes que consigan llegar al núcleo, más improbable será, para los siguientes, no alcanzarlo, dado que el mismo crecerá en la medida en la que sea alimentado por los competidores. Del mismo modo que, cuanto mayor sea el número de participantes que se precipiten hacia el exterior de la estructura, mayor será el espacio de la estructura. Dicho lo cual, diremos que de mantenerse en un 50% y 50% la cantidad de participantes que terminen en uno u otro lado la estructura se mantendrá invariable Si por el contrario, la materia del núcleo crece en detrimento del vacío, las posibilidades de adentrarse al núcleo aumentarán paulatinamente, y viceversa, de aumentar el vacío, las posibilidades de llegar al núcleo caerán paulatinamente.

Finalmente, cabe aclarar, que el comienzo del recorrido no podrá darse en la esfera exterior, sino, exactamente, en la estructura cuya distancia y posición esté entre una (el núcleo) y otra (el vacío), igualmente proporcionada.

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Deep Purple

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The Animate and the Inanimate

CHAPTER VII

THEORIES OF LIFE

we find that the theories of the nature of life divide themselves into two varieties: the mechanistic and the vitalistic. The former kind of theory states that all living phenomena are to be explained solely by the ordinary physical laws, and that life differs from other phenomena only on account of its complexity, or in some other incidental manner. On the other hand, the vitalistic theories are to the effect that living phenomena are characterized by some mysterious sort of "vital force" which would seem to have the power to suspend or alter the operation of the physical laws that govern the rest of the universe. In the course of the history of science, much has been said both for the vitalistic and the mechanistic theories, and, as yet, no agreement has actually been reached on that subject.

In the attempt to solve our paradox of the second law of thermodynamics, we have incidentally reached a suggestion of the nature of life. According to the conclusions we have reached, there are in the universe what we have called positive tendencies, neutral tendencies, and negative tendencies, all of which are possible results of the reversible physical laws governing the motion of particles of matter. The neutral tendency being an extremely improbable result, very few cases of it are likely to take place; but, in any given case, unless further special circumstances alter the probabilities, the positive or the negative tendency has a 50% probability, and will therefore result from the reversible laws in about half of the cases occurring in the universe. In our section of the universe the positive tendency, however, preponderates, though, inasmuch as it would be extremely improbable that any section of the universe is entirely without instances of the negative tendency, it follows that there must be phenomena of the negative tendency within our observation. The phenomena of the negative tendency are the living phenomena; while the phenomena of the positive tendency are the non-living phenomena.

This theory of life is strictly mechanistic in so far as life is assumed to operate solely under the physical laws applying to the motion of particles, which laws are sufficient to determine a complete chain of causation. On the contrary, physicists, confining their observation entirely to inanimate matter, have reached the conclusion that there is a further physical law, the so-called second law of thermodynamics, which is suspended by living phenomena. There is according to our theory, this essential difference between living and non-living phenomena; and this difference would supply the basis for the idea of "vital force." Thus the two theories of life can be reconciled.

On the matter of the difference between living and non-living bodies, there is still less agreement. For instance, it is stated that lifeless substances, in so far as they form definite shapes, form only geometrical shapes, while living substances form irregular shapes. Outside of the fact that this does not distinguish living bodies from bodies which were once alive but which have lost the property of life, and outside of the fact that not all inorganic substances but only certain solid substances form geometrically shaped crystals, we may refute the statement that living bodies always have irregular shapes by simply adducing the example of the egg. This distinction is therefore on all sides untenable.

Again, it has been said that the difference between living and lifeless substances is the question of the presence of organs. But will that alone distinguish the average organism from a machine? The same objection can be urged against the proposed distinction on the ground that living bodies have a complex organization. However, either of these proposed distinctions may mean that a living body is so organized that everything has its teleological function; and this leads us to a proposed distinction between living and non-living bodies, namely, that living phenomena are essentially teleological. In the case of a machine we have the organization, but the teleology must be sought for in the living being that assembled the machine.

Apparently, teleology is a characteristic of life; but yet every thing is explicable on a physico-chemical basis; therefore we have in life the property of apparent teleology as a distinguishing characteristic. Only in this form can the proposed differentiation on the basis of "organization" be tenable. But, as we have seen, apparent teleology is one of the characteristics by which a reversal of the second law of thermodynamics can be recognized. It therefore follows that, in all probability, our distinction on the basis of the second law of thermodynamics is really the fundamental point of difference between living and non-living bodies.

Another suggested method of differentiation is in the capability of reproduction. But, when we come down to the ultimate living units, the cells, this reproduction consists merely of constriction and division; in which it is hardly to be differentiated from the breaking up into smaller drops of a drop of oil in water or a drop of mercury on a glass surface under slight shock. As we have seen, while under ordinary circumstances a shock is necessary to accomplish this division in these cases, yet, under the reversal of the second law of thermodynamics, this form of division is a normal phenomenon.

A further suggestion as to a method of differentiation is that life always derived from other life, while inanimate matter may be derived from either living or non-living bodies. This distinction is a general one, simply stating a fact, but cannot serve as a definition or as a means of differentiation, because it would not show whether any individual case was one of living or lifeless substance. Should we try to apply the test, we should have to ask whether it could only have been derived from other living matter. What it could have been derived from we cannot experimentally find out; the actual causes might be discovered, and then we are reduced to the question whether life is to be found among those causes, and we are now no better off than at first. It is like trying in an unknown region to find the east by the directions in Schedrin's story: Face the north, and the east is on your right. Such directions obviously are useless where the north is as unknown as the east. The basis of fact behind this proposed distinction between living and lifeless bodies, however, we will examine more in detail later on.

The suggestion that organic bodies grow by absorbing particles, while growth, where it is found among inorganic bodies, is always by accretion of matter on the outside, turns out, when analysed, to be rather a distinction between solids and liquids than one between living and lifeless substance. The absorption of particles can be duplicated in the laboratory under circumstances by liquids enclosed in membranes, and a living cell consists of a membrane containing liquids.

Finally, we come to the dynamical distinctions. The most obvious of these is, to say that life is distinguished by movement. This is obviously an incorrect distinction, since all objects are in motion. But there is obviously something peculiar about living movement that seems to make it seem more mobile than other movement. It is thus, for instance, alleged, that living movement comes from internal causes, or else that living bodies work of themselves, while other objects need to be supplied with energy. Even that is not descriptive, for there are always "external" causes for all movements, and life does not create energy; if it uses up energy, it must obtain that energy from somewhere. Similarly with the distinction between static equilibrium of lifeless bodies and the so-called "dynamic" equilibrium of life, often more accurately defined as the metabolic process; such a dynamic equilibrium exists (as molar energy) in the case of almost all machines, and chemically in the case of any catalytic agent, which is also being constantly decomposed and recomposed.

But there are more accurate definitions of this mobility which is so peculiarly characteristic of life. We may notice, for instance, the theory advanced by the late Prof. William James, the theory of the existence of a "reserve energy" in the case of biological, and especially in psychological, activities, which is absent in the case of lifeless activities. According to this, while the living organism can normally use a certain amount of its energy; yet in some mysterious way it can, under special circumstances, draw on an immense surplus fund of "reserve energy." This property being absent in physical bodies, we may draw a distinction on that basis between living and lifeless bodies, and this would seem to be an absolute distinction. Now, it has long been known that physical bodies contain an immense amount of energy which is unavailable for conversion into any thing else; and the physical law that limits the amount of energy which it is possible for a physical body to utilize is precisely this second law of thermodynamics that has given us so much trouble.

We must therefore come to the conclusion that, since life does not create energy, and this "reserve energy" is evidently real physical energy, that the peculiarity of life is its ability to draw on more energy than the second law of thermodynamics would allow; that is, its ability, in some circumstances at least, to reserve that second law. And again, we have seen that reversals of the second law are characterized by ability to use a fund of reserve energy that physical bodies cannot use. Let us say that the mechanical efficiency of a set of bodies is 85%; the reciprocal, or 118%, is that of the same set in the reverse universe. But as, under some circumstances, producing special results in the way of heat, etc., not quite 85% of the energy will be used, but, let us say, only 50%, then under those special cases in the reverse universe requiring more energy, the mechanical efficiency will be not 118%, but 200%, thus using over five times the amount of reserve energy normally used. This excess constitutes James's "reserve energy."

Another definition of the mobility of life is what is called "irritability," that is to say, the ability to make a large response to small stimuli. This, it is alleged, is possessed only by life, so that life may be defined by irritability. Against this Verworn objects that such inanimate substances as nitroglycerine also possess this property, that substance producing a powerful explosion under the influence of a slight shock.

But in the case of nitroglycerine, we have an unstable equilibrium, and a slight shock simply lets loose the difference of level necessary to reduce to a stable equilibrium; while in the case of life, irritability is part of the so-called "dynamic equilibrium" and does not disturb that equilibrium. Irritability, as it is found in biological phenomena, is the ability to produce normally a large effect from a small stimulus without an irreparable leveling down of energy; in other words, the irritability that distinguishes life consists of the ability to build up higher differences, of energy-level from lower ones, in exactly the inverse order to that required by the second law of thermodynamics. In other words, irritability is identical with the "negative tendency" or, in other words, with the reversal of the second law of thermodynamics. Thus we are again reduced to our form of distinction between living and non-living bodies, namely, that between the negative and the positive tendency.

Verworn proposed the distinction on the basis of chemical constituency namely, that living bodies consist of complicated carbon compounds, such as albumen, protein, etc., which cannot be produced outside of life. But in what way would this definition distinguish a living body from, let us say, a corpse? Or, according to the definition by chemical composition, every wooden object is alive. It is obvious, therefore, that this distinction is untenable.

On the contrary, we have the extreme mechanistic view, represented by Dr. Jacques Loeb, that such a distinction cannot be drawn. The actual existence of a hard and fast distinction of this sort is, indeed difficult to prove, but there is certainly a difference in appearance, which must be based on something, however flimsy that something might be. Dr. Loeb calls a living body "a chemical machine," and states as the only base of differentiation "the power of automatic development, self-preservation, and reproduction."

It is not quite clear whether or not all three properties are essential; and not all living bodies possess at all times all these three properties; while, on the contrary, these properties separately are possessed under certain circumstances by certain non-living bodies; so that, to say the least, this attempted distinction must be cleared up somewhat before it can be of any service at all.

Thus, of all the distinguishing characteristics that may be used to define life, we have left simply these three: apparent teleology, reserve energy, and irritability. The latter property (irritability) is, as we have seen, a condensed statement of the reverse of the second law of thermodynamics; while we have seen before that the other two properties, apparent teleology and reserve energy, are the outstanding characteristics by which a reversal of the second law of thermodynamics can be recognized. It follows, therefore, that the fundamental definition behind all these is: Life is a reversal of the second law of thermodynamics. Or, to put it in other terms, since we have seen that mechanical efficiency under positive tendency is less than 100%, under neutral tendency just 100%, and under the negative tendency more than 100%, we may define: Life consists of bodies with a mechanical efficiency of over 100%.

<< solution of the paradox - chapter VI -

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William James Sidis

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Antoine Lavoisier

Esa misteriosa mecánica, llamada vida, tiende a violar la ley de Antoine Lavoisier.

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Upton Sinclair

Es difícil que un hombre entienda algo, cuando su sueldo depende de no entenderlo.

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Domingo Cavallo's Achievement

Few people get the chance to play so constructive a role in their country's history as Domingo Cavallo, who resigned last month after five years as Argentina's Finance Minister. Applying his own powerful intellect and personality, and enjoying the unflinching political support of President Carlos Saul Menem, Mr. Cavallo guided an economy desperately sick with hyperinflation and corruption back to vitality and international respectability.

The benefits of Argentina's economic revival have been unequally distributed. Mr. Cavallo's ruthless war against inflation and his vigorous privatization campaign have brought high unemployment and painful reductions in social programs. But by most measures Argentina's overall economic performance and its future prospects now look better than at any time in the past 65 years.

Before Mr. Cavallo took office in 1991, the Government paid its bills by printing money, sending prices soaring. Mr. Cavallo stripped the Government of its unfettered right to print money, creating a ''currency board'' that tied the value of the peso to the United States dollar. He pledged that additional pesos would not be created unless Argentina, through trade and investment, accumulated sufficient dollar reserves to back new currency. That way foreigners would be assured that they could redeem pesos for dollars at full value.

Inflation fell to near zero and the economy prospered, growing more than 7 percent a year. Mr. Cavallo then sold large blocks of the economy to private investors, who managed to boost output even as they laid off employees from bloated Government enterprises. If the economy continues to prosper, the laid-off workers will soon find new jobs.

Mr. Cavallo's success helped Mr. Menem win re-election in 1995. But last month, after union protests against increased unemployment, Mr. Menem decided that the Finance Minister's political usefulness had come to an end.

By replacing Mr. Cavallo with Roque Fernandez, the University of Chicago-trained president of the central bank, Mr. Menem signaled that he remains committed to anti-inflation policies. But Mr. Fernandez lacks Mr. Cavallo's independent authority to confront corrupt bureaucrats and unions, many of whom wield influence in the ruling Peronist Party. If Mr. Menem wants credit for Mr. Cavallo's impressive achievement, he must take on that politically hazardous assignment himself.


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10 de Agosto de 1996. (fuente) www.newyorktimes.com

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La moneda de oro

Ante la pregunta de un comensal Arthur contestó, simplemente, no sé. El comensal, un tanto jocoso, admitió su sorpresa diciendo -Y yo que creía que usted era un sabio. Que todo lo sabía. Arthur sin dudarlo replicó -Se equivoca. El conocimiento no es infinito. Lo único ilimitado en el mundo es la estupidez humana.

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The Animate and the Inanimate

CHAPTER VI

SOLUTION OF THE PARADOX

We have seen that the second law of thermodynamics, if pushed to its logical conclusion, leads to absurdities; that, on the basis of the other physical laws, it is most extremely improbable; and that it cannot have been universal for all time past unless we assume some sort of creation or some other form of miracle.

On the contrary, we have seen that the probabilities from the physical laws governing the motion of particles, which are all reversible, and whose consequences must therefore be also reversible, lead us to the conclusion that, although the universe as a whole will tend to be neutral in that respect, yet, in certain limited portions of space and time, the second law of thermodynamics represents a prevailing tendency. We may easily, therefore, suppose that the portion of space and time under our observation (which, as we know, is very limited) is just such a section, and that the second law of thermodynamics represents a prevailing tendency of energy to level down in our vicinity and in our epoch. This would seem to be the only way leading out of the paradox which seems to follow from the second law of thermodynamics; so that as this law is thus supposed to be true only for a limited epoch, there is no necessity to suppose any creation or other miracles; and therefore the rule for the whole universe is really reversible.

This would apparently solve our paradox, if not for the fact that, according to this proposed solution, the second law of thermodynamics would represent, not a constant law, as observations would indicate, but,on the contrary, merely a prevailing tendency, with a number of instances of reversals of that law in our own part of space and time. Thus we find a difficulty in accepting this solution of the paradox, namely, that our proposed solution requires that, even in our own section of space and time, there must be many instances of the reversal of the second law of thermodynamics; which seems contrary to observed facts.

And yet, considering that the second law of thermodynamics itself leads to absurdities, it might be worth while to inquire whether, after all, there might not be in our portion of space and time certain instances of the reversal of the second law, certain events with what we have called a "negative tendency," which might have escaped our attention.

In order to conduct this inquiry, we would have to find some way to recognize such a reversal, should any be found. This can be done in two ways: either by translating, common occurrences into the reverse universe, and thus familiarising ourselves with how such a reversal looks (a moving-picture outfit could easily bring this reverse universe before the sense of sight, by operating the reel backwards); or else we can reason from the abstract second law itself and infer from its reversal certain easily recognisable outstanding characteristics. We shall proceed in both ways, starting with the abstract method, then using the other method to fill in, as it were, by way of illustration.

One characteristic of the second law of thermodynamics is that there is, under it, a tendency that large causes should produce smaller effects (some energy becoming lost always in spreading heat throughout the universe), while small causes rarely, though occasionally, produce large effects. Now since it is always possible to regard any event either as caused by past conditions (reasoning from cause to effect) or as being the cause which will produce the conditions of the future (reasoning from effect to cause), both cause and effect of a given event being a determined thing, we may say that, under the second law of thermodynamics, since a given event is likely to have more visible causes and less visible effects that itself, it follows that, under the second law of thermodynamics, it is easier to explain an event as the effect of past causes than as the cause of future effects. In other words, under the second law of thermodynamics, though reasoning from effect to cause is possible, it is almost necessary to reason from cause to effect, as the physical sciences usually do.

On the contrary, when we have the negative tendency, when the second law of thermodynamics is
reversed, the reverse is the case. Under the negative tendency, energy is constantly being reclaimed from the enormous heat-reserve which otherwise lies unused, and this will be happening at every occurrence taking place under the reversed second law. Thus the tendency in such a case will be that, while occasionally large causes will produce smaller effects, yet as a general rule smaller causes will produce larger effects. In other words, a given event is most likely to have less visible causes and more visible effects than itself, so that, if we try to explain an event as the effect of past conditions, we shall always have difficulty, because part of the cause in any case, and sometimes even the entire cause, will consist merely of diffused and undifferentiated energy which cannot be observed unless we can keep track of every individual particle of matter. But, on the contrary, if we try to explain such an event as being the cause determined by future conditions which are its effects, such an explanation is simple, because the full effect is observable, and the effect is usually more visible than the cause.

The result is that we get one distinguishing characteristic of that reversal of the second law of thermodynamics for which we are looking. If we find such a reversal, we will, in all probability, be finding some sort of events which it is easier to explain from the future than from the past; in other words, we must, in looking for such a reversal, look for something which, while it acts under the ordinary form of causation like the common physical bodies, yet appears teleological in nature. This teleology is only apparent, for causation under the negative tendency is no different from ordinary physical causation. In causation in general, the reverse or pseudo-teleological explanation is always possible, but is more obvious in the case of a reversal than in the ordinary case of positive tendency. Thus, when we wish to find a reversal of the second law of thermodynamics in our section of space and time, we must look for phenomena with an appearance of teleology.

Another outstanding characteristic of a reversal of the second law is the ability to use the immense store of energy which, under the second law of thermodynamics, is unavailable. In other words, a reversal, besides the property of apparent teleology, must also possess the property of ability to use a store of reserve energy, some of which is always used, while at times even all of it could theoretically be used and converted into visible forms.

So we thus we get theoretically two outstanding characteristics of the reversal for which we are looking; namely, apparent teleology and the ability to use a fund of reserve energy. If we can find anything in our section of space and time which has these two properties, then in all probability we have found the reversal for which we are looking.

Now, to take the more concrete method, that of observing the reverse universe, either by reversing any common occurrence, or else in observation by reversing a motion-picture-film, etc. We have already seen that a reversal of such an incident as a ball rolling down a flight of stairs becomes, in the reverse universe, the following: the floor and the stairs successively throw the ball up-stairs; the ball itself aids the process by giving a jump, as it were, each time it lands. This would give floor, stairs, and ball somewhat an appearance of being alive. In fact, in any case, all ordinary physical objects will act in the reverse universe somewhat as if alive. Instead of rivers running down to sea, we would have in the reverse universe the situation of seawater rejecting its salt and then jumping up the river channel to the source, where the water, separating itself first into drops and then finally into molecules, make a final jump up to the clouds; in other words, the water is constantly jumping upwards, as though of its own violation, and aided at each step by the ground pushing it upwards or even throwing it up. Here again there is an appearance of life in objects that we would certainly, in our universe, consider as dead.

Take a more complicated instance: The behavior of drops of mercury on a smooth surface, consisting, we may suppose, partly of metal. These drops, in our universe, would roll around under the influence of any external forces that may happen to be present, unite if two happen to come together, and, in case they touch metal, the drop will shrink and partly amalgamate with the metal. In the reverse universe, on the contrary, we have a different arrangement: the drops will roll around as before, but, in their rolling, will avoid the pure metal surfaces, but will tend to roll over the amalgam surfaces. When in contact with the amalgam, they will extract the mercury, and thus the drops will keep growing. When the drop grows in this manner to a large size, there will appear a constriction, and finally a division into two drops, each like the original. This action of ordinary mercury drops in the reverse universe corresponds in many details to the growth and division of living cells in our universe.

In short, we may say that, in general, events in the reverse universe appear as though they were living phenomena; and the general events of the reverse universe may be taken as the type of negative phenomena, of the reversal of the second law of thermodynamics. We should thus expect, in the real universe, to find such reversals in some sort of living or apparently living phenomena. Furthermore, if we find in the reverse universe some phenomena that, contrary to what might be expected, obey the second law of thermodynamics, it must follow that the corresponding phenomena in the real universe must be precisely those reversals for which we are looking.

Inasmuch as we have seen that ordinary inanimate phenomena take on a appearance of life in the reverse universe, let us see what becomes of living phenomena in the reverse universe. Let us inject some sort of living agency into any previous illustration of the reverse universe. Suppose, in the case of the ball rolling down-stairs, that it was originally thrown by someone. The beginning of the incident (which will correspond to the end in the reverse universe) will consist of a human arm starting to move, carrying the ball forward against the resistance of the air, finally letting the ball go, after which the ball, on the momentum thus acquired, proceeds to bounce down the stairs. In the reverse universe the ball properly aided by the floor and the stairs, comes jumping upstairs into the hand; the ball, though it tends to be speeded up by the air pushing the ball along, and by the heat-energy of the ball similarly reacting on the air, yet slows down quickly and finally comes to a stop: the acquired momentum of the ball moves the hand, swings the arm, and finally the molar energy thus transferred to the arm becomes transformed into heat, and the arm stops. This very last part of the incident is a rather unexpected case of the second law of thermodynamics in the reverse universe; and we may note, as a result, that the living body, when reversed, becomes a mere obstacle instead of a moving force.

We may therefore conclude: first, that inanimate phenomena, when reversed, become animate: second, that animate phenomena, when reversed, lose the appearance of animation; and third, that animate phenomena, when reversed, lose this appearance because, when reversed, they tend to follow the second law of thermodynamics. The logical conclusion from these would be: that inanimate phenomena are positive tendencies, and follow the second law of thermodynamics, while animate phenomena, on the contrary, are negative tendencies and tend to reverse that law. Thus we have found where our part of the universe contains reversals, and come to a solution of our paradox.

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William James Sidis

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Dónde radica la verdadera discontinuidad

La muerte es la imposibilidad de todas las posibilidades dice heidegger, pero entonces antes de nacer no existiría cierta probabilidad, el nacimiento constituiría la única posibilidad de todas las posibilidades y esto no es así. La idea de que se pueda nacer o no constituye una posibilidad que no logra desencadenar consecuencias hasta que no es observada la metamorfosis del estado de inexistencia que es un estado absoluto, hasta el estado de existencia o de nacimiento que es el desencadenante primero, tanto de la posibilidad toda como de la imposibilidad última de todas las anteriores. Cómo puede, entonces, un estado de incertidumbre absoluto como es el estado de inexistencia anterior al nacimiento desencadenar en una serie de posibilidades limitadas por una sola imposibilidad que es la muerte, es decir, un estado de incertidumbre absoluto. Cómo, si lo inexistente es tan vago y difuso como suponemos aquí, pueden de él, en última instancia, depender todas las posibilidades, y existir, limitadas por la única imposibilidad que es la vuelta, el retorno, al estado de incertidumbre.


Si la manifestación de una posibilidad única que es la vida depende de la inexistencia de un estado anterior, un estado sumamente oscuro que ofrece gracias a la combinación infinita de posibilidades como resultado vida, negando a su vez y por la propia naturaleza de la gestación humana un número sumamente superior de posibilidades, entonces, cómo puede la imposibilidad gestar posibilidad si es precisamente la imposibilidad, es decir la muerte, es decir ese estado oscuro e indescriptible de inexistencia, la suma de todas las posibilidades.


El embarazo no es sólo la fertilización de un óvulo, no es únicamente la elección natural de un espermatozoide entre millones, es también la elección de un coito de entre cientos, es también la negación por nueve meses aproximadamente de otros coitos, es decir de otros millones de posibilidades, es también el resultado de otros miles de coitos y de miles de generaciones anteriores sin las cuales esta posibilidad última, por un espacio de tiempo efímero, no existiría bajo ningún aspecto. Esa expresión única de vida es también una expresión única de imposibilidad, porque la suma de todas las posibilidades que podrían haberse gestado, y quizá, la existencia de una sola de ellas, habría imposibilitado el resultado final, es decir, el nacimiento, es decir, la salida, el escape de esa situación oscura de inexistencia. Ahora, cómo puede ser la muerte, como imposibilidad, la suma de todas las posibilidades, si por la naturaleza del vocablo empleado resultaría inadmisible la existencia de dos imposibilidades (1), y cómo puede ser la muerte la única imposibilidad si depende precisamente de la existencia de cierta posibilidad infinita que es, en definitiva, la existencia.


Siendo esto cierto la muerte está condicionada por la existencia, requiriendo más que de sí misma para manifestarse, supeditándose a una posibilidad que resulta, por mera lógica-deductiva más poderosa que su propia imposibilidad. Contrariamente, ser la imposibilidad de todas las posibilidades, sería situar a la inexistencia por encima de todo lo demás, de todo aquello que la experiencia llama complicidad. ¿Acaso Dios necesita del hombre para ser dios? No sería triste (cuando menos) asumir que el hacedor del universo requiere del hombre, incluso más de lo que el hombre requiere de Dios. Porque la creación divina resulta efímera, pero su manifestación es perenne, supeditar el milagro a la contemplación es un tanto irrisorio. Del mismo modo que conjugar un hecho –la muerte- absolutamente supeditado a todos los demás, resulta irrisorio si como resultado de ello catalogamos a la muerte como la imposibilidad de todas las posibilidades.



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(1) La muerte no puede, sin embargo, constituir una mera posibilidad. La imposibilidad, para subsistir, requiere de una absoluta unicidad. Debe ser inigualable, del mismo modo que no puede, siguiendo a Aristóteles, el infinito abarcarse en tiempo finito, no puede la imposibilidad radicar en la suma de todas las posibilidades, porque daría por resultado una serie de imposibilidades desligadas entre sí, cualquier posibilidad sería entonces la suma de una serie infinita de imposibilidades, de este modo, la verdadera imposibilidad sería la posibilidad, es decir, la muerte sería la posibilidad de todas las imposibilidades.

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