The research on happiness, subjective well-being or overall satisfaction with your life is also an empirical question. Analyses of being happy donot only focus of overall happiness, but look much more into the details of happiness. Beyond the tricky longitudinal observations of happiness it is common scientific practice to deal with subdomains of happiness like satisfaction of employees with their job, satisfaction with one’s job beyond the honeymoon and hangover effect, best known from family studies.
Each of those subdomains has a significant effect on overall happiness. The novel “Happy Life” by David Foenkinos is an interesting example which focuses mainly on the subdomains of job satisfaction, satisfaction with private and romantic partners as the major domains of a happy life. As developed in the novel, people make job changes to re-orientate professional careers or reset their private life. A low point on the happiness scale in one domain might be compensated by higher levels in another domain. These impact from one domaine to another might have substantial time lags involved as well. More drastic resets (à la Foenkinos) can be avoided through focus on other subdomains of overall happiness as well.
How happy are you with your housing situation, neighborhood, your pet, your physical health? There a multiple +/-spill-over effects to overall happiness. Reading a novel might be one as well, just take time reserved to yourself.(Image BnF expo “women in sport”, 20024)
Happy Maths
The link of maths and happiness is not straightforward. Individual accounts of a happy (euphoric) or unhappy (dismal) life are mostly referred to psychologists for treatment. The biografies (documentaries) or fictional biografies told in novels or cinema allow to trace the changing moods of the personalities over time. This resembles life course research. In happiness research social scientist ask questions like “Overall, how satisfied are you with your life“. Measured over time or coded from biografies this allows to reconstruct happiness trajectories. At this point the maths of happiness enter the stage. Long periods of observations yield interesting patterns of curved lines, rarely simple linear trajectories. Social scientist speak of within person variability in contrast to between persons variability. After all, the (short-term superior) happiness of your neighbor might simply be due to the fact that they are doing drugs.
Whatever, try to remember a bit of your high school maths and the bore to deal with “curve discussions or sketching” beyond the manifold shapes of your classmates. Lots of interesting information derives from growth or decline rates, tangent lines, stationary or inflection points. Different starting points or so-called intercepts vary between individuals as well as he potential to cross the Zero-line on one of the axes. Additionally, in geometry you would compare syncronicity of curved lines as well as forms of symmetry for the curve(s). This will simplify or comlexify your perspective on the happiness trajectories of people or characters in a novel.
We are so used to narratives or videoss with a happy end, yet we appreciate the complex trajectories and (multiple) troughs main characters have to pass. Novels teach us about tricky inflection points and subsequent trajectories as well. The maths of happiness, however, is rather simple in comparison.
(Image from Toronto District Christian High School -pdf p.207). 
Own Insulin
People who suffer from type 1 diabetes do not produce enough insulin themselves. The World Health organization estimated that „in 2017 there were 9 million people with type 1 diabetes; the majority of them live in high-income countries“ (WHO 2023). The report on successful reprogramming of stem cells of a person to produce insulin again and subsequently transplanting these cells into the same person allowed to produce own insulin again for that same person (Mallapaty, 2024). The hope for millions of people with type 1 diabetes is high that eventually there will be a cure to the disease. Scientists caution that there are no data yet for how long the transplanted own stem cells will produce insulin. Hence, the hope is driving research forward on a promising way forward. The case of type 2 diabetes is very different as additionally the absorption of insulin in the body causes problems. We keep walking and building muscles to facilitate the insulin absorption in the body to guard against the onset of type 2 diabetes. Interaction of diabetes and aging is another topic that needs our attention as rapidly aging societies are at higher risks to face many more people with various forms of diabetes.
Russian Demographics
Dictators prepare their countries long before for upcoming wars. One indicator of such strategies is the pursuit of “natalist” policies. These are demographic policies that aim to increase a country’s population so that the human losses endured during war maybe recovered faster. Russia has had such a policy doctrine in place for quite many years. Only, it didn’t work. Alain Blum and Sergei Zakharov (2023) have shown this in their paper on “L’obsession nataliste de Poutine“. Rather than achieving a growth in the population, at best, the further rather rapid decline of fertility and the population size before the war is reflected in the data (until 2022). The recent objection of youth and women to bear more children is subject of massive opposition of Putin’s forces inside the country. So-called total fertility of 1.5 per woman before the war is as low as or lower than in many other European countries. However, on the other end of aging is mortality or life expectancy. The data show a rather bleak picture of Russia already before the invasion of Ukraine. Based on data published from INED in France Russia has about 1.000.000 more people dying in 2022 than babies born. Bad handling of the Covid-19 pandemic (inefficient vaccines) is also a reason for this dent in population size. Adding outmigration of youth that does not want to stay in a country that goes to war with peaceful neighbors, this bleak population outlook is the disastrous heritage of the Putin years of Russia in the 21st century for generations to come as well. 
Traffic Speed
Most people use cars or other automotive vehicles (e-bikes, e-scooter) to get faster from point A to point B. However, speed of traffic causes trouble for other groups of mobile persons. Demands on attention rise, despite the abundant use mobile phones even during driving a car. Mapping systems and services from A to B have become an almost daily exercise. Statistics on road accidents that involved inadequate speed are between 20 and 30 percent of all deadly road accidents, depending on the source of information and country (Example D). Frequently, speed is not the only cause, but other behavioral mistakes occur jointly.
Traffic signs are a basis to make drivers aware of accident prone locations. Too many of them may even lead to the opposite effect of ignoring the signs. Reducing the speed of traffic in inner cities is a steep challenge and many cities invest substantial amounts of money and effort to monitor and try to control better excessive speed. Schools, sports centres and shopping areas are all hot spots of automotive and pedrian encounters. They deserve special attention. Penalizing excessive speed is one way to nudge behavioral change. Although the statistics on the huge amounts of penalties awarded does not seem to alter the behavior of traffic participants in the short run. For some it appears to be a regular part of their budget of mobility with no consequence for behavioral changes.
For years the dangers of inadequate traffic speed in cities made young families and older persons leave more risky inner cities, but adaptations of hot spots and increased control systems seem to work in the long run. The “externality” of inadequate traffic speed is higher costs for the health system and society at large. About time to make a “behavioral turn” in traffic speed. 
Buzzing free
It is always a chance to be in a city that bans cars for some time from streets and bicycles and pedestrians can walk freely in the city. On September 22nd 2024 this is the case in Brussels. In addition, the public transport system allows people to buzz around the city free of charge. Of course this is an invitation to get to know areas of the city where you normally don’t take the time to visit or mix with people. The police used the time to teach children how to cycle in a city in all security and respecting basic rules despite the enthusiasm for speed or going round in circles. Unfortunately, this happens only one Sunday out of 52 in a year. It is just amazing how the feeling of safety on the road changes again. The level of noise and pollution drops to levels of the countryside. Buses and trams pass the city easily and most people get around faster than they do on other days of the year. It is a bit like a coordinated health intervention for the stressed urban survivors. This experience is a modest reminder of how nice it was in Paris during the Olympic Games 2024 when prioritizing mobility beyond cars haa been effectively implemented for several weeks.
Sufficient
What do we mean by sufficient? Sufficient of what? French philosophers currently debate the topic under the French notion of sobriété (sobriety). They give as English translation sufficiency, but the notions do not match exactly in the usual understanding of the words. In breaking with the economic rationale of more is always better, the idea of having sufficient food, room to live in or social contacts to not feel lonely, the notion of sufficiency hints towards a rethinking of our customary lifestyles. How many trousers are sufficient? Well, as with shoes there might be gender differences or more generally interpersonal differences or preferences to come to the conclusion of how many is sufficient. If we bring in the notion of sobriety in additional, we allow another social and/or ecological dimension. This may redefine what is sufficient based on judgments how much our planet can handle (emissions) and distributional judgments. The western lifestyle of the last 100 years is no role model for other countries to follow. It is urgent to rethink our growth based economic model to develop new socially viable ways of production and consumption. It seems to be a necessary condition to reconsider the notion of wellbeing and wealth from a sufficiency perspective. It is a sobering thought, isn‘t it?
Waiting time
A new report by Darzi, a former cancer surgeon and past minister of health in the UK, paints a dismal picture of the British health service (NHS) over the last 15 years under conservative rule. The public service has seen no increase in its budget accounting for population growth and the aging of the population. The service is no longer able “to give patients the timely care they need” (The Guardian 2024-9-12 title page). Increased waiting times lead to an estimated 14.000 premature deaths per year. Darzi presents data that show 300.000 persons had to wait longer than one year for a treatment that should have been performed within 18 weeks.
The staff seems desperate for changes as well as they have to spend more time on management of waiting times, time which is lost for real treatment. The quality of care is another issue which awaits urgent attention. Health cannot wait for most patients, but the neglect of investment in hospitals and people is expensive in the longer run. Even the reform efforts should not wait any longer. Time is a precious good and each life matters. (Image back cover of exhibition catalogue Käthe Kollwitz at MOMA 2024).
Health GDP
A report by the WHO and the World Bank (2023) on universal health coverage and financial hardship has emphasized the difficulties to reach the goals defined by the strategic development goals (SDGs) by 2030 in this policy field. Moreover, the paper by Mazzucato and Ghebreyesus (2024) invites us to reconsider the importance of health in the overall assessment of development and progress. The authors ask us to “rethink the narrow focus on growth in gross domestic product (GDP) that typically dominates economic decision making”. There is of course a long debate on the status of health, GDP or wellbeing as major policy issues or even foundations of the a state’s major objective. For economists the question has been answered for decades to favor GDP growth and more or less the other objectives can be achieved with a time delay. Recently social scientists have highlighted the overall importance of wellbeing or happiness rather than GDP as stated in some constitutions. Health as an overall objective is another challenge to the existing economic framing of societies. In a traditional economic perspective the health sector is part of the GDP increasing public and private sector of the economy with insurers, equipment and persons contributing to it. On the other hand, health enters into the distribution or consumption part of the economy. Each country strikes its own balance between production and consumption. Put simply, in form of an equation where production equals consumption, health enters on both sides of the equation in each country. On the global, scale the distribution between costs and benefits of health have not narrowed over the past. The challenge for the world population remains steep. Considering unequal population growth across continents, the situation might get worse before it hopefully gets better. We still have to continue huge efforts to increase overall health on earth for example through large scale vaccination programs. (Image The tombstone of Molière in Paris 2024)
Desertification
Since 2018 we have evidence of the progression of desertification into some Member States of the European Union. The mediterranean countries are concerned as well as regions of Bulgaria and Romania near the Black Sea. There are multiple sources of desertification. The 3 main reasons of desertification are soil erosion, loss of soil fertility and loss of natural and desirable vegetation besides wind or water erosion and salinization. We also know that man-made climate change is at the root of the past and recent problems. The statistical indicators of land degradation are collected by the European Joint Research Centre and these data show a dismal picture of land degradation in general and desertification as part of this process. A study by Ilea et al. published in Nature 2024 projects an intensification of extreme weather in the coming years. Higher temperatures will most likely enhance desertification and more frequent flooding will contribute to more soil erosion as well. It is a rather strange process that we know we are creating severe problems for some regions which endanger the roots of their existence and yet we do not act upon those undeniable facts (United Nations SDGs list). The amount and dynamics of land deterioration put the global South under severe pressure, but also the wealthy parts of the Mediterranean basin will be affected. It about time to acknowledge that we are all part of the global changes and challenges. (Image palm tree in Paris, Jardin du Luxembourg, 2024)
Painter Sociologist
In going to a gallery and exhibition of paintings from the 17th century (Gemäldegalerie Berlin) you do not really expect to attend a class of sociology. However, this is exactly what the Flemish painter Frans Hals does with his paintings of various genres of society of his time. His sociological categories are for example unmarried young persons, married couples or pensioners living in a shared home. Other social categories of interest to him are a caregiver or, more common for the time, persons from noble or wealthy families. His painting „The Regents of the old men’s Almshouse” (ca 1660), the male pensioners home is one of his last paintings when he himself was already about 80 years old. Similar to a College of students the elderly home was run by a house father and house mother who took care of the daily living. The paintings of Frans Hals covered the entire life course with a cross-section perspective of society at his time. From few of his supporters he painted even several images moving towards a kind of longitudinal perspective on a person’s life course. Certainly, with “Oude-mannenhuis” (image below) he was interested not only in individual life courses, but of the conditions, forms or images of aging at his time. He probably was one of the first to challenge the negative stereotypes of aging.
Paralympic Counting
The classification system of the Paralympic disciplines is well worked out. This ensures that competitions are on a more equal footing. The counting of medals, points and penalties is an easy task. It is more difficult to keep track of equipment and infrastructure and the adaptation status of it to Paralympic needs in a country or region. Statistics and monitoring of installations is one important step in preparing for participation and success in Paralympic disciplines. On an European open data platform we find the regional data set of “Parasportive equipment in clubs and committees of the Pays de la Loire”, for example. Transparency of structures is a first step in improving access to it. For Paralympic athletes it is the same process to gain access to sport equipment as for all other athletes. The monitoring of infrastructure and equipment is a laborious task, but the documentation of helps people on their way to obtain access. Paralympic counting, therefore, is much more than counting medals and trophies even if they are really nice looking.
Olympic Medals
The distribution of Olympic medals across continents reveals the persistent inequality of rewards across the globe. The first African country in the overall ranking of countries by Olympic medals is Kenya on 17th place. All 11 medals including 4 gold medals were obtained in athletics and in running disciplines 800m and more. The financial resources needed to practice running as high level sport are probably the lowest one of all disciplines. Ethiopia is another African country with this tradition of high level long distance runners on the African continent. Equipment and coaching in other disciplines than athletics involves more infrastructure and becomes more costly and the possibility to reserve infrastructure for elite athletes of a country is more difficult if the infrastructure for the population at large is rather limited compared to the population size. Therefore, the Olympic tradition has to confront the challenge of unequal access to many disciplines of the Olympic Games also in Paris 2024. Being a very good athlete is just not enough if you lack the coaches, training and facilities to be able to compete with the well-equipped countries. The knowledge about the best details of a specific technique or optimization potentials are part of the Olympic challenges as well. The Americas, Europe and Asia might be confronted with new forms or another criticism of imperialist strategies, this time in the domain of sport. The winner or medalists take all. Country rankings appear a bit like the football device “money buys goals”. (Image, Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris, Extrait of Omar Victor Diop “Diaspora” 2014-2015).
Olympics for All
The Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games have demonstrated the extraordinary competence, professionalism and competitiveness of all athletes. The television spectators and live participants in the events have been involved to a great deal.
After all this hype around sports let us consider the probability of getting involved in physical activities and sports. Additionally, it is of interest, whether people are encouraged to continue sports, maybe at higher ages as well through these sports events like Olympia.
High level athletes are most likely to continue their sports activities. In many countries the extraordinary athletes of the Paralympics faced tough challenges to pursue their sport interests and passion.
However, the public health challenge is the big unresolved issue of how to best raise an awareness for the pleasures and benefits of sport for the masses. (bibliography by BNF “Santé et activité physique). It is not only a matter of suitable infrastructure, but also the question of sports in your neighbourhood. This issue has implications for urban and rural communities and how they organize the practice of sports in an inclusive way. Each step may be a stepping stone into sports for all ages and pathologies.
The pleasure and benefit to walk or something simple as walking to or walking after work, are part of the solution to many public health issues.
The visitors of the Paris Olympics walked a lot.
This fun experience in an enthusiastic city will encourage many to continue the simple exercise without thinking about exercise. This will do the trick. Just do it, without thinking to much about it.
Paris libéré
It is with great pleasure to follow how Paris commemorates the liberation of Paris from Nazi-Germany 80 years ago. (Quote from De Gaulle “Paris libéré”.) On the 25th of August 1944 the city of Paris was finally liberated by French armies and the support of the local resistance movement. Similar to the journey of the Olympic flame on the way to Paris, we can follow each city celebrating the liberation from the occupants. Beginning with the landing in the Normandy of the Allied troops, the chasing of the enemy has been a matter of time, but still incurred huge human losses. More than 4 years of Nazi symbols in Paris were finally brought to an end and celebrations on the streets became a symbol for the enormous relief this liberation has meant to the population of Paris, France and hope to many neighbouring, but still occupied territories.
Several documentaries on television and radio allow to empathize with the joy of this time. Enduring the hardships imposed and, for many, risking their lives in clandestine networks of the resistance were honoured by the success of the liberation of the city without the massive destruction, which was to be expected.
A book edited by Ulla Plener (2007) highlights the supporting role played by some women originally from Germany to support the French Resistance movement. It still is not common to understand the retreat of Nazi-Germany also in Germany as the progressive liberation of the country from the terrors of a dictatorship.
Burden of Disease
For the planning of health and care systems it is important to measure the so-called burden of disease within societies or related to specific diseases or social groups. A large-scale analysis of several longitudinal data bases of the populations 50 years of age and older shows that we have underestimated the burden of disease to societies of psychiatric disorders, like depression, in most societies.
A meta-study and overview of previous studies showed already that depression (age 60+) is more common in lower-income countries (between 25 and 33% of 60+population age group). High income countries, studied by Wang et al. 2024 in The Lancet Healthy Longevity, have rates of depression well below these levels, but a link to socioeconomic status, inactivity and loneliness is still evidenced. A five-year follow-up of persons aged 50+ years shows that the probability to develop a depression (hazard rate) is twice as high for persons with low socioeconomic status, who were socially
inactive and lonely than for socially active, high socioeconomic status and did not feel lonely at the beginning of measurement. The conclusion of the research highlights the need to develop and implement integrated and simultaneous initiatives to addressed the growing burden of disease related to depression in older persons. (Image, Jules Desbois, “Misery” 1887-89, Musée Rodin, Paris) 
Alzheimer Research
Alzheimer disease has reached unprecedented levels in line with population aging. The study by Martino-Adami et al. 2024 has raised the hope that more people can receive an early diagnosis of Alzheimer and potentially start treatments. The study used plasma biomarkers rather than much more expensive and rare MRI scans for diagnosis. The rather exceptional results allow even to test for severity of Alzheimer according to established evaluation measures. Additionally, the probability of an Alzheimer trajectory on a time scale is feasible. The authors suggest that the data and statistical methods applied allow to identify Alzheimer before the outbreak of impairments. The data sample stems from “patients of advanced age visiting primary care”. This remains a limitation for generalizations, but the hope that other studies test the same approach with samples from younger populations will spur additional investments into such research. The list of institutions and foundations that contributed to make this study possible is really long. Thanks go to all involved, researchers, donors as well as the reviewers and editors of the journal. (Image Paris Metro Help Column 2024)
Olympic Prevention
In the streets near the Stade de France at Seine Saint Denis the team of street workers addressed spectators with little presents. Each of these little items served the purpose to remind people of the prevention of disease or later consequences of the Olympic atmospheres in PARIS 2024. Sex, booze and drugs, but also noise were the topics of the prevention patrol around popular venues. Great way to bring home a message for visitors and the local population as well. Health and Olympic Games is a huge topic with many facets to it. Not only athletes are concerned, but also spectators. The team agreed to pose for media coverage as this is their reason of existence. Reaching big crowds is essential especially if big sugar is among the big sponsors of the games. It is another kind of competition with rather unequal starting conditions. You might loose some fights against yourself, but trying to overcome alcohol addiction or sugar overdose is worth a repeated game. Prevention is key.
People’s Olympic
The Olympic games have an elite touch attached to them. The selection beforehand is though and during the games another selection has to take place. After all there are only 3 medals to be awarded per competition and the runners up receive much less attention. That’s what the Olympic fame is built upon. To get more people involved in the games Paris 2024. had started the running and arrival of the flame weeks before the game so that public attention and awareness that people are part of the game as well. As spectators participation is feasible but rather expensive and out of reach for many supporters or locals. Hence, criticism of this kind is as old as the Olympic idea. Paris 2024 has tried several ways to mitigate the selectivity. Even distribution of tickets for free to visit performances has been widely spread. Most people will watch on their couch even if you live nearby. Places in Roman “panem et circenses” games in amphitheaters were scarce as well and reserved for citizens. Paris has built a brand new train station and lines to the stadium and the Olympic village. ( Image below RER Terminal, Saint Denis) on the outskirts of Paris. This will serve after the Games for many years to come. Inclusion of people has many facets.
Olympic salary
According to an information in the Wall street journal 2024-8-6, the self-reported annual income of top athletes who participate in the Olympic games Paris 2024 for example has a large distribution from those who go into debt to finance their personal or national dream and those who have already a comfortable income due to their sports commitment. 26% of athletes are reported to live with less than $ 15.000 per year only. However, at the other end of the distribution of income we have 23% of athletes earning more than $ 100.000 per year. A lot depends on the kind of sport you practice and the earnings of sponsors and “maezene” or professional attachments to professions that rely on physical strength as well. The average or median of the distribution is at a decent level albeit far from spectacular for the amount of effort a d time the athletes devote to their activities. Many other professions earn much more accompanying the athletes and those professions are also a likely later steo in a sportsperson’s career. Life course analysis remains an important field of study which informs the chances of winning medals in Olympic competitions.
Olympic Equality
Of course, first of all the Olympic Games are about making a difference with respect to your opponent. However, there has been a thrive to achieve an equality of genders for more than 100 years as well. Women had to battle such a long time to achieve the right to participate in the Games in the same disciplines as men. For the first time in Paris2024 men and women are represented with the same amounts of athletes. Each gender is participating with 5.250 athletes and astonishing progress has been made to ensure that male and female athletes perform in the same or similar disciplines. Even if it took decades for women to run a marathon at the Olympics, the inclusion of a triathlon for women was already much more rapid.
This constitutes a real milestone in the progress towards equality in Olympics. Equal numbers of athletes is a quantitative form of inclusion, the qualitative level of inclusion remains to be accomplished. The qualitative dimension consists in the inclusion of women at equal footing in media reporting and sponsoring. On the organizational level of the IOC the organizing committee is still dominated by men and statistics on the accompanying teams of coaches, therapists and representatives a lot of progress still needs to be accomplished. Paris made already a huge difference and several exhibitions of the “cultural games” around the city during the Olympics 2024 make this point quite forcefully.
The sociology of the Olympic Games has a lot of topics. It is great to see the progress made in Paris on Olympic Equality, after all “égalité” figures prominently in the definition of modern France.
(Image: BNF 2024 exhibition “A History of Women in Sport” own translation) 
Olympic Village
The newly built Olympic Village in Seine Saint Denis consists of 82 buildings and offers 3000 appartements. With up-to-date cooling and heating technology from a nearby geothermal source the eco friendliness is assured as well. Inclusive accessibility allows for games for all and the needs of an aging society. The price level of renting apartments remains a difficult to solve issue as demand will exceed supply for years to come. Universal accessibility is a necessary precondition to host the Paralympic games also in 2024. Historic sites are notoriously difficult to adapt to aging societies and inclusive approaches. However, the adaptation takes a large step towards the realization of inclusiveness of extraordinary people. The care for environmental sustainability has been honored as well. The exhibition in the Museum of the city of Saint Denis at the outskirts of Paris demonstrates the significant size of the urban renewal project. The socioeconomic and environmental benefits are evident and will give a push towards this previously deprived suburb. A lot remains to be done but the new trajectory for urban development is already put on track. The oblivious factories and enterprises give way for urban renewal of housing for people with easy access to the Paris city centers as well. (Source of Image)
Knowledge Work
In the social sciences the term knowledge work defines the group of professions that deal with and deal in knowledge. Most of them are in academia, but there are many other professions like ICT professionals or lawyers that used to shuffle paper who now work all digital. Hence the relatively new addition to the sociological vocabulary is “mobile knowledge work”. We, and yes I am part of this group, can do our job from almost any place with a stable internet connection. Breda Gray et al. (2020, Made to work: Mobilising contemporary worklives.) highlight the importance of gender considerations when we study these new forms of work. Similarly, social class and cultures of more or less trust are thriving for independence. This will play a role in who choses these new forms of work. The digital technology enterprises, media and social media workers are and will be the forerunners of this change. The education sector and academics in general have followed suit.
The issue of autonomy has also received some attention by the authors and this is likely to be a big challenge to standard work relationships as we knew them before the digital turn and the Covid-19 pandemic. The mobile knowledge workers were the first to insist on change of work practices, there will be other professions that will strive for greater autonomy of various kinds.
Social Science Experiments
In the social sciences experiments are harder to do as there are ethical concerns to offer with random assignments only some access to a treatment or a (supposedly) preferential treatment. Combet (ESR, 2024) conducted an experiment about school major choices in order to learn about gendered school subjects choices. The findings that female students tend to stay away from STEM subjects is reiterated. The question remains why the gender stereotypes are still as strong after the schooling in co-educative settings. The old question whether separate schooling might encourage female students to study more analytical rather than creative disciplines remains an issue. Boys tend to frighten away girls from science related subjects at an early age, maybe just due to excessive affinity to competition. The skill gaps in society later on are to the disadvantage of all. Additionally, lost innovation is the consequence. We know that international competition relies on those persons who combine the analytical as well as creative abilities to come up with new solutions. We dearly need to encourage all talents in society to persist in their occupational choices. (Image Painted ceiling Paris Opera Garnier by Chagall)
Segregated Estonia
In cities of Estonia the segregation between the majority of Estonian speaking persons and Russian speaking persons has a long tradition. The Russians built new housing as part of their occupation of Estonia and housed their own persons there and sent their children to Russian speaking schools in these neighborhoods. The paper by Kadi Kalm et al. (ESR, 2024, 208ff) demonstrates the persistence of this “colonial” segregation over generations. However the authors show that desegregation of schools is a remedy to such previous housing and education policies. Learning the majority language is a definite step towards later integration into society just as (marital or household) union formation or labor market success do. The Baltic states have managed to escape from the Russian occupation but the Russian neo-imperialism is not entirely tamed. This explains a great deal of the anxiety of Estonia and other previously Russian occupied Eastern European states of a Russian backlash. Military commitment and a strengthening of the European Defence Union is a consequence. (Image Medieval Town Hall Tallinn Estonia 2024)
Paris calm
As Paris is just 3 days before hosting the Olympic games 2024 the preparation of the spectacular opening ceremony along the river Seine is calming down the whole city. In the vicinity of the Quai Bercy the usually very busy road is already reserved for the arrival of athletes, artists and spectators. Security levels are exceptionally high at all corners to reassure people and to be able to intervene early if need be. Air pollution is rather low even near the busy roads. Buildings and public transport have been polished for the event and the excitement is building up. An expected 1 billion of television viewers of the opening ceremony will hit new records for such events. The population around Paris might have difficulties to get tickets to some of the popular events as official prices for the opening that rest cost 900€ per person. Locals are not amused and the critical voices denounce such an event as exclusion of most ordinary citizens through ticket prices. There are however places free of charge as well if you know where to catch a glance of the ceremony from the distance. Some bridges seem to be favorite places to catch a glimpse of glamour for free.
Live longer
It is an old dream of mankind to live longer and longer. The Covid-19 pandemic has taught us many lessons that there are powerfully viruses and their continued mutations which threaten this. Life expectancy declined slightly during the pandemic and we learned that long Covid is yet another threat to our life expectancy. Scientists have found other sources that are crucial for survival. Like sepsis, it is the constant inflammation processes in our bodies. Long working times, stressful commute to work and interrupted or shortened vacations all contribute to keep inflammation at higher levels than is healthy from a longevity perspective. The research note published in Nature on the inflammation enhancing protein IL-11 highlights the chain reaction process of inflammation causing cancer and autoimmune disorders and diseases. Hence, it is essential to watch the biomarkers of inflammation and probably adjust our lifestyles accordingly. The sources of inflammation are manifold, but the potential rewards to address the issue are huge as well. Among the easy to address sources is nutrition, exercise and working life. Changing just a little bit here and there can make already a change. Monitoring how you feel about such changes puts you on a learning curve for your own inflammation levels. Vacation times are also perfect for adaptive behavioral changes. We just need to keep trying.
Paris Parks
There are many splendid parks in Paris. They all have an important function to cool the city in summer. Good for exercise and walking all year round as well. The latest addition is the “parc suspendu” between Gare de l’Est and Gare du Nord (Jardin Marielle-Franco).
Many travellers pass there from one station to the next. The creation of this space is rather tricky and avoids the building of yet another shopping mall for tourists. The cleaning of the park and the growing of the grapes are a challenge for those in charge.
This park is an interesting melting pot of very diverse social groups. The sportspersons and walkers confront “la misère du monde” of people entering to sleep rough in the park or attempt to do or deal drugs there. Paris is fighting back for its public spaces and devotes resources to these purposes.
The “Cru bourgeois” is also challenged in this area. Living together accepting the unresolved social problems and to confront them rather than to ignore them, this creates the “metropolitan experience”. Parks in and around Paris build on a great historic tradition. “Le Nôtre” stands for the creation of Parks that were copied across the world.
The cleaning up of Paris for the Olympic games 2024 is a tremendous effort. The swimming in the Seine (rather than singing in the rain) is probably the steepest challenge of all efforts, even if in retrospect the opening ceremony happened during heavy rain.
Parks need water, rainwater is best. Hence, the alimentation of parks from sources far away from them is part of urban and landscape planning.
(Image: Jardin Marielle-Franco in Paris between Gare de l’Est and Gare du Nord)
Sport Fashion
Sport is fashion and fashion is sport. Not only in the Euro 2024 the teams make a big fuzz about the design of their sportswear, but certainly the Olympic games in Paris 2024 will demonstrate the close links between the 2 worlds. We might say playing football is a bit like a fashion catwalk. Keep going right on target, despite obstacles, when thousands of people are watching your performance and potential failures very closely. Making a “bella figura” is a must in both spheres. There is also a strong tendency for “the winner takes all”, that s/he takes the trophy and the jackpot.
Both worlds are also big business in their own right. It is at least 100 years old that sport and fashion got married. The “Musée des arts décoratifs” in Paris had an excellent exhibition on the combination of sport and fashion (booklet link). According to the curators both spheres have always been interlaced. High-level performance and specialized fashion just made for a splendid combination. As the rich and wealthy had more than a penny or two to spend on their leisure activities the combination of sport and fashion soon became itself a big business, beside the visible beauty of the bodies, movements and dresses. Just watch the breakdance fashion as the latest addition to the repertoire of olympic disciplines. In a recent article in “Le Monde” (2024-7-11) the value of the market of sports including its fashionable merchandising is estimated to reach a turnover of € 500 billion in 2022.
The competition of sports has been turned into a competition of the best images and videos. Fashionable as well as functional clothing can assist in climbing the podium. In the Euro 2024 Football Final the teams equipped with Adidas (Spain) and with Nike (England) compete for the trophy. Changing equipment sponsorship from one to the other can raise substantial amounts for a team (€ 100 million/year for the German national team). Big business seems to take over sports and fashion after the century-old marriage of sport and fashion. Since then, they have jointly been on an extended honeymoon. (Image from www.emptyspacetm.com 2024-7)
Olympic Games 1924
100 years after the Olympic games were held in Paris, they will take place there again. Each time for the Olympic games new locations (Colombe) were built. For the 1924 games for example the first 50m swimming pool was built (Stade nautique des Tourelles, Porte des Lilas, Paris 20th), but a new one will host the 2024 competitions. However, the old pool will still serve in 2024 for the preparation of the competitions. The successors of Johnny Weissmuller (5 gold medals in swimming 1924) and star in many Hollywood films, the access to the stadium has become much more secured these days. In fact, security has turned into a crucial issue to host the “peaceful games”. In 1924 Germany was still not allowed to participate in the Olympic Games in Paris as the security of participants could not be guaranteed. Some competitions at the time turned rather violent as the example of the rugby competition, in which the converted American football team as rugby players had beaten the Fench rugby team.
The idea of alternative games has also been around for decades. There were already in the 1920s international competitions of worker associations (for example Frankfurt 1925) and the Olympic idea had to defend itself against the accusation of a Western countries’ domination. The set of disciplines in the competitions is always up for discussion and negotiations. We shall see interesting new additions in 2024, like break dance, to broaden the understanding of Olympic disciplines.
Even 100 years after Pierre de Coubertin steered the modern Olympic games, the idea is to bring more to the games than “Faster, higher, stronger”, notably to be together. To be together in a peaceful way remains the biggest challenge for humanity. The inclusive turn is, however, a challenge to host the games, particularly to host paralympic games in inner cities that have abundant barriers of access for impaired persons. Inclusiveness for many countries is another challenge that goes beyond the simple participation in the games, but consists in training facilities and equipment for many disciplines.
(Image: BNF Gallica) 