The 'C' Test

 

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

- Preamble to the Constitution of the United States of America

Recently the conversation around our house got around to the test for citizenship.  From time to time the media asks the average person on the street questions from the test to see how they will do.  Usually they do poorly, or so the media reports.

Naturally I became a bit curious, so after going online I quickly found our helpful government not only provides the questions on a website, but also the answers.  There are 100 questions, of which an applicant will be asked 10 questions.  A score of 6 of the 10 questions is required to pass.

One example of the questions is, “Name your U.S. Representative.”  In the spirit of full disclosure, I had it wrong.  The only thing I knew for sure is that it wasn’t Steve King, because he’s a slimy little fascist, so I remember his name.  Turns out to be Tom Latham (3^rd District), sort of the Dilbert of Iowa politics.  No wonder I couldn’t remember who it was!

Question 12 is a good one, everyone please remember this. Including you, Governor B.  “What is ‘the rule of law?’”  The answer is worded 4 different ways to make sure it is understood.

“Everyone must follow the law.”

“Leaders must obey the law.”

“Government must obey the law.”

“No one is above the law.”

So get out your Hi-Liter and mark your favorite format.

Now here are some of the tricky ones.  See how many of these 10 you get right.  Answers at the bottom.  No cheating.

The Tough Ten

1. The Federalist Papers supported the passage of the U.S. Constitution. Name one of the writers.

2. When was the Constitution written?

3. Who is the Chief Justice of the United States now?

4. How many amendments does the Constitution have?

5. Who was President during World War I?

6. Who was President during the Great Depression and World War II?

7. If both the President and the Vice President can no longer serve, who becomes President?

8. What is the name of the Speaker of the House of Representatives now?

9. The House of Representatives has how many voting members?

10. What territory did the United States buy from France in 1803?

It’s easy to understand why some of the questions are on the list.  It is important to know who your Representatives are in Congress, so you know who to blame.  Then of course is question #56, which I am sure they ask everyone.  “When is the last day you can send in federal income tax forms?”  If you can’t answer that one, you’re in trouble!

The test does have a variety of subjects.  The first section is American Government.  Subsections include Principles of American Democracy, System of Government, and Rights and Responsibilities. In one man’s humble opinion this is the only section that really matters.

The next section is on “American History”, with subsections on Colonial Period and Independence, 1800s,  and “Recent American History and Other Important Historical Information.”  Which begs the question, does the citizenship test for Italy go all the way back to Romulus and Remus?  Or just to the time of the Charlemagne.  Either way, that would be a tough one to study for!

For the final section the category is “Integrated Civics”.  Kind of the “potpourri” of citizenship.  This section covers rivers and oceans, the symbolism of the American flag, who our neighbors are, and federal holidays.  All facts that are also important “must know” information!

The test does include a couple of questions about the States, such as: name one power that belongs to the States, what is the capital of your State, and who is the Governor of your State.  My response to the final question was Terry “Re-Tread” Branstad.  I think I should get extra credit for that one.

Not that anyone asked, but I do have a few suggestions for questions, things every American citizen should know.  What is the correct way to use a four-way stop?  When walking your dog or other pet on a public sidewalk, what is the correct way to dispose of the waste?  Name at least one Chevy Chase movie.

Some of the questions are marked with an asterisk.  Upon reading the footer of each page, one discovers that persons 65 years old or older who have been a legal permanent resident for 20 years or more only need to study select questions.

If you fall into this select group they will not ask you “What does the Constitution do?”  They will not ask you who the Vice President is, however they may ask you who the President is.  Although you need to know who the President is, you don’t need to know who signs bills to become law, or who vetoes bills.  In case you didn’t study, both are powers of the President.

There are some unfortunate omissions from the test.  Not one single question about American Idol, the Grammy Awards, or Madonna.  Not even the Golden Globe Awards.  Where are their priorities?

While the test does list several questions in regards to the Supreme Court, I have been unable to find a reference to Judge Judy, Judge Joe Brown, or Judge Reinhold.  Someone needs to be taken to task for that.

Like all tests I find myself wanting to debate certain answers.  For example, in the question about the powers of congress the answer “approve crushing debt” is not listed among the correct responses.  Yet if one reads the Constitution you will find in Article I, Section 8 – Powers of Congress, “To borrow money on the credit of the United States;”

Oddly, this power is not listed in the Constitution under those of the President.  He just gets the blame.

However I will not argue with question #1 on the test.  It is arguably the single most important thing that every American should know.  If you are a new citizen of this country or if your most distant ancestors came here across an ice bridge, remember this question and it’s answer.

Question 1: “What is the supreme law of the land?”

Answer: “the Constitution”

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Answers to the tough 10:

1. James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Publius

2. 1787

3. John Roberts (John G. Roberts, Jr.)

4. 27

5. (Woodrow) Wilson

6. (Franklin) Roosevelt

7. The Speaker of the House of Representatives

8. (John) Boehner

9. 435

10. Louisiana (Territory)

Who is Art Critic, and why doesn't he like me?

 

"It only becomes art if it touches other people."

Andreas Eschbach, "The Carpet Makers"

The other day my post included the phrase, “Art for art’s sake.”  Apparently this was, or for some people still is, a controversial topic.  Should art exist only for the sake of art, for it's intrinsic worth, or should all art support a higher purpose?

After giving it some thought it seems that this question can easily lead to an unbearable maze of semantics.  Starting with “what do you mean by art”, to “what is a higher purpose”, to “is a zebra just a horse with a really bad sense of fashion?”

The purpose here is not to answer the unanswerable questions in life.  When confronted with such questions it is often most useful to first clarify things by trying to understanding the real question.  Any collateral damage in the process is purely a bonus.

Let’s start with the really tricky part of the question, what is art.  In his novel “Stranger in a Strange Land” Robert Heinlein notes that in the English language the smaller the word the trickier the meaning.  And “art” is a pretty small word.

And so, in another idea that is shamelessly borrowed from Heinlein’s work, here is the definition of art. 

“Art” is a process through which one person or a group of people convey an emotion or message to an audience.  My own contribution, a slight clarification, any physical object used in that process is an “art object.”

So there you have it.

Now, many people proclaim “I don’t know what art is, but I know it when I see it.”  Sorry, but that sounds like balderdash. 

First, those poor misguided souls are confused between “art” (a process) and an “art object" (a physical thing).  

Perhaps what they really mean is, they can’t think of a definition that excludes art they don’t like.  Or, they can’t think of a definition that excludes ideas they don’t like from art.

When I hear phrases like “higher purpose” being bandied about the same sort of issue comes to mind.  It’s really not a question of what art is or is not, it’s a question about what people want it to be. 

So consider this.  Art is a process.  Forging metal is also a process.  That process can be used for creating the beams of a church, or of a high rise office building.  It can be used to create ships to explore the furthest corners of the Earth, telescopes to explore the furthest reaches of space, or shovels for 4 year old children to explore the beach.  It can make a cross, or a bomb.

Building churches and ships is certainly a laudable pursuit.  But people also need pails to search the beach, and golf clubs to relax, and knives to cook.  And even guns to hunt. 
 

Anyone who tries to restrict what a process can be used for is really trying to restrict people.  Art can move masses to tears of joy through a deep spiritual message.  Art can help me to relax and shed the stress of my busy day.  Art can convey the most sublime of messages, the most mundane, or the most base. 

Keep this firmly in mind, when people start trying to restrict art by defining what art is or isn’t they are really trying to restrict people.  They are trying to force you to believe what they believe.  Being in a free society means everyone makes their own choices, so long as they don’t hurt others or restrict the choices of others.

That also means each practitioner of art has the right to “restrict” themselves.  They, and only they, can and should decide what message they wish to convey.  It’s their message.  And every member of the audience has the freedom to not listen. 

If that message brings me closer to God, if that message leaves me in awe of the natural world, if that message simply makes my home a more inviting place, or if that message makes me laugh, they are all on equal footing.  They are all valid forms of art, each using a common process to achieve a different goal.

Author Destiny Allison writes, “Art is the process of relationship.  Through art we create and share ourselves.”  The point to emphasis there is art as a process of creation, creating a relationship and creating the artist at the same time.  Only the individual artist can decide what meaning to convey with their art.  If the audience doesn't like it, they are free to leave.

There is one final, glaring question that comes to mind with statements like “higher purpose.”  It's not, "what exactly is a higher purpose?"  It's not, what’s “high enough?” 

 

Who decides?

Kansas City Here I Come

"We used to build temples, and museums are about as close as secular society dares to go in facing up to the idea that a good building can change your life (and a bad one ruin it)."

- Alain de Botton

If you're a lover of the arts, or even just rather fond of it, one must see place here in the Midwest is the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City.

 

Opened on December 11, 1933, the building itself presents an imposing stone fortress.  Situated on a the top of a gently sloping hillside, the exterior gives little hint of the eclectic mix of styles within. 

The interior styles of the building change from one area to another, creating the most appropriate ambience for the collection housed within each room.

Most well known for it's collections of Asian art, the Atkins houses works from all around the globe, and from a wide portion of history.

And a plus for shutterbugs, the museum is photographer friendly!  Just remember to leave your tripod in your car, and your flash turned off.

Upon arriving at the Nelson-Atkins Museum one of the most notable pieces in the Donald J Hall Sculpture Garden is the piece "Shuttlecocks", by artist Claes Oldenburg.  Consisting of a number of aluminum and fiber glass shuttlecocks, it has become a "must do" to create a photo of someone appearing to hold one their hand, ala holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Inside are art works of paint, wood, bronze, porcelain, and almost any medium imaginable.  Even the fixtures have their own little touches of elegance.

Guarding the main entrance the Atkins is home to one of only ten copies of The Thinker by Auguste Rodin.

Located at 4525 Oak St. in Kansas City, MO, the museum is conveniently close to the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, and The Kansas City Art Institute.  Also within walking distance is the Country Club district, known for contemporary shopping!

The Nelson-Atkins, be there or be square. Or cubist.  Or surrealist.  You never know who you'll see there.

Helpful hint, click on any photo to see the complete slide show.

 

 

 

 

The Importance of Being Wrong

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes.  Art is knowing which ones to keep."

- Douglas Adams

There's a lot of truth to what Douglas Adams says.  When it comes to creativity, being "wrong" is not only allowed, it's a requirement.

Over the years computer and software engineers have chased the holy grail of artificial intelligence, The Turing Test.  Named after it's designer mathematician Alan Turing, the test was designed to determine if a computer system could be called "intelligent." 

Without getting too far into details, the essence of the test involved a three way chat between a human tester, another human, and a computer.  Like a three way chat on Facebook.  If the tester was not able to determine who was the computer and who was the human, the computer system could be deemed intelligent in the same way that a human was.

A critical point here is that the tester was not trying to determine which was the computer, that's easy.  All the computer had to do is perform some mathematical feat beyond human capability, and the test is over.  The crucial point is that the computer had to be able to fool the human tester into thinking it was a human.

It had to lie, and do so convincingly.

Perhaps one of the most difficult things about human intelligence for a computer to mimic, or learn, is our innate ability to be creative.  Many different computer systems have been developed over the years that can "create," but I wouldn't call their product art.  The computers are following very clever directions, mathematical tricks, by the human designers in order to rearrange words/colors/images in novel ways.

That's not creativity on the part of the computer, since the computer is merely following rules about manipulating numbers in specific ways.  The computer makes no real choices, any creativity is in the design of the software.

One attempt at creating artificial intelligence involves stuffing a computer with as many pieces of data, or random facts, as possible.  The computer then spends sleepless nights comparing dictionary definitions, and from time to time produces a gem of wisdom such as "a father is to a household as an emperor is to an empire."

Interesting analogy, although wrong.  But in a way not quite wrong enough.

Compare that with the mind of a five year old child trying to grasp the subtleties of a knock-knock joke.  Their mind stumbles along from fact to conjecture, lurching to and fro, as likely to spout something "wrong" as something "correct."  And yet, the convoluted picture they eventually develop may not be true or accurate, but it has an aesthetic structure to it.  There is an internal framework within the child's mind that both correct and incorrect constructs are laid upon, building up a holistic and pleasing overall structure.

This is the essence of creativity that elevates it to art.  It's not about connecting fact A to fact B to fact C.  It is about connecting fact T to fact F to fact 6 with a structure that isn't created using logic, but using imagination.  It's about seeing connections that aren't obvious, and effectively communicating that vision to others.

Psychologist and philosopher Erich Fromm wrote, "Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties."  One could take the position that creativity and art are about presenting new connections that will one day become certainties.

The world we live in, our perceptions and preconceptions, are all islands of our senses floating on the sea of mind.  Art is about exploring the depths of the ocean, and finding the undersea mountain ranges that connect those concepts, and bringing new peaks into the sunlight.

Joseph Chilton Pearce wrote, "To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong."  Maybe the key to great art is to be spectacularly wrong in just the right way.

Like a five year old.

Kiss Me!

“Is this a private fight, or can anyone join?”

Irish folk saying

“The great Gaels of Ireland are the men that God made mad,

For all their wars are merry, and all their songs are sad.”

G. K. Chesterton, “The Ballad of the White Horse”

“This is one race of people for whom psychoanalysis is of no use whatsoever.”

Sigmund Freud, Father of Psychoanalysis

 

It’s that time again.  Time for every red blooded American to turn green.  Time for the wearin’ o’ the green.  Time to kiss the blarney stone, and kiss the pretty lads and lasses.  Come March 17^th it’s time to find that three leaf clover, hug a leprechaun, and pretend you’re Irish.

Time for St. Patrick’s Day.

Like so many celebrations the myths and misconceptions abound.  While St. Patrick is the Patron Saint of Ireland he wasn’t born there.  He was born in Briton, and at the age of 16 was kidnapped and sold into slavery on the emerald isle.  After fleeing back to his homeland he was converted to Christianity, and returned to Ireland to convert the Irish.

One commonly held myth is that St. Patrick banished the snakes from Ireland.  While it’s true there are no snakes in Ireland today (at least of the reptilian nature), evidence shows there never was.  It was the ice ages that banished the snakes, not the Saint.  This myth is more representative of his banishing the pagan religions by his conversions to Christianity.

Although the rare 4-leaf clover is often a symbol of good luck, it is the 3-leaf shamrock that people use to adorn their clothing on this holiday.  This comes from the tradition of St. Patrick using the 3 leaves of the clover to explain the Holy Trinity.  Although any 3 leaf clover or similar plant will suffice, the “true” 3 leaf clover of St. Patrick is said to be the plant known as Trifolium dubium, the official shamrock.

Until the 1970s St. Patrick’s Day wasn’t even observed in Ireland.  It may have been noted by the village priest during that week’s sermon, and Irish families may have celebrated with a larger than normal dinner.  Then Ireland awakened to the potential of St. Patrick’s Day Tourism Dollars.  Faith and Begorra!

The holiday in America began as a way for Irish immigrants to celebrate their heritage.  One such early St. Patrick’s “parade” was an informal one, held by Irish soldier fighting with the British in New York City in 1762.  The parade then, as now, was to connect with their Irish roots.

Parades honoring St. Patrick, and Irish heritage soon followed in Boston, Massachusetts; Savannah, Georgia; and Charleston, South Carolina.  As the country grew and moved west so did the St. Patrick’s Day traditions, especially in cities with large Irish populations, such as Chicago, Illinois.

And the traditions flourished.  Above all was the wearing of the green.  Most young children today know that if you don’t wear green on St. Paddy’s day you’re likely to get punched!

In 1962 one of the organizers of the Chicago parade took the wearing of the green up to a whole new level.  Steve Baily, also head of the plumber’s union, noticed that the green dye used by plumbers to help trace leaks would also turn worker’s clothes a bright green.  So why not turn the Chicago River green to make it Irish too?

Putting green food coloring in the copious amounts of beer consumed on this one day has long been a tradition, as well as adding verdant dyes and coloring to just about everything else.  But beware the next day, what goes in must come out!

And people love their green beer on St. Patrick’s Day!  Green, yellow, or brown beer gets consumed and consumed in a big way!  By some estimates beer consumption more than doubles on this one day.  A fully stocked bar or liquor store can make more than 1% of it’s annual sales on this single day.  The beer tab for America in 2013 was estimated at $245,000,000 dollars. 

People love to have fun with anything Irish on March 17^th.  Take for example kissing the Blarney Stone.  This bluestone slab was built into the battlements of Blarney Castle in 1446, and tradition holds that if you kiss the stone you will be blessed with the gift of gab.  To kiss the stone you first must ascend to the castle’s peak, then lean over backwards on the parapet’s edge.   Today there are staff to help hold you and iron railings to guide you, but the dizzying height and awkward position can certainly induce a mind numbing veritigo!

Having a holiday named after a saint devoted to such frivolity may seem a little strange.  A holiday devoted to the patron saint of Ireland, drinking green beer, and wearing tee shirts emblazoned with “Kiss Me I’m Irish” may even seem sacrilegious.  Yet Patrick has become more a symbol of a people and a proud cultural tradition then a religious figure.

So pass the green beer, the corned beef and cabbage, and give your special someone a big kiss.

On St. Patrick’s Day we’re all Irish.