A beautiful mind

Some days ago I watched the movie "A beautiful mind", based on the life of the economist and mathematician John Nash. Nash developed the "game theory" in the sixties, what completely changed economics and helped other researches better understand the economic reality. Nash equilibrium of the markets is used to explain the Cold War, disco dancing or collusive markets; it is an amazingly powerful tool. He is probably one of the most important economist of the XX century.

But, there is always a but, he suffered from mental illness. He had delusions, which made him some kind of "weirdo". The movie tells us (in quite a far too dramatic way, not the real one, but exaggerated) how he realized about his delusions, how he could get over them and how he managed to be awarded a Nobel Prize, with the help of his wife.

He had a powerful and bright mind but his own mind was playing dirty tricks on him. He was unable to understand people due to his awesome intelligence and to enjoy the real world due to his delusions. He applied logic and mathematics to everything in his life and that is why he felt so isolated (first delusion: his roommate Charles). He also felt his work was useless since it was supervised by people not as clever as him (second delusion: Parcher).

His mind was both a gift and a nightmare for him, and he was probably much more unhappy than a man without such a bright mind.

In campagna tra alieni

Alcuni giorni fa sono andato a una locanda in campagna con i miei amici da Madrid (gli alieni del titolo). Le locande in campagna hanno molto succeso adesso tra la gente della città ed avevo certa curiosità per sentire come sono in realtà.

Beh, dopo due giorni là, devo ammettere che mi sono sentito un po' deluso. Non ho trovato niente da speciale e non ho potuto capire da dove viene il successo delle locande in campagna. Nella locanda c'erano famiglie con bambini che hanno rimasto lì per tutto il weekend, senza fare niente perchè vicino alla locanda non c'è niente: ne un fiume, ne una foresta, ne un paesino carino, ne una bella collina, ne un lago, ne una montagna. In una parola: niente.

Devo dire, arrivato a questo punto, che mia madre è nata in un piccolo paese dove sono andato tutti gli estati quando ero un bambino. Questo paese ha un fiume molto bello, una foresta di pini, alcune colline,... Quindi, credo che ho un piccolo pregiudizio contro le locande in campagna. Forse se fossi quello che chiamo un alieno di città e non avessi visto un paese nella realtà, mi sembrebbero più carine le locande in campagna.

El gran Groucho Marx

Groucho Marx, aparte de su innato e irrepetible talento cómico, nos dejó una serie de citas, que reflejan su humor ácido y surrealista, que pueden aplicarse muy acertadamente a algunas situaciones de la vida actual. Para saber más de este genio del siglo XX, recomiendo empezar en Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groucho_marx

La primera de estas citas que querría señalar hoy es "estos son mis principios; si no le gustan, tengo otros". A esto es a lo que parece que juegan las grandes potencias internacionales con el reconocimiento de países en los últimos tiempos. No entiendo por qué se reconoce la independencia de Kosovo al margen del Consejo de Seguridad de la ONU a Kosovo, cuando en casos similares no se ha actuado así (el más sangrante de ellos, el Sahara Occidental). Lo dicho, las grandes potencias parecen cambiar sus principios según les conviene.

La segunda frase memorable de Groucho Marx es "es mejor callarse y quedar por tonto, que abrir la boca y confirmarlo". En este caso, nos movemos en un terreno más cercano, como es el de las relaciones sociales. Es innumerable la cantidad de veces que he recordado esta cita, bien porque alguien me ha confirmado algo bien porque me haya visto tentado a confirmar la opinión de un tercero sobre mi persona. Aquí Groucho hace un canto a la timidez y a la mesura, tan despreciadas en los medios de comunicación y, por extensión, en nuestra sociedad actual.

La última frase también va referida a la clase política que adorna nuestra geografía en estos días de campaña: "perdonen que les llame caballeros, pero es que aún no les conozco bien". No hay que añadir más, creo.

Grande Groucho.

Un peu de basket-ball

Il y a longtemps que je n'écris rien sur basket-ball et aujourd'hui j'avrais quelque choses à dire.

D'abord, on doit être gentil et dire "au-revoir" à Ivanovic, entraîneur de Barcelona jusqu'à hier. Il a dit que il ne pouvait faire plus avec joueurs qu'on lui a donné. Ça est très aimable pour les joueurs et un peu mesquin. Voyons-nous. Est-ce que Barcelona a fait un jeu neuf à la Copa del Rey? Non. Est-ce que Barcelona a fait une défense en zone ou en triangle à la Copa del Rey? Non. Tout ce que Barcelona a fait, d'après les instructions d'Ivanovic, a été donner la balle à son meilleur homme, Lakovic. Brillant.

Gilbert Arenas joue pour les Washington Wizards et il a aussi un blog. Il y a quelques jours il a fait quelques commentaries très negatives et cocasses sur José Manuel Calderón et son absence du All-Star Game. Bon, Gilbert, mon ami, José Manuel Calderón est champion du monde et il mérite un peu du respect parce que tu et les États-Unis n'êtes pas champions du rien. Puis, José Manuel Calderón est un joueur très efficient et intelligent, chose che tu ne peux pas dire sur toi-même.

Pour conclure, j'ai vu un match de NBA ces jours et il a été un peu décevant. Ce basket-ball est joué sans ordre: on prendre la balle et la jete, et c'est tout, rien de jouer avec les autres quatre joueurs. Tout est individualiste et en pensant au showbiz. Rien en commun avec les ans 80, les Celtics, les Lakers,... Pour regarder vrai basket-ball, il semble qu'on doit aller en Europe.

Der Eindringling

Vielleicht bin ich der Einzige, der so denkt, aber das ist mir egal, ich muss darüber schreiben. Wenn ich mit ein Freund bin, es passiert mir sehr oft, dass sein Telefon klingt und unsere Gespräch zu Ende kommt. Ich werde einfachn vergessen und ich muss dort warten, wie einer Lichtmast.

Das ist typisch heutzutage und das gefällt mir überhaupt nicht. Ich glaube, dass es ein grosser Nachteil des Telefons ist. Das liegt auch an der Höfflichkeit jedes Mensches. Der Anrufer sollte zuerst fragen, ob das ein gutes Moment zu sprechen ist und ob der Andere beschäftigt ist. Zu oft vergiss man, diese Frage zu stellen und es ist nicht so kompliziert. Auch der Mensch, der angeruft wird, muss bemerken, dass er nicht allein zum Moment ist. Er muss dem Anrufer darüber etwas sagen und nicht zu lange mit ihm sprechen.

Unglücklicherweise bin ist einer Marsmensch und nicht viele teilen meiner Meinung.

What to do in Porto if you do not drink wine

That is a very convenient question and that was, needless to say, my situation last week. I was in Porto, a wonderful town in Portugal (just in case, Jen), in an amazing hotel (Hotel Pestana, close to the river in the former port) and I do not like wine, Porto or any other kind of wine. Although I do not drink wine, I recommend a visit to the wine cellars in the other side of river Douro, in the city of Vilanova de Gaia. It is worth the visit, believe me.The city centre of Porto is part of the World Heritage but it seems a bit dirty, poor and abandoned to my eyes. The streets are hilly and one gets tired easily, especially when your hotel lies close to the river. On the other side, there are many buildings which should be visited. Let me mention Clerigos Tower (with amazing views of the city from the top), Sao Bento station and its blue glazed tiles, the Bridge of Luis I (cross in on foot on top is a must), the Stock Exchange and its Arab Room, and the Cathedral (also remarkable is the cloister, see picture below).
One of them, a bit beyond the touristical tours, is the bookshop Lilho, close to Clerigos Tower. There you can enjoy their famous Gothic stairs, which have appeared in many films. The bookshop itself is really charming and a very nice place to visit. Unfortunately I did not decide myself to buy an Astérix book for my collection there, grrrr!!!!
Once in Porto, one has the opportunity of watching the Atlantic Ocean and that is what I did on Friday afternoon. The ocean was quite "nervous" that afternoon and, thanks to dusk and its special light, I could take very nice pictures. Here goes one of them.Last but not least, I must refer to the taxi I took to go to the airport. First, the taxi was a Nissan Primera about 20 years old with Volkswagen hubcaps, the boot could not be locked and the rear seatbelts did not work. The driver was about 70 years old, a man who turned to me when talking and he even used his hands when talking. Then, suddenly, we faced a traffic jam and the driver had the bright idea of using the bus lane. But there were some cars stopped because of a previous accident plus a police car and... The impact was not strong at all (at around 20 km/h). As my seatbelt was not fastened, that is probably the best which could happen. Then, everything went on very quickly in front of me and in Portuguese. The driver seemed not to have the legal papers required for the car and he pretended to get free of the accident. He did not want to phone a colleague to pick me either. Thanks Lord a police man called and a taxi appeared some time later and I could take my plane to Madrid without further problems.