Not enough math - too much math

There is no substitute for understanding the world around you and mathematics is a way to get there. A few differential equations will give you the right level of objectivity, while too many may leave you wanting to look elsewhere. Consider these examples.

 It is year 1867 and life is completely miserable when Karl Marx publishes the first volume of Das Kapital, Kritik der politischen Ökonomie. The book lays out the basic theory of wealth. The key concepts are "surplus value", "means of production" "accumulation of capital" and so on. It is simple and it is almost built from the first principles. I am reluctant to speculate since many of my family members have intimate knowledge of Marx' work (while I do not) but I think the theory is so useful because it allows to be twisted, adapted, extended and used in so many different ways. It helps those that agree with it as well as those that do not. At a closer look, the book is easy to read but extremely boring. There are hundreds of examples but there are no formulas, tables, graphs or pie charts. Lack of a single differential equation when the whole thing is about "maximizing the surplus value" is just sad. Obviously the standards of academic discourse that Marx was subscribing to were limited by the toolbox at his disposal, but it is amazing how poorly the whole thing is put together. A modern version would come with a dvd, video clips of slaving workers, champagne sipping capitalists, and the Red Army choir gently humming The Internationale in the background. Of course Marx understood that Das Kapital is not for everybody. Consequently, it was preceded by the Communist Manifesto, a piece of inspired and energetic writing, that channeled the key ideas of Das Kapital while spicing them with tidbits about wife sharing among communists. It is a work of great enthusiasm and also an excellent brainwash. So as it stands, these writings laid out transformative ideas for the XX century. Although the take home message for the average Joe was "you are being screwed" Das Kapital gives a very clear guidance on how to get rich - wealth comes from hard work, and preferably someone else's work. For hundred years afterward these concepts were followed and the idea of acquiring a machine and putting a redneck in front of it fired up the imagination of millions of gold diggers.  It is clear that many millions of lives would have been spared if the the word "mathematischen" replaced "politischen" in the Das Kapital sub-title. A few partial differential equations and a chapter or two on the point of diminishing returns, tipping points and such things would have possibly kept political wackos at a distance. Certainly the last hundred years would have been easier if this theory was build more on mathematics and less on propaganda.


 Fast forward to 2008 when the world's economy is brought to its knees. Marx's theory seems now obsolete and creation of wealth is no longer linked to human labor or to manufacturing in general. Consider Renaissance Technologies - a hedge fund with less than 300 employees that in 2009 had over 1 billion in profit. With no orphans working 12 hours in the production line or other workforce abuses, these profits raise few eyebrows. A simple question about where this wealth comes from seems strangely neglected and the message for the average Joe appears to be "nobody is getting hurt ". This time mathematics is abundantly present and it obfuscates everything.  The point is that modeling behind high-frequency trading, CDOs and so on relies heavily on mathematics, but mathematics is not used toward better understanding of the bigger picture. If the XXth century was about the creation of wealth, then perhaps the XXIst is about the redistribution of it.  It is entirely possible that this is a zero-sum game and profits of hedge-fund managers indicate that everybody else is getting just a little poorer.
So  where is the next Communist Manifesto that would explain it all in simple terms, blame the guilty and provide the ideological backbone to the Occupy Wall Street movement? Where?! It is time for ten tweets that will change the world!

Ministry of Everything forges ahead!

This continues my uncle's diary from here.

Big Gala

Botany Unit is a small part of Ministry of Everything, and our organization is undergoing  significant transformations. Just the other day we had All Comerades on Deck meeting. Since we are such a large organization it took place in a nearby Fire Station, and still we had to do it in three shifts! 

We were first and I wish we wern't. It was early morning and comrades were still not fully awake. The leadership was trying to raise the spirit with The Interantionale but our voices were feeble and tired.

The leading idea for the meeting was "One of Everything". My colleague joked that this is right - in the communist  system one is plenty and two would be already too much. I am still thinking whether I should report these subversive comments to the management… Anyway, I think it is like in the poem of Mayakovsky:

                         The Party and Lenin are twin brothers,

                         when we say one, we mean the other.

One of Everything means unity and togetherness in a vague and imprecise form. It is a way of thinking that allows more important units a bigger share of the resources, and less important ones to continue making  sacrifices. This way everybody feels appreciated and contributes to the common goal!

The minister and his deputy sat at the podium with a little fern between them. Fern is a beloved plant of our Party and no serious meeting can occur without one. The first half an hour were the production statistics. It was clear that we are are beating capitalist pigs left and right but as usual the complete victory is elusive.  So more sacrifices have to be made, longer hours, less food and more attention to political purity. 

Next we had a brief period when comrades could ask questions to our leaders. Three questions were asked and they concerned fairly peripheral aspects of our organization. Our system is based on democracy and free exchange of ideas but constant questioning of everything (that capitalists are so proud of) is only a sign of poor education. In our society, citizens already know the answers so there is no need to ask many questions!

At the end of the ceremony we saw a propaganda film about our Ministry. Comrades filmmakers did a good job… The film starts with the great battles of World War II and then shows our soldiers fighting in Korea, Vietnam, our special units building missile silos in Cuba, removing american mines from harbors of Nicaragua, and so on. There is even a short clip showing children putting sugar into a fuel tank of a big truck with the US Army logo! Good brave kids with the right revolutionary zeal! Instead of traditional Tchaikovsky soundtrack, the movie features some  battle noises, and it is shot in color! Excellent job! I am sure that our Ministry will be on the minds of our citizens as a  key contributor to country's welfare and a bulwark against capitalist disease.  However,  I still have this feeling that it is a bit of misdirection. Of course battling capitalist pigs is very important but this is not exactly what we do and our contributions are far more subtle.  

Acceleration

This is an idea that came straight from the Central Committee. We are supposed to do everything just a little faster and in the end it will result in a great leap forward. Different units use different metrics so let me explain what it means for the Botany Unit. We are about growing things and this is tied up to a yearly cycle.  However, three-field crop rotation is the most common of our activities so the bulk of our actions is on a three-year schedule. In addition we have somewhat experimental five-field crop rotation.  Three years ago the Party felt that the victory is near and we got a lot of extra resources. Botany Unit got extra seeds, machines and so on. We worked extra hard and made good use of it, in spite of the fact that  with farming it is more important that these resources come in a steady and predictable way. Anyway, at the urging of Central Committee we put some of these extra resources into the experimental five-year programs. And now this caught attention of our distinguished comrades and they suggested doing it in four instead of five years. This is a great idea in principle but in practice it does not make much sense. Things that were meant to last five years are usually difficult to do in four. However, the comrades in the central committee did not get these prestigious posts for paying attention  to whining of their underlings.  We have to comply and this is a simple order. As this plan is completely nonsensical from our point of view we came to a conclusion that this is a part of grand scheme that will result in an unexpected victory elsewhere. Yet we have to tell our farmers that whatever we gave them for five years has to be used in four or it will be taken away. As you can imagine, farming community is not happy about it but in the end they will toe the line. Everybody does.

Virtual farming

This is a new fad, and Botany Unit leads the way. Few years back our working groups had to include veterans, later soldiers and now they need to be partly virtual. This is all because the Party gave us new technology - each of our working units was provided with a phone! The devices look pretty ordinary but in the end they will reduce the costs, increase productivity and help with our fight against capitalism. We assign three assistants to every phone to monitor its operation and protect from damage or misuse.  This is an important assignment and for the moment we are not allowed to touch these devices. This crowds our farming units and unfortunately it lowers our productivity. This is because in the end the number of comrades that are involved in each unit is generally larger than it was  before but all these extra participants are not associated with the primary tasks. In addition this technology is very stable - it either works perfectly or not at all and unfortunately, the number of times that it does not work is still high. Luckily, the reasons are usually simple - mis-dialed numbers, disconnected cables or virtual farmer falling asleep. Perhaps if we were allowed to study these devices ourselves we could improve the effectiveness… I love technology,  but I also like the original idea of a farming unit. Working together on a field, being able to see and talk to one another, and afterward having a simple meal together - these things are  difficult to replace with technology even as sophisticated as a phone. For the most part virtual farmers send their comments in a letter and listening to their talking while we work on the field is often not very productive.

Continued here.

Advocating for science - a success story

One of the missions of our organization is to support basic science and the going is tough. Spending money on scientific projects is satisfying and fairly simple but getting the taxpayers to pay for it is not. So we struggle and complain. Yet acquiring resources for seemingly hopeless projects can be successful as the following example illustrates.

For quite some time I have been longing to became an owner of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. In line of my opening remarks, this is an investment that is difficult to frame as a necessary family purchase. At the very least, it costs as much as a decent car, uses significantly more gas and has as much utility value as your brother's cocaine addiction. For me a Harley is a natural step to a bigger and fancier bike, but the connection is deeper. Somewhat obsolete technology, emphasis on form over content, and trading high rpm's for low-end torque resonate profoundly with the direction in which my life is going at the moment.

So yes, if my wife is a taxpayer in this equation it looks like a hopeless project and frankly, convincing an average citizen to spend a penny on algebraic geometry should be trivial in comparison! Furthermore, for my wife joining the Harley-Davidson family is somewhat comparable to joining the Manson family. In fact, I have have my doubts as well. After all, I have not been to Nam, I do not have tattoos, and I do not own an American flag. Yet I can recite most lines from Big Lebowski so perhaps some residual connection is there. 

Gestation

Every great idea is born in a quiet space and it requires some time. For several years I have been frequenting Harley-Daidson dealers and getting inspired. HD dealerships  are church-like places filled with beautiful bikes and the smell of fresh paint. You enter them caring your primordial sin of not having one of those bikes and giving some lame excuse for not correcting this error immediately. Yet Harley-Davidson priests are gentle and forgiving and they give you hope that you will mend your ways eventually. So you start thinking and figuring your options - a long and arduous process. 

It is really no different then when as a taxpayer you visit Harvard or MIT and you leave with the impression that you might grow a second brain one day or at at the very least your offspring will study there. 

Unveiling

Sooner or later your plan has to be laid out in the open. It is a precarious moment because this seedling of an idea can be squashed in an instant. The main objectives are 

1. present the plan as a joint idea,

2. create an atmosphere of inevitability around it

3. divert attention from the undesirable aspects of the project.

These are well tested methods of universal value whether you are getting a bike, changing the name of an organization or building a large telescope. This is where most of the projects collapse, but if you survived this part you are on a solid ground. Soldier on!

First contact

It is time for the first visit to the Harley-Davidson family with my wife. She does not know what to expect but a great deal of hostility is just below the surface. We arrive on time and are greeted by the salesman, the guy that I bonded with on several prior occasions. My wife challenges most of his statements and she behaves irreverently. However, the priest of Harley-Davidson is a professional and with the agility of Jackie Chan he evades confrontation. Eventually, the rescue comes in the form of a free Harley-Davidson coffee - a terrible and undrinkable brew that channels her  criticism in a safe direction. In comparison, everything else seems better and we start moving forward. My wife stops comparing the place to Home Depot - her most hated shopping destination and when we leave an hour later our wallet is lighter but there is a  "hold"  sticker on one of the bikes.

This is a crucial phase and there is no recipe for success. A mixture of scientists, taxpayers and politicians is combustible and nothing can be taken for granted.

Closure

The final day has arrived. My wife drops me off at the Harley-Davidson dealership and I am supposed to come back on a new bike. I am a lonely sardine swimming in a shark pool but I do not quite realize it. The key word is "options" and there are tons of them. I am enjoying everything so far, particularly the fact that there is no haggling and in fact nobody told me how much it all is going to cost. I am quickly lured into a service agreement which includes six  free bike washes. I have washed my old bike only once and the appeal of this service is boundless. As if this is not  revealing enough, my attempts to project an image of a bad-ass biker are squashed when I'm am being congratulated on being the first ever client with a perfect credit score. I briefly toy with the idea of alluding this to my white-collar crime activities but eventually I resign myself to be what a large portion of Harley-Davidson family must be - mid level bureaucrats who like to pretend on weekends that they are somebody else. 

Whether this is a new bike or new science the act of sale is always the same and a scientist is no different than a used car dealer. No effort is spared to provide the buyer with a lot of dubious extras, wool is pulled in front of ones eyes many times and utility of acquiring a dismemberment package is explained in a most creative way. 

Two hours later I hop on a new bike and head home. The ride is everything that I expected except that it is freezing cold and I have no windshield.

Aftermath

As with every taxpayer funded project that went a bit overboard the day of reckoning is near. Upon confessing that I paid thousands of dollars for six bike washes my wife becomes speechless and manifests quite unusual face discoloration. When she recovers, the errors in my judgment become glaringly apparent in the most explicit manner. I pledge to undo the damage as my membership in my family is being put on hold. In the end I rescind all extras, including parts that were supposed to be installed by the dealer. Harley-Davidson family Is not pleased either, they claw at my careless offerings and it looks like they plan to reject me as well. 

Alas in the end all is well. We sign a brand new contract and I get my bike parts. I confidently declare that installing them will be an utmost triviality only to discover at home how foolish these statements were. Luckily I am being rescued by a friend who mastered the zen of motorcycle maintenance.

In the end, the project is a roaring success and the path towards incremental upgrades and modifications is wide open. HD parts catalog resembling a phone directory of a mid-size town rests by my bedside and messes up my sleep patterns.

Future Science - Science of the Future

In the opening paragraph of Die Frage nach der Technik,  Martin Heidegger describes science and technology in the following sequel "Questioning builds a way. [ ]  The way is one of thinking. All ways of thinking, more or less perceptibly, lead through language in a manner that is extraordinary."  For a long time I have liked this description as particularly fitting for the mathematical and physical sciences (and I did not  read the rest of the book because I found it incomprehensible). These three sentences were quite clear - questioning builds a way towards understanding and understanding, miraculous and extraordinary, leads to discovery and innovation. This scheme lays foundation for the modern scientific method where the branches of the  Tree of Knowledge represent the ways of a conscious mind.

So is there another way to obtain knowledge? one that is not preceded by understanding but where the existing knowledge is leveraged to move between  points  where a human mind cannot follow? Perhaps, if machines are involved.

One possibility is offered by the Data Science and it is fairly simple. We can gather colossal amounts of data and extract knowledge from them. Neither task can be done without sophisticated tools. Consider Large Synoptic Survey Telescope - it is a marvel of modern astronomy that (when operational) will collect about 30 terabytes of data per night. This data will contain information about planets, supernovas, dark energy, and much more, and this is all possible because the Universe observed at this scale appears to be quite simple.The fact that we can simultaneously track a relatively small number of variables on a huge number of objects through frequent snapshots is all it takes to make discoveries that thirty years ago were not thought to be possible. Another such tool is the Kepler planet finder telescope.  With the marginal cost of finding new planets well below 1M a piece, commercial applications become possible…

When the setting is more complicated simple statistical tools  tend to fail. Consider the  Human Genome Project that was supposed to provide critical advances in medicine. Unlike in astronomy, the number or variables is very large and the data set is not big enough. In the end, fundamental advances in statistical reasoning are necessary.

Computational Science is another alternative, and the premise is simple - use the existing knowledge to compute and model the nature. In many cases it is the only way to gain some understanding of how the nature works. However, the methodological underpinnings of this process are inherently shaky, and when the stakes are high the results are questioned. Whether modeling of the climate or designing nuclear weapons the conclusions from computational models are difficult to verify and open to criticism. No wonder, even when only four arithmetical operations are concerned, the computer implementation may be deeply flawed as this incident shows. 

For most of the other things, computational methods are very successful.  Doron Zeilberger wrote:

Don't Ask: What Can The Computer do for ME?, But Rather: What CAN I do for the COMPUTER? This is a Faustian bargain but hopefully it will take some time  before we get there. Nevermind, consider Inverse Symbolic Calculator and play with it a little. As this article  illustrates the computer sometimes knows more math than you do.  Other examples abound - consider Eureqa or software developed by Ayasdi. Eureqa will "discover" Newton's Second Law of Motion based on the results of a countertop experiment, and Ayasdi's  software is likely to surprise you as well. Machine learning algorithms such as automatic translation between languages, Google's Page rank's calculations are all well known commercial applications  where a great deal of computational power goes to produce results that cannot be in any sense verified by a paper and pencil calculation.

So in the end do not  think that the battle is over and all goes to  Computational  Data Science and Engineering, Large Hadron Collider  and other projects that need electricity but no coffee.  Enjoy this and cheer up for human brain that operates on 1 watt of green energy.

Foreign language

I like photography. I like taking pictures, editing them, cataloguing, evaluating and labeling. Yet I have never paused to think what is the nature of photography, and how it relates to other things. So when my daughter gave me Camera Lucida by Roland Barthes I took the opportunity to step up to a new level. And while this is what happened in the end, the whole experience left me puzzled and uncertain.

 I read the book on a long flight - it is fairly short and it consists of about forty vignettes comprising two parts of the book. The writing style is peculiar, I was annoyed with the sentence structure, abundance of quotes and references, prolific use of latin, italicized words and more. All along I had the impression that the book represents a trip that my mind does not want to take, yet I glided from one sentence to another with relative ease. The main feature of the book is that while I understood most of the words, I hardly understood any of the sentences. After finishing the book, I have glanced at randomly selected phrases and I could not honestly say that I could parse them unambiguously . One would think at this point that this could not have been a positive experience. Au contraire, and here is why and how.

 The subject of the book is of course photography and it takes it from the first principles. There is no doubt that the author knows what he is talking about, although a reader like myself cannot grasp the meaning at some level. The discussion is akin to looking at a painting from a distance of one inch and establishing the language and physical evidence. The jig-saw puzzle of different bits and pieces is slowly absorbed by your mind and in end the picture emerges. I doubt if it is the same picture for every reader, and in this respect the book mimics the subject itself. This type of thing is common when watching someone paint or draw, listening to the music, reading poetry or watching a movie that was edited in a fancy way. However, I have never seen it, or even thought possible, in a scholarly work.

How to be a loser

Adversity is a part of life and sooner or later you will fail trying to accomplish some important goal. In fact I am expecting a major professional set-back in the next couple of months. In anticipation of the pain, anxiety and anguish I have decided that rather than suffer later I should prepare now. My expected downfall is fairly standard and the three-step method that I describe below should apply to most situations when your better judgment did not prevail.

Anger

This is a purifying flame and a source of great satisfaction. Other than fantasizing about the destruction of your enemies and their properties (these exercises you can design yourself), I recommend Jack Reacher novels (any one will do) and Dirty Harry movies. They depict you - supremely confident character who punishes forces of evil with great deal of violence and without a trace of hesitation. You are an outsider and a rebel and weak and stupid constantly stand in your way and slow you down.

After this initial phase you may conclude that life is a bit more complicated and responsibility is not so easy to assign. Perhaps your misfortunes are everybody's fault and the punishment should be more even-handed and spread out. For this phase I recommend movies such as 2012, Deep Impact, Melancholia, and Bambi (particularly these fragments). They will resonate with the need to deliver a punishing blow to entire continents and populations. While you will no longer be in the driving seat of the destruction, the sense of righteousness is likely to be very satisfying.

In the last stage your anger will turn against yourself. You failed and there is no point in blaming anybody else. Instead of fantasizing about pulling a cord on the suicide belt you will wallow in self-pity. Visits to finalexitnetwork.org and reading their guides will become your daily routine and sadness will engulf your soul. Watching Old yeller and reading The Giving Tree  will make you weep for hours. Check this link for additional suggestions of movies that will take you to the bottom of your despair.

Hope

Your anger will eventually burn down and new hope will enter the picture. Yes, you have lost a battle but you may yet win the war. It may take many years but so what. Flicker of hope never glows very brightly but it can last forever. Furthermore, while the nature is patiently working towards rewarding you with the most satisfying solution you do not need to do much but wait.

For this phase I recommend Lassie Come Home, When Harry met Sally together with Sleepless in Seattle. Reading Captain Blood  will warm you up as well. Not only you can live your life as before without introducing much disturbances but in the end you will be paid with interest! Indeed, when the adversities felled you you did not really know what you wanted, and now after many years and endowed with 20/20 vision you have a sense of a fulfillment of your destiny.

Alas, sappy movies and books will leave you longing for more. Rather than waiting for Lassie to come home start planning your next move. Perhaps there is a great deal more randomness in life and for a moment you just drew bad cards? Read Wall Street Journal and watch C-Span - everything you see there is somebody's win and somebody else's loss. Best laid plans are wasted, careers are ruined and this is just the way things are.

At this point reading books and watching movies is no longer enough - you are climbing up from a hole and you need a great deal more. Go shopping! Spend freely and make sure that you are not guided by your household needs. Remember that you are rebuilding your soul, not your kitchen. Depending on your financial stratum this, this or that might provide a lasting lift.

Grand fusion

You are approaching the final stage of your recovery and this step is entirely up to you. Anger and hope coexist next to one another and hang in a perfect balance. You are buoyed by your recent purchases, and your anger slowly transforms into wisdom. You are poised and endowed with a quiet sense of resolve. You work fewer hours and you have developed a sense of another dimension. Colleagues are seeking your opinions and you are back to your usual self without the burden of former responsibilities. It is time to pick up new hobbies and update your wardrobe. Dark clouds have parted and the first day of your new life has just started.

Reading for this period might include Deepak Chopra (particularly this book) or getting familiar with the miracles of modern medicine (as described in  that book).

Diary from the past - a year in turmoil

I have posted translation of my uncle's diary from the 70's year ago (you can
find it here ). Recently I have found a handful of later notes. Evidently they were written sometime after the described events and the chronological order is unclear.

-------------------------

Corn, Beets and Plows

Exactly a year ago I have written that our management has a great deal of concern for the name  of our unit. Evidently plain "Botany Unit" is not inclusive enough and corn people are frustrated and restless. Little I knew... Our new boss  devoted a large part of the year to these issues and still there is no end in sight. The first proposed name was "Corn, Beets and Plows".  It brings most of the things that we care about together with the exception of potatoes. However potato people are too busy doing their work to care about such trivialities. Unfortunately  plows really do not belong. Not only they are not  a part of the world of plants, but also Ministry of Everything has the entire unit to deal with agricultural machinery. Some comrades from other units   were showing irritation and our bosses started backing off.
But this was just the beginning...

Fateful meeting

Two months later an official from the Command Center came for our midday meal. After small talk about the failures of the capitalist pigs in just about any endeavor they embarked upon the conversation turned to the virtues of corn. Evgenij (the leader of the Command Center) very passionately described the newest  from the corn fields - from the obvious and well known (food, animal feed) to newer and important (fuel for various machinery, building materials, and so on). It quickly became obvious that corn  growing married with mechanized farming can change the landscape of our unit. All comrades got quite excited by these ideas and started inquiring about the resources that such a change in our agricultural habits would entail. At this point Evgenij confessed that the resources are much more needed for our comrades in different units, but that the first step in these transformations would be
to change the name of our unit to "Botany and Corn unit". The respect for our leaders kept us applauding  but the logical cracks in these plans did not go unnoticed. Even if corn fuels the ballistic missiles that one day will obliterate our enemies, it is still a plant and "Botany" covers it inasmuch. More discussion followed, some of it in the spirit of whether tomato is a vegetable or a fruit, but ultimately the consensus emerged that our farming community will not benefit from this turmoil.
However, we were already in trouble.


Chaos reigns

Beet people started saying that they can grow better corn, corn people were bringing up long forgotten grievances and life became miserable. Furthermore, farmers got the wind of the changes and started inquiring and complaining. Beet grower union, Corn grower union and various potato grower organizations started asking comrades for their opinions. Suddenly, rather than growing stuff together we had the whole farming community debating whether Beets are from Mars and Corn is from Venus (paraphrasing a trendy capitalist publication).
Sometime I feel that we are at the rough seas, far away from home.


The International

The previous minister was an old and seasoned comrade. He ran our ministry for six years and managed to stay invisible for most of that time. Senior colleagues say that he was injured in the Battle of Kursk and lost some spunk since then, both likely to be true if you ask me. The new minister is of a completely different breed. In a year since his coming we saw a number of new initiatives coming directly from the top. Since repelling capitalist pigs takes most of our resources these initiatives are mostly symbolic yet the powerful propaganda apparatus that we employ on their behalf keeps them very visible. The Botany unit is very much engaged since the fathers of the minister and of our boss served in the same unit during WWII.

So what are these initiatives? One is called MAGELLAN after the discoverer with a dreamy sounding name who was a favorite of Marx and Lenin. The plan, or rather our portion of it, involves virtual
farming. On a practical level it is a pen-pal program where farmers from several countries write to one another and exchange ideas. Unfortunately in order to undercut capitalist enemies in this trying times MAGELLAN is setting very ambitious goals and it is supposed to transform our agriculture. With no real resources allocated I am afraid that these transformations will also be virtual and  no actual farming will occur as a result. However, I hope that it brings us closer to our foreign comrades  and burden on censorship to scrutinize all those letters will not add too much to our administration.

Great leap forward

is another initiative from our management. As it turns out we have many tedious procedures and quality controls. Before we actually plant anything there is a lot of reviewing, testing, consultations and so on. We try to bring best farming experts with detailed knowledge of all sorts of plants and seek their advice.  This takes time, energy and on many occasions what we are told is what we knew all along.  Great leap forward aims at simplifying the process and leveraging our own expertise to make faster and bolder decisions. We already received a handful of one-of-a-kind projects for evaluation and some of our colleagues are quite excited. Some ideas involve using industrial run-off for watering fields in the arid areas, farming salmon in the nuclear reactor cooling towers, and so on. Luckily all are required to be multidisciplinary and this  dilutes the responsibility and somewhat broadens the expertise.

iJob or the end of work alienation

is the last of the new director's gifts. Within the Botany unit it is supposed to work as follows: a farmer is supposed to get together with comrades that process, package, and prepare the food and other things that are made of his agricultural products. This way the whole purpose of  farming is clearly displayed and benefits to the society become apparent. Next a participating farmer and his newly acquired comrades undergo political training and start a cooperative that  is responsible for the totality of the production process from planting the seeds to delivering food items for worker's families. It is not clear to me if afterwards the farmer has any time left for farming but perhaps it is not a big loss. So in the end, our hands were sore from clapping when these plans were unveiled at a yearly gathering of the whole ministry. 



Foreign farmers

In spite of MAGELLAN initiative our treatment of foreign comrades worsened lately quite a bit. Traditionally we were bringing foreign farmers to our farming outposts, most of our working groups involved foreigners and many  comrades escaped oppression to come to our glorious country. 
Since we live in the best system under the sun it is understandable that the foreign comrades are struggling to catch up with us and are a bit starstruck at times. Yet they come here to farm with us and seeing their reduced food rations just because they are from other countries pains me. We have brought up this issue many times but apparently the directives from the Central Committee are making clear that only after a lengthy certification process the treatment could be equal. It is all rather sad and I suppose that in a long run we will not have very many foreign farmers in our working groups.

Continued here.