Emissions cuts
Feedback’s recent item on the Royal Institute of Philosophy’s journal pondering the metaphysics of farting – “Is it a thing or an action?” being the chief question – has drawn short shrift from reader Guy Cox. He believes the author should have used that essential method of philosophical inquiry known as “looking it up in a dictionary”. Cox also points out that the subject has previously been expounded on by no less a personage than US writer, inventor and all-round genius Benjamin Franklin.
Franklin wrote an entire essay urging his fellow natural philosophers to investigate whether they could develop food additives to make humanity’s gaseous emissions less malodorous. It must be possible, he reasoned, because we know their smell can be affected by variations in diet. “, especially with much Addition of Onions, shall be able to afford a Stink that no Company can tolerate; while he that has lived for some Time on Vegetables only, shall have Breath so pure as to be insensible to the most delicate Noses; and if he can manage so as to avoid the Report, he may any where give Vent to his Griefs, unnoticed.” Indeed.
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Franklin turns out to be keen on people giving Vent to their Griefs unimpeded by concerns about the odour. Many readers may empathise. Who among us hasn’t at times tried to give Vent to their Griefs, unnoticed?
Gas bags
Franklin wrote the essay – now commonly known as “Fart Proudly” – in response to a call for papers from the Royal Academy of Brussels. He wanted to prick the pomposity of the scientific societies of Europe, which he believed had become too pretentious and concerned with impractical matters.
Now the context is clear, some sections of the essay make more sense, such as when Franklin compares the physical comfort of passing wind to the intellectual satisfaction of understanding the latest science – like seeing white light split up into seven colours by a prism. Franklin is trolling the European royal societies. Feedback likes him more by the minute.
Bot or not
The tech world has lately been kept rapt by the saga of Elon Musk’s quest to buy Twitter. For those readers unfamiliar with Twitter… you are advised to keep it that way. The service is described as the modern world’s town square, although a better description might be a mash-up of a debating chamber, playground and barroom brawl.
Something about being on Twitter encourages many users to express themselves in language that is uniquely artificial, sanctimonious and finger-wagging. Those who have transgressed in some way are told to “Do better” and there is an inexplicable fondness for stressing points by punctuating each word with a handclap. It would seem odd if we spoke to each other this way in real life. “You haven’t done the washing up. Do better.” “No [CLAP] way [CLAP] I [CLAP] did [CLAP] it [CLAP] yesterday”.
Musk himself tweets prolifically, most of the time, he admits, while – and now he seems to want to buy Twitter. He says its moderation policy is jeopardising free speech and he also wants to get rid of bots, computer programs that churn out automated tweets.
Last week, Musk said the deal can’t progress without proof that no more than 5 per cent of users are bots. The service’s owner says that is impossible. In the firm’s defence, a program that analyses tweets to gauge if there is a human behind them concludes that . In fact, he scored a higher chance of being one than @ElonJet, an acknowledged bot account that tweets Musk’s travels using . As : “Musk being a robot would be such a great twist.”
Crypto crunch
It pains Feedback to return to the subject of cryptocurrencies, but we have no choice given recent events. This magazine’s tech correspondent has tried to explain how they work to Feedback many times, and swears that some cryptocurrencies could be a force for economic good. But our colleague admits that the price volatility of many of the newer ones are reminiscent of speculation bubbles such as those around tulip bulbs in the 17th century and a certain South Sea Company the following century.
One of the UK’s biggest crypto fans is former health minister Matt Hancock, last seen resigning for having an affair while the country was supposed to be social distancing. “I want the UK to love crypto. We’ve got to be on the side of the future,” says Hancock in a recent , although should we really take tech advice from someone who thought the perfect spot for an illicit snog was in front of a government security camera?
Hancock is keen to promote a type of cryptocurrency called stablecoins, which he says are more reliable. The article barely mentions that the crypto market has been falling since November, with several stablecoins plunging in value in recent weeks.
But we still haven’t yet come to the really big crypto news: nominative determinism. Reader Barney Herring points out that the founder of Bahama-based cryptocurrency exchange FTX, who lost half his net worth this year, is called Sam Bankman-Fried. Investors who got their fingers burned can’t say they had no warning.
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