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Präludium Prélude

Learners of how to play the piano are likely to pass the composition of J. S. Bach entitled Präludium in German and Prélude in French. Maybe that influences the approach to the piece of music. The title sounds different in each language. It is interesting to follow the Präludium Prélude throughout the history of composition. The pianist Jan Lisiecki has just recorded and released a disc with Deutsche Grammophon following the historic evolution of this genre. The rather easy-going beginnings by Bach (see below for extract of first motive) have turned out to become rather complex preludes with subsequent composers. We may ask ourselves at this occasion: a prelude to what? Your own associations are welcome. In international politics we can observe strategic movements of countries and their military equipment as a prelude of war, but also of peace. Small aggressions may turn into wars. In philosophy Nietzsche praised the dawn (Morgenröte) and focused a lot on new beginnings. Composers might be the best forecasters of what is to come in the following years. Certainly the preludes have foreshadowed some of their later work. Nowadays, many LLMS in AI build on algorithms that predict what is the next word to write or task to do. Even in composition AI is moving ahead fast. Hence, we e are likely to study preludes much more for several reasons now.  

(Image: extract of first motive from J. S. Bach Präludium Nr 1)

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Hands-on AI

The use of AI in translation and to streamline texts and preparation of communication has become a common experience. The applications in medical fields are less well known. Scans and checking of skin cancer could be a game changer for many who live far away from the next medical doctor. AI assisted brain surgery is another issue, but a very specialized application. The interface of AI and robotics might be another game changer as such applications where you train the robot with for example weight lifting and transportation charges can contribute to alleviate human skeletons. Handheld devices can guide the robot and data from sensors will complement the learning of the tasks through assistance from AI. Applications are manifold and we have not even seen the most promising ones. The application potential in warfare are particularly troublesome as humans do not necessarily enter into the concern of AI-assisted weaponry. In the social sphere trust is a crucial behavioral and ethical concern. These issues AI can only learn from us. Any attempts to do without human input and control is doomed to fail. We are not indispensable yet, we are simply turning more and more into responsible, supervisory roles. 

(Image: Acatech exhibition with hands-on AI applications, Berlin in collaboration with IQZ and DTM, German museum of technology.)

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ravel up Ravel

To ravel up is a contranym. It can take a specific meaning and the opposite at the same time. Therefore, it is a perfect term to describe the composer, pianist and conductor Maurice Ravel. Born in 1875, he lived through great deceptions as aspiring pianist at the Conservatoire de Paris, but achieved glory through his famous compositions like the “Boléro” created for a ballet performance at the Paris Opera.
Previously, he had written several remarkable piano pieces, which were recently honored by the piano music magazine “Pianostreet”.  In an article with links to 5 performances of Ravel’s piano compositions you can ravel up in the emotional world or cosmos of Ravel. You may also unravel his compositional style marked in some of his most famous pieces with the variations of a single theme or motive. The “Sonatine” completed in 1907 might be considered as a precursor of later work (Boléro) as he refined his composition techniques to build, for example, on a single motive and develop a whole piece reworking and with reappearing incidences of the same motive.
Ravel himself appears as contranym, as he combined modern musical influences, like from jazz or innovative structures of musical compositions with the classical forms of composition. Listening to Maurice Ravel allows to better understand the transition from classical music to modern worlds of music. Thanks to “Pianostreet” we can follow these paths. For a biographical account the splendid movie “Boléro” takes you on an unraveling musical journey of Ravel.
(Image: Repainted piano in Berlin shopping center 2024)

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More eCooking

Cooking powered by electricity rather than fossil fuels like gas is an efficient and smart solution. Through the daily cooking activities over the course of a year the savings due to eCooking add up quite a bit. Even compared to an ordinary electric stove the eCooking by induction technology saves almost an additional 10+ percentage of energy as you heat the pot or pan directly rather than an in-between metallic element, which stores heat even after you have switched it off already for a while. In private kitchens the induction option is straightforward. In professional settings the change to induction eCooking needs careful planning. The health aspect of no burnt gas emissions in the kitchen is, however, a strong argument in favor of eCooking as well.
If we apply this logic to low-income countries and cooking in schools or other institutions as well as companies, the environmental and economic benefits add up quickly. In rural areas where no electricity grid is available or stable enough, the decentralized provision of electricity through for example solar energy creates a cost-effective alternative. In urban areas with high levels of various kinds of pollution the “clean” alternative could make a considerable difference as well.
The eCooking evidence is another pillar of the “all electric society” of the 21st century.
(Image: Rirkrit Tiravanija, untitled (Café Deutschland) and extract from “Freiheit kann man nicht simulieren“, Berlin Martin Gropius Bau, 2024-2025)

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Biography Memorial

Some biographies take the form of a memorial. Marie-Luise Conen and Zdravko Kucinar have erected a memorial for the researcher, author and Social Demokrat “Milian Schömann” from the “Moselle” region near Traben-Trarbach and Lösnich. The biography reads like a narrative of crimes, which goes without punishment, before and during the Nazi-terror and the power grip in rural areas in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Milian Schömann achieved his university entry qualification A-levels in Traben-Trarbach before he moved on to study German literature and philosophy in Heidelberg, Bonn and Berlin.
His studies and political engagement were driven by a humanist approach and his letters and publications as literary critic as well as his contributions to philosophy are partly reproduced in this biographical account. This allows to follow in the footsteps of the curious and open-minded person of Jewish descent. As a contributor and speaker at meetings of SPD-members and associated political movements, he risked and eventually lost his life for his humanitarian convictions in 1942 near Belgrade.
It is the merit of Marie-Luise Conen and Zdravko Kucinar to let Milian Schömann live on in our time through the reprinting of some of his work, which is embedded in a  well-written historical account of the political and family setting at that time. The professional psychological training of Marie-Luise Conen helps to reproduce the anxious atmosphere Milian Schömann has lived through, albeit he remained a productive writer despite the economic hardship and living in exile.
This biography accomplishes in a rather unique way to enter into the mind and thinking of the author Milian following his very personal perspective on the “history of ideas” and inner call to action. Similar to the appreciation of Viktor Ullmann in the Jewish Museum in Berlin, where the music of the composer lives on after his death, the writings of Milian Schömann survived extinction, despite that he was murdered. After more than 80 years we still feel the loss of potential other contributions to philosophy and literary studies. The recognition extends to Milian’s academic and personal mentors Oskar Walzel and Arthur Liebert, important sources to understand the reasoning and motivation of Milian.
(Image: Extract from Marie-Luise Conen and Zdravko Kucinar (2024) Milian Schömann, Paulinus Verlag, Trier, p. 139)

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Known Unknown

Many musicians and poets remain unknown to larger audiences. “A complete unknown“, young singer, musician and songwriter Bob Dylan has reached fame and fortune with his poetry and popular songs that marked a whole generation. He became the best known unknown of country music in the USA who found sympathy for his expression of protest across the world. „How many times must the canonballs fly, before …“. At the time of renewed militarization of the Western states to defend our way of life, the protest song is oriented towards Russia to stop its war in Ukraine.
The poster in Berlin to advertise the biographical movie on a „Litfaßsäule“ (round sign posting column) dating back to the 1920s in Berlin brings us back into the historical state of mind of crucial crossroads in history. Retreat from war, preventing war and aggression remain topics for us today as well. Peace might be the happy time in between wars marking history.
Berlin is a great place to walk through more than a century of war and aftermath. Rebuilding takes decades and is part of the Berlin state of mind. as well as a sign „to overcome“ conflicts.

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Beyond ART

Is there anything beyond art? Well, maybe there is. ART in German language is an abbreviation of “Allgemeine RelativitätsTheorie”. In other words the General theory of relativity developed by Albert Einstein is in its shortest form a one line mathematical expression, but with lots of equations included in the general statement, which grew out of his much earlier special theory of relativity. The textbook by Michael Ruhrländer provides a step by step approach to get to grips with the mathematics involved to reach a better understanding of what “ART” is about. Take your time to digest it and brush up a lot of maths beyond your A-level maths.
The abbreviation ART suggests a lint to art in popular understanding. Indeed, it needs able artists to show insights of ART to more people than the restricted scientific circles. An understanding of a 4-dimensional system of time-space has some more accessible features than waves of gravitation and the many puzzles that can be solved through ART.
Decades later quantification has build upon ART and takes us further into fabulous world of mathematical and physical imagination as well as real world applications.

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Democracy ART

The European Parliament co-sponsored a remarkable art exhibition in 2023 entitled „Art in Democracy“ The catalogue of the exhibition offers insights into the many preconditions of art. A democratic environment constitutes a non-negligible precondition for most of the works of art. Artists thrive within democracies. Many artists flee authoritarian regimes as their work environments rely on a real freedom of expression irrespective of the will and belief of ruling politicians.
Artists who do not flee in time for whatever reasons have suffered tremendously under Nazi terror in Germany. Authoritarian leaders don’t respect the various forms of expression by artists. Europe and the European Union provide safe havens for many artists to continue their careers in art. This has become a real value of our way of life. Many countries envy us in this respect. We take this for granted in the EU, but 70% of the world population endures authoritarian control. A reminder of this, from time to time, justifies a lot of expenses to support art and artists even beyond our borders.

The romantic setting of the image below is set against the surrealist open window (of opportunities) in an almost Magritte-style dreamland.
(Image: Rafal Olbinski, La Pologne dans l’UE, created for the occasion of adhesion to the EU)

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Minority Politicians

We have regulations in favor of minorities in many countries. Most people immediately jump to their opinions about specific minorities they most strongly feel about. Favoritism through targeted policies versus discrimination are key issues here. Evaluation of effective policies to support minorities needs solid science before jumping to premature conclusions.
A recent study on the largest minority group of extraordinary people, often denoted as persons with disabilities, has focused on political representation. The results confirmed the hypothesis of an under-represention of the group in parliaments. Reher & Evans (2024) show ample evidence that despite the large and increasing shares of persons with disabilities (about 20-25% across Europe) under-represention is likely to lead to lack of concern of society as whole to topics of relevance to them. By-the-way, most of such policies would equally benefit an aging society and young families for example with regard to mobility. Perhaps another striking example is the tendency of extraordinary persons to not report their kind of disability out of fear of stigmatization and potential discrimination.
Policy makers need to take a long-term perspective to reorient public spending in favor of extraordinary persons. Infrastructure investments are needed here as well. More persons with disabilities across all political parties can bring about such changes. Extraordinary persons deserve equal representation. It is up to us to make it happen.
(Image: German Bundestag 2025-2).

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Bilingual Plus not WEIRD

The scientific literature on bilingual learning and living experience is abundant. Positive cognitive and social inclusion effects dominate the results. The scientific research has moved on to more tricky questions of bilingualism which shifts gear to multilingual learning. Many people and children are bilingual plus additional contacts to another or several other languages. Multilinguism has been of interest for several scientific disciplines. The effects on cognitive development have received a lot of attention. In order to achieve further progress in the study of multilingual development, it is instructive to move beyond bilingualism and the WEIRD particiants in most psychological studies (WEIRD = Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich and Democratic). The paper by Omane, Benders & Boll-Avetisyan (DOI) takes this as a starting point and investigates the experience of infants with 2-6 languages.
They establish a protocol how to record the surrounding languages in a structured way. A major distinction into direct and indirect exposure to languages is a major finding. The example from Ghana provides a useful basis for other studies of multilingual experiences. A correct recording of different language inputs in time and of the sources is at the basis for later measurements of effects of different kinds of exposure and intensity of exposure.
(Image: Children’s room in Berlin Museum Martin Gropius Bau 2025)

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Unwinding USA

Stock markets move largely due to expectations. Therefore, the mixing of economics and politics can create lots of signals, which are likely to raise price expectations. Inflationary pressures will call for central banks to increase interest rates which will reduce economic activities that are largely financed through the credit market.
The unwinding of the economy reduces turnover and most likely also profits of companies. The fate of Tesla cars in the last 2 months (Link) and the stock market value of Tesla shares (Link) have plummeted. The unwinding of shareholder value and inflation on the rise as well are a the effects of the MAGA narrative and Musk‘s appointment in politics as chief of GOPE.
The „home made recession“ in the US and the choice to prioritize own products might work in the long run, but the costs of the short-term induced inflation will affect vulnerable consumers more than the people who buy many products that show few price increases. The unwinding of the economy of the USA is likely to cause shock waves rippling through the global economy.
Image: Prices to charge e-cars with solar energy in Germany according to sunshine.

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Corruption Caught

In fraud or corruption it is primordial that the probability to be caught is very high to deter potential fraudulent activity. The new Trump administration has enacted as one of the first executive orders that the FCPA stops to take on new cases of suspected corruption as well as reconsider some of the running procedures. In the same vein, the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) has been silenced so that American companies to not have to disclose ownership information that fall under the CTA until 2025-3-21 until a major reform will be published.
These policy shifts concern more than just US citizens. The competition between countries will be effected because as companies trading with the US which used US bank accounts were also liable under this legislation and subject to prosecution. The FCPA has been an important example for other countries to follow at least within the Member countries of the OECD. The shift in priorities of the Trump administration might open doors again to corruption which we believed were shut with lasting effect.
In conjunction with the rapid increase in military spending when the capacity for the production of military equipment is slow to increase might increase the risks of corruption talking hold again. Market economies build on fair competition, but less prosecution of corruption introduces a bias into negotiations which works against innovation and competitiveness. We have a hard time to understand any kind of logic in such economic and legal strategies.
Image: Bridge collapsed due ro material defects. Archive Berlin Tempelhof Schöneberg.

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Berlin Mind

For a long time now, I have been asking myself the question: What is like to be in a „Berlin state of mind“. The exhibition of the 2 photographers of the Berlin Landesarchiv as part of the Berlin activities of the EMOP contributed to understanding and more precise description of the „Berlin state of mind“. As we shall celebrate in 2025 the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Europe, Germany and Berlin from Nazi rule and terror, we have seen endless reconstruction and reshaping of the city. The ever growing need for housing and space-grabbing office buildings bring about a permanent feeling of change, of becoming, of under construction. The years of the separated city as well as the building and taking down of the Berlin wall created many new opportunities for developers of the city and its structure of quarters, arrondisements or „Bezirke“ and „Kieze“ within the districts. 

Due to the continuous urban renewal also of basic infrastructure Berliners have the impression that there is construction work all around us all the time. With the abundant construction works come the construction fences. They too have changed. Some fences show digital prints of virtual worlds of the Berlin living in some future time. However, the promises often mask the reality that fences will be replaced by concrete walls and inaccessible buildings for most people of the neighborhood as gated business space or city blocks grab the space to form and reform the metropolitan landscape. The construction fences themselves become the contested areas where different strata of society interact or intersect. The „Berlin state of mind“ is one of becoming. Longing to become something else, something aware of the overwhelming historical duties, but still rising from the ashes. The experience to see a wall come down between cold war enemies liberates a belief that we can overcome frontiers. However, this in-between state of mind has brought us multiple fences of all sorts. Construction fences are only the most visible ones that surround the many spaces under construction. In the imagery of Berliners and visitors beyond the wall, fences are continuously on our minds in the „Berlin state of mind“.

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Digital Visions

Urban planning has been digitalized for a long time. 3D modeling of places and buildings including their interiors are state of the art. As urbanization is also about investment, speculation and anticipation, digital imaging has entered the public spheres in form of cover up of building sites behind fences and in form of large digital prints for information, curiosity and advertising purposes. The inner cities are frequently an avantgarde and microcosm of societal developments. Some dream of full or total flexibility for office spaces (see image below), others experience the inner cities as the spotlight of inequality in society. The best paid executives are catered for by the worst paid delivery personnel. The photographers of the Landesarchiv Berlin, Grönboldt and Wunstorf, brought together a documentary exhibition entitled „Pixel aus Beton“, pixel made of concrete.

With a bird‘s eye view they reveal past, present and future details of how Berlin is experienced and envisioned by investors, architects and people living through the seemingly endless construction going on in the city. The keywords list as part of the exhibition creates a link to scientific literature and to the TU Center for Metropolitan Studies. Photography and even more so digital photography offers a social science perspective to the digital images exhibited. Cities are data spinning areas and a formidable place for digital visuals and visions.

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Suicide Prevention

The annual mortality statistics and special reports on suicidal tendencies are a tough reading. OECD Statistics give a at least an approximate, comparative perspective. Reporting routines and medical confirmation of a suicide or suicidal behavior still vary quite a bit between countries. Nevertheless, the usually reported incidents per 100.000 persons remain rather abstract.
Absolute numbers speak a clear language. For example in Germany there were about 10.300 recorded suicides in 2023, France had to mourn about 9200 in 2022. To put the size of the problem in perspective it is helpful to know that in Germany all other not aging related causes of death like traffic accidents, drugs or murder make up for around 7.000 deaths per year. The targeting of resources and prevention efforts on these vulnerable people seems inevitable. However, we see only limited additional efforts to curb the problem.
A more detailed analysis of the frequencies reveals the gender and age differences. More men commit suicides and older (very old) people have higher risks. The oldest age group of men is most at risk.
Since the Covid-19 pandemic young women show rising trends in many countries again of suicidal attempts and self-inflicted wounds. Despite a continuing effort of research (Links) there is no single cause to explain the occurrences.
As a working hypothesis, which awaits empirical tests, I would look into societal factors that stigmatize persons who are made to believe or feel like they are beyond the normal spectrum of society. The lack of acceptance of diversity concerning gender, age, ethnicity, body shapes or mental states like anxiety. Poverty might cause immense distress and suffering. Large shifts in wealth in both directions cause additional risks.
It seems as if our minds and society are constantly in a kind of „regression towards the mean“ posing challenges to those furthest away from the average or perceived norms. Percentile ranks or percentile scores are commonly used to express a person’s position in a frequency distribution. For example you are better/lower than 90% of persons of your age group. Such statements might cause further distress for persons. However, summarising across several (psychological) measurements, they may yield encouraging indications as well. Actual and perceived positions in such percentile ranks add another “social risk” as perceived positions may govern behavior.

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Betrayal Politics

Most economists would hold that in free market economics there is no room for moral statements. Betrayal, therefore, is left out of most standard text book economics courses. However, more advanced courses that include strategies based on so-called “game theory”, where actors may breach prior commitments, betrayal has entered economic science. A “tit-for-tat” strategy is frequently the best “game-theoretic” solution to such strategic behavior to deter also repetition of defecting on agreed rules or bargaining outcomes. For real world applications beyond the simple strategic advice, the maths involved are quite challenging. We’ll check soon, how AI is changing that game.
Another popular economic theory is one of “gift exchange”. You gift a sum of money (or weapons for self-defense to a country) with no explicit consent that the money should be repaid (through rare earths) in peace time. A betrayal occurs, if a country suddenly asks things in return for the previous gifts. For politicians that understand themselves as “market marker” and “deal maker”, there will be a tendency to claim back a gift in order to come to some kind of gift exchange rather than an altruistic donation.
William A. Galston wrote in the WSJ (2025-2-26) naming the US political action of the 2nd Trump administration a “betrayal of Ukraine and American values”.
If free markets mean making ruthless use of “tit for no possible tat” and “gifts are always a gift exchange”, we move back to mercantile and medieval practices, where settles could claim land at gun point.
What way out of this? Adam Smith, champion of classical economics, wrote before his famous book on “The Wealth of Nations” a lesser known, precursor book on “The Theory of Moral Sentiments”. Actually, he was convinced that the one would not work without the other.
Maybe, going back to classical economics is much better than a Trump administration version of neo-classical economics in a new era of political economy 3.0.

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Top 5 Things T5T

Dealing with Elon Musk is a must these days (WSJ 2025-2-26 A4).
So it happened that on his way to Mars, Musk met God the almighty on his way back to heaven. Musk asked, whether he could join the ride.
God, not amused, asked Musk about his T5T (top 5 things) he accomplished in his life. Musk questioned God‘s right to ask this question and said he would tell the other T about this. God gave him just another day to come up with a response.
So here we are: the T5T Elon Musk might put forward:
(1) I created a million fancy electric cars.
God: Well, but there were already too many tin boxes on 4 wheels on earth.
(2) I created rockets that propelled billionaires into space and back again.
God: Your carbon footprint has exceeded a million people of the poorest countries on earth.
(3) I created a network of satellites that facilitated communication.
God: Nobody spoke to me yet using it.
(4) I bought Twitter and transformed the platform to spread evangelism of various sorts.
God: This has become a hoax spreading more lies than truth.
(5) I reformed the public sector employees to share my beliefs or leave.
God: This will ruin a lot of services like USAID, which have assisted me for many years in my caring and charitable service.
With all these T5T of yours in mind I am not sure I should let you return to that planet earth. Maybe I‘ll find another assignment for you where you can cause less harm Elon. Maybe, try “Waiting for Godot“.
(Image: instead of T5T try T4T (tea for two))

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Insecurity Council

The UN Security Council has been turned into the Insecurity Council. The UN Plenary Session voted with a 2/3 majority on 2025-2-24 the draft Resolution L.10 stating: “Three years after the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the General Assembly today adopted two resolutions reaffirming Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity …”. As part of this resolution the UN General Assembly claims “accountability for the most serious crimes under international law committed on the territory of Ukraine …”.
The UN Insecurity Council (15 Members, China, USA Russia, F, UK as permanent Members) adopted  almost in parallel with 10 votes in favor and 5 abstentions (Denmark, France, Greece, Slovenia, United Kingdom) resolution 2774 (2025) calling for a swift end to conflict. The most notable change in international politics is the changed voting behavior of the USA, which has retreated from an outspoken condemnation of Russia as aggressor and occupant of foreign territory.
The “revealing of masks” in what appears to be a neo-imperialist period of time has come. The set-up of the post  1945 UN institution of the Security Council has lost a major function to prevent armed conflicts and early reaction potential. The force to aim for and guarantee international peace lies much more in the hand of the plenary of the UN rather than the small select Security Council dominated by previous superpowers largely due to their possession of nuclear weapons of mass destruction.
The voting of a resolution by the Insecurity Council, which is in contradiction with a resolution of the UN General Assembly concerning the spirit, if not the words, is a source of insecurity itself. A reform of the UN system, which risks to become a “shopping system” of lenient organizations, where you join and leave the organization (UNESCO, WHO, WTO …) will loose impact.
For many people and countries, the only hope for a guarantee of human rights lies with the United Nations Human Rights Charter, peace keeping missions and International Courts. The UN Security Council as an Insecurity Council is likely to let down many people truly seeking a peaceful life.
(Image: The Fall of Icarus, Pablo Picasso, at HQ UNESCO, Paris)

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Election Participation Bundestag

The election of the German Bundestag 2025-2-23 has brought about many changes to the 1st chamber, the national parliament. First the voting system had changed to limit the newly elected parliament to 630 seats for a total of about 60 million people entitled to vote. 50 million voted in the election. The national average of participation in the election reached a very high 82.5%, with a range from 73.5% to 88%. Overall, it has been the highest participation rate since reunification. Political parties have to pass a barrier of 5% to be eligible for seats in the Bundestag. This regulation had been installed to avoid too many small parties to enter the Parliament as coalition building could be rather difficult and lengthy.
2 political parties missed this barrier closely, one with 4,3 % and another one with 4,97% of votes in the so-called 2nd vote, which is the vote for proportional representation in parliament after which the seats are allocated. Adding those ballots casts together, this means that for these 2 parties about 4.5 million votes do not get any representation at the national level. Several other smaller parties add more than 1 million votes, which are finally without any national representation. However, the only regionally campaigning conservative party from Bavaria reached 3 million votes (6% of votes) on the national level, which gives them a representation of 44 seats in the Bundestag.
Participation across age groups follows a relatively constant pattern. Older votes 60+ have relatively high voter turnout, whereas the younger age groups do not use the chance to vote as much as other age groups. This remains a challenge for democratic representation. The youngest have the longest time spell to live with the consequences of democratic representation and resulting policies. There are useful debates to lower the current legal age (18) to 16 years of age for voting to soften the effects of aging societies voting. Children, or currently anybody under 18, have no impact on political representation. An overweighting of families with children might fix such deficits. If the number of children drops further, we might eventually be willing to give our future a stronger voice in political elections. (Image: empty Berlin playground 2025)

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More BRICS

The move towards a multipolar world order is in full swing. With the USA retreating from a primordial international role discarding UN institutions and the defense of major elements in the fight for individual freedom, the diplomatic order of the last 80 years has changed. The liberation of the concentration camps in Germany and the 80 years of the end of the 2nd World War on 1945-5-9 had forged an alliance in which the common enemy was defeated and the the next major confrontation in Europe or on the globe had to be warded against. 

The evolution of peace in Europe has been marked by the Cold War and a bipolar world order which confronted the USA and Russia at various places. The rollback of Russia has seen its high time with the Northern and Eastern extension of the EU and NATO. This goal of US strategic interests has been largely accomplished. 

In the shadow of this bipolar relationship the BRICS have moved towards greater economic power and therefore influence in the international arena. Economic data on the biggest economies in the world over the last years show the rise of the BRICS, bit mainly China and India. Their population sizes create enormous and largely shut off internal markets. All these developments create new challenges to the previously relatively stable world order. Technological advances have been narrowing more rapidly than before since the access to the best available knowledge spreads fast and more equally across the globe through the internet. 

The ugly face pf imperialism is returning front stage and attempts to change the previous versions of imperialism into a new hegemonic world oder. Updated views of economic power and influence zones let us look with a rational perspective on the new power play. Due to the containment of Russian influence, the USA has China as the major power to confront, a major shift as of the 2020s. The China-driven Silk road project with strategic landing points across the globe has „trumped“ American efforts to align BRICS to human rights values over the last decades. European diplomacy will have to recognize that we entered another phase of „Realpolitik“ due to major economic shifts over several decades. (Image: extract from Max Klinger, The walkers, ambush, 1878 in Berlin SPK).

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Revealing masks

Masks can have multiple functions. During the Covid-19 pandemic from 2020 onwards we developed a hate-love relationship to wearing masks. Carnival traditions give wearing masks yet another touch. The painter James Ensor added other meanings to a mask. They do not disguise the person wearing them, but might make otherwise difficult to see features of a personality more visible. In a donation initiative and auction to raise funds to fight cancer Yves Delplace made the biggest contribution through his donation of the painting „Intrigue année 2024. Le preneur de selfie”  of which we represent only a partial extract below. In 2025 this depiction of 3 leaders of big countries has gained unexpected relevance. The US and Russia partying jointly while people still die on the  battlefield die to Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine has been turned into a cynic depiction. James Ensor and the surrealists in general would have appreciated this application of their way to deal with or foreshadow coming events. For some people you think it is about time to take off their masks or somebody to take it off. For others like Putin, the friendly looking mask has become apparently a frozen expression despite of the underlying ruthlessness.

Image taken at KBR Brussels 2024 exhibition of donations for auction and jury awards, by YvesDelplace.

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Wave and Particle

The history of ideas in physics has been evolving or revolving a lot around the wave-particle-duality. Even if the basic debate by now is about a century old, we still need to come to grips with this challenging notion that light is not just a beam and nice colors through a prism yielding a spectrum of frequencies, but it can emit material matter called photons that have a non-zero value(s) of energy.
Max Planck came up with the formula E = h × f, where h is the Planck constant, E the energy and f the frequency of the photon. The synthesis of Einstein’s light quanta and De Broglie’s matter waves became the foundation of quantum mechanics.
The exciting evolution of physical ideas results in the state of the “art” view that, for example, light can take both forms, wave and particle, at the same time. Quantum mechanics has become a thriving field in physics and is currently transforming the world of computing in the 21st century. The amounts of funds invested in the race of applications of quantum computing across the globe are “astronomic” and have become part of dual-use spending of research funding. Encryption of information or access codes are of growing importance for civil (banking, mobility, health info) or military purposes. The speed of quantum processors will allow cracking of codes much faster and therefore new dangers are looming in many fields. It is a rather competitive field, which has evolved a lot from the original wave and/or particle vision of the world (of physics).
For social scientists there are several examples of applications of the concepts of quantum mechanics to social and behavioral sciences (Link 1, Link 2). Hard to predict, whether the wave and/or particle view will dominate the social applications of elements of the history of ideas in physics. New concepts in science challenge our traditional science-based thinking about time, space and space-time with implications even for our understanding of causality and covariance.
(Image of Dice icoshahedron (animated 3D image) from Egypt, dated to 2nd century before our time, BNF, Paris)

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Negative time

In 2025 an experimental setting has come up with a demonstration of negative time. This is a mind-blowing mental exercise to imagine the science fiction like framework to allow time to be negative as well.
This invites several epistemological questions as well. Can we imagine or live with a reversible concept of time? Maybe music has given us clues. In composition of music, we can easily play the notes of a basic theme just in reverse or mirrored order. Modern rhythms like in beat music as accompaniment by a drum use for example a rhythm like (use your hands or drum sticks!)
“left left right left /
right right left right”, (redo faster if you internalized the rhythm).
A reversal of the beat (its inversion) like replays of rhythms in reverse order seem to return the energy. This beat pattern is perceived as forward moving and is advancing in chronological time. It has fascinated a whole generation and spurred crazy movements to accompany the rhythm.
A simple tune might be played in reverse order as well. Just take a piano scale and play 1 2 3 1 fingers, and then 1 3 2 1 in a mirrored fashion (1231 1321). Even 1 2 3 1 as 3 2 1 3 gives an impression of inversion.  Through this composition technique you get a bit of a feeling for the potential of a reversal of time or what negative time might feel like.
The innovation through quantification challenges our concepts of time more and more. The direction of time is subject of a fundamental revision. Theoretical concepts have predicted this for a long time.
(Image: Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris)

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Quantification

The most obvious association with quantification is the attempt to quantify in the sense of measurement of situations, locations or social phenomena. This has taken considerable steps with the availability of smartphones that measure and thereby quantify all sorts of wanted and unwanted information about us. The distances walked are among the easiest to quantify. There have been many accounts and discussions about this kind of quantification. The results have been a further push towards self-optimization assisted by a quantification of almost all aspects of life. That is daily business of social sciences.
Quantification has another well-defined meaning to it, which is in physics. The revolution of the early 20th century has been to deviate from classical physics which assumed continuous processes in time and continuous measurements to the new world of quantum physics, another kind of quantification. This allusion is due to the Alain Aspect’s inspiring book “Si Einstein avait su” (2025) and his efforts to make quantum physics understood to a broader public. For me one of the merits of the book is the reminder that experimental physics can contribute and resolve many epistemological questions.
(Image: my popularized approximation of Schrödinger’s cat in Berlin Zoo)

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Time Concepts

Tell me about your concept of time. How do you define time? Answers to this question are likely to depend on your upbringing, affinity to a specific scientific discipline or epistemological belief(s). Aristotle defines time to be subordinate to the more basic principle of change. To understand change we need the concept of time. Two points in time define time, intermediate points are possible, which might be interpreted as a precursor of infinitesimally short spells of time. To explain change, Aristotle refers to his concept of time. Other concepts of time build on the notion of succession of events or sequences of events.
Clocks going round in circles have been used to show the progression of time independent of events. Beams of atoms later allowed for more precision of time keeping. The prevalent concept of time still is dominated by the idea of time as an arrow, usually depicted in some diagram resemblance based on the Cartesian coordinate system, but usually starting at 0 or a particular point in time as diagrams in economics.
Following on from the old concept of change and time, we still claim for causality in most day-to-day experiences or for social processes the link to a chronological progression of time. In statistical analyses building on time-stamped occurrences we may use event history analyses or stochastic differential equations to analyze (social) change depending on one or several (earlier) factors. Even the theory of deterministic chaos, which is applied in weather forecasts for example, arises from the sequence of point of measurements.
Mainly since Isaac Newton we cherish the notion of a universal time, which helps us to coordinate different locations on our planet with reference to the Greenwich mean time. Other concepts of time make use of infinity of time and how to deal with this. Life before, or life after death, are human constructs trying to make time understandable or at least manageable for us beyond our own living time. Depictions of time in the arts, paintings or music opens up yet another vast space of thinking about, as well as, experiencing time. We did have and still do have a great time thinking about time.

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Blue Sky

In the period of romanticism the associations with a blue sky were very different from today. Getting out into the sun was a kind of privilege for the “leisure class”, of people who could afford to enjoy time outside for boating, walking or other pleasures. In our technology-driven 21st century the associations with Blue Sky are more like a technically enhanced view through for example “Windows” at the news and opinion platform or “Bluesky”.
Several scientific websites that report data on blue skies and air quality more generally across the world report indicators like ozone values O3, sun intensity, micro particles 2.5µm and 10µm, Nitrogen Dioxid NO2 to name the mostly quoted indicators. Hence, just enjoying the blue sky outside isn’t the same as it was before. People working outside in the sun or at times of a blue sky but with high air pollution levels are incurring severe medium-term health risks. The Ozon layers at very high altitudes protect our skin and eyes against high UV-radiation, but O3 on the ground is tough for eyes and lungs.
Technology has come with many blessings, but the negative effects on a global scale become also more evident. Getting used to a particular lifestyle, which produces lots of emissions of aggressive fine particles will make it more difficult to just simply enjoy a blue sky.
In consideration of all these background data with regional variations, we surely need an AI-system which we can ask for advice, whether we should go outside and enjoy the blue sky with or without respiratory mask.
Romanticism has led us all the way to Californication and dangerous enshittification of the air that surrounds us. Youth and the next generations will have very different associations with Blue Sky than we have the chance to, at least, have had.

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Greening Interiors

The greening of facades of houses is an old tradition in many western countries. The outside of a home then changes colors with seasons. The home for insects and birds feeding on them makes a small contribution to biodiversity as well. Greening interiors is a more rare instance. Of course flowers and plants can contribute a lot, but there is yet more scope to green entire walls inside your home or office.
Moss has advantages to add humidity to the air. You might like the acoustic effect as well in busy environments. Taking care of moss is not easy. Professional assistance (Link) or renting options might be a good option for office buildings. The wellness enhancing effects are also interesting for some people who susceptible to the calming effects of a more natural environment. It is a matter of care and respect for air quality that is reflected in the design using green interiors.
Circularity is another advantage of the materials. We can so a lot for biodiversity if we really wanted to even in urban spaces. Global warming will force us to think more and more, and sooner than later to make use of such innovative solutions. For the time being they remain a luxury option. For the wealthy, greening interiors is easy, it much less an option for restricted budgets and people who are obliged to focus on short-term survival. However, we have to get started with the greening of our planet again, any way.

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Antique Drama

Modern drama and performances have their roots in antique drama. This is evident in literature from the time and some rare artefacts that have survived until today. Masks and statues give an amazing impression of the high standards already attained more than 2.000 years ago.
Many performances have been linked to mystical rituals and religious ceremonies, but beyond those instances there has also been a depiction and interpretation of for example the Greek mythology. Dionysos inspired many artists and people of that time and philosophers equally found inspiration in performances and the representations in temples, arenas and market places. The treasures of the BNF in Paris, galerie Mazarin and rooms next to it like “la salle des colonnes” (Image below), allow to travel back in time into an antique setting in the room of columns.
Taking the world as horizon is the title of the rotating exhibition from the treasures of the BNF. The beginnings of philosophy and major milestones in arts and mysticism across the world figure in this exhibition. In the spacious setting it feels like travelling back in time for a while, just to build on these foundations.

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Mindmap Me

Tools like artificial intelligence allow all sorts of transformations and depictions. The photo editing tools are widespread and particularly popular among the young users. My own transformative exercises, latest with www.bairbe.me, have yielded interesting insights, well worth an intergenerational playmate. For the guys there is the www.yobrick.com version for brick gamers.
The App “Canvas” allowed me to delve deeper into my own mind by giving instructions of how to create an image of the structure of the blog entries on this webpage. Of course, it is not (yet) a real AI-generated content map, but it is only a matter of time until such tools will exist. After all, this would be just an arranged and rearranged list of contents using the hyperlink structure of the texts as well.
For the time being, I derive my own structure of the blog entries by topics, categories and tags including the hyperlinks or internal referrals. Interlinkages are mostly stated explicitly. However, there are many implicit links, which are obvious to some, but not others. AI-systems could use occurrences of words,  synonyms and antonyms . Colors in addition to bubble sizes and (in)direct lines may complement such mindmaps. This can help to reveal another, additional layer to connections between categories or tags. The Ai-generated image shown below was created with the APP Canvas as a first approximation and AI-augmented test version in form of abstract images).
Next steps on the way to understand human intelligence and, maybe, augment it with a next generation AI-system would use a colored-3D version of such a mindmap and use the chronological evolution of the blog posts in a kind of evolutionary animation. This should allow us to go beyond the usual psychological classification of fluid and crystallized intelligence. We might come to grips what it means to be “in a Paris state of mind” or when hallucinations become overwhelming.

Screenshot
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Endless Questions

The winner of the Niépce prize 2024 has been awarded to Anne-Lise Broyer and features prominently at the BNF in Paris. The exhibition of the professional photographer reflects by way of photographic “still images” on the historic fate of the mediterranean basin. Each and every image has no answers, but keeps posing questions. In the long alley of the BNF in honor of Julien Cain, we walk through history of more than 2 thousand years in photographs up until today and even beyond. Let’s keep asking the most fundamental questions again and again. The exhibition entitled “Est-ce-là que l’on habitait ?” invites us to ask ourselves about the historic origins of so-called Western culture in the mediterranean basin. Ancient philosophy and arts are the foundations even of our current ideas of democracy and freedom.
However, what has become of this in the 21st century? The original statue of freedom has suffered badly. What has become of the freedom of mobility at a time of barbed wire fences rising between countries that influences each other over thousands of years? How about nature? How about religion and freedom of expression? Where is progress? Where is regression?
For centuries we have sought answers in libraries starting from the Library of Alexandria to the treasures of art and knowledge of today across the world. Let’s make more intensive use of these treasures where we shall find answers to most of our questions of the past, to the past and of future interest.