#Nicolas Bourbaki Woman

[howtohero]

#247 Shared Identities

A lot of stock is put into superhero names. They need to be cool. They need to be identity-concealing. They can’t just be your own name with the word “super” in front of them. Even if that would actually make a really cool codename. Like, if your birth name was Krusher your superhero name couldn’t be Super Krusher. Which sucks. But the reality is that with superheroes having been around for decades (if not centuries, it depends who you ask) most of the really cool codenames have already been taken. This has led to some heroes becoming legacies, taking on the name of an older, retired (or dead {or zapped into the Zeroth Dimension for all time}) hero. Other heroes have said “Bah! Why wait for someone to die? There’s no reason we can’t start sharing codenames now!” These heroes have established shared identities, or collective pseudonyms as they are sometimes called.

(Shared identities should not be confused with the concept of “standins” where a hero will don the identity of a colleague while that hero is on vacation or temporarily deceased.)

One of the most famous shared identities dates back to 1935 when a group of French (well, mostly French, one of them was a cone-headed alien but that’s basically the same thing) mathematicians decided that none of them had cool enough names to get published on their own so they banded together under the name, Nicolas Bourbaki, which is still not like the coolest name, but Super Krusher was already taken so. At first, the members of this Bourbaki Group did nothing more than rigorously study and make major breakthroughs in mathematics. (Along with pulling the occasional prank, which is exactly what you would do too if you could attach someone else’s name to it and remain completely blameless.) Then, one day, rather coincidentally, all nine founders of the group gained superpowers.

(Ok, I’m sure you’re gonna ask about this so let’s just get this out of the way: Henri Cartan: struck dead on by a radioactive meteor. Claude Chevalley: Sneezed weirdly. Jean Coulromb: Made a deal with Satan which gave him beautiful hair forever and also the power to shoot flames from his hands. Jean Dieudonné: Legally adopted, as an adult, by a tribe of magical leopards who taught him how to use their magical leopard powers for good. Charles Ehresmann: Made a wish on a shooting star. {actually the radioactive meteor that struck Henri Cartan.} René de Possel: During a freak mathematical accident, the number 8 came to life and offered her a chance to become a godlike being and she took it. Szolem Mandelbrojt: Secretly had superpowers the entire time but once everyone else showed up with powers, he pretended that he’d also just gotten them too. André Weil: Didn’t actually get powers but he pretended he did for a surprisingly long time.)

With these newfound powers the members of Nicolas Bourbaki decided to fight crime in addition to their way boring math day jobs. Realizing that they had a chance to not only create a legendary mathematician, but also a legendary superhero, they decided to operate under a single superheroic moniker: Nicolas Bourbaki Woman. (René de Possel won a nine-way game of rock/paper/scissors for the privilege of choosing that name.) Together Nicolas Bourbaki Woman became one of the most successful French superheroes of all time. Since they were actually nine people they gave the appearance of being able to be in nine places at once which severely curbed any criminal’s desire to even attempt a crime in France.

That’s generally the motivation behind any shared identity superhero, expanded reach. If you share an identity with other people, then you can pretty much eliminate many of the human problems that affect most superheroes. You can be in multiple places at once. There never needs to be a break in your coverage, since when one person needs to rest, someone else can simply take over. Your superhero identity can even appear next your civilian identity as long as one of your partners is wearing the costume, thus ensuring that nobody ever guesses any of your secret identities.

Another reason why many heroes might choose to operate under a single identity is to spread out the privileges and reputation of one great hero over many individuals. Think of it like this: let’s say you get a Netflix account. Then you share the password with your brother, who then shares it with his boyfriend, who then shares it with his roommate, who then shares it with his weird aunt who can’t get enough of those Adam Sandler movies. You now have many individuals operating under a single Netflix username. What was once only accessible to one person is now accessible to the whole dang community because they’re all using the same information. Avid followers of this blog will remember that we actually set up a shared police officer identity that any superhero can use for exactly this purpose. (For those of you who don’t remember, Claude Von Howitzer is a police officer who is famous for constantly changing his appearance save for his incredibly fake looking mustache. Other things Officer Von Howitzer is famous for is losing evidence that might incriminate superheroes and always offering his fellow police officers free cupcakes. You can can become him whenever you need! For free! You’re welcome.)

If you’re going to create a collective pseudonym, it is important to keep track of who is part of the collective. We don’t want a repeat of what happened in Clifftown, Illinois. Clifftown was home to a superhero named The Blue Violet (of “roses are red, violets are blue” fame) who, unbeknownst to the rest of the world, was actually a sixteen-member improv group. (They’d accidentally “yes, and”ed themselves into becoming crime fighters, as often happens.) As time went on, they made great strides in their community and inspired people all around them to be the best versions of themselves that they could be. As it would happen, for many of those people, being the best version of themselves meant becoming superheroes, and each of the members of The Blue Violet ended up inducting several other citizens into the collective. Long story short, eventually the entire city was just The Blue Violet, unbeknownst to most everybody else in the city. Gosh, you should’ve seen their faces when they realized that they were all wearing the costume in their spare time. Priceless.

You also don’t want a supervillain to worm their way into the collective. (You also do not want a worm to supervillain their way into the collective, but that rarely happens so we hardly need to go into any more detail about what that might entail.) If a supervillain manages to start using your name and costume they can easily undo all the good your shared identity has done. It only takes someone wearing your costume shooting one mayoral candidate on live television to wipe away any goodwill the rest of you may have generated. So you also want to make sure that nobody in your shared identity turns evil later on. To prevent this, regularly check in with your fellow identity-bearers. Make sure they’re doing ok, and just generally chat with them about life. If they seem like they’re feeling down, advise them to take some time off. After all, that’s part of the beauty of having multiple people use one identity. If everyone in your group feels seen and cared for, the odds of them one day snapping and becoming a supervillain dramatically decreases. Or you can make everybody sign a contract in their blood to promise that they’ll never use your shared identity for evil. Both options are equally valid. (But they are not equally kind and they are not equally hardcore.)

Shared identities are useful but they are not for everybody. If you’ve ever wanted to rack up the accomplishments and acclaim of nine superheroes while only doing one ninth of the work, then you should look into forming a shared identity. If you don’t like the idea of someone else wearing your costume and having any sort of influence over how the public perceives you, then you should not do that and you’ll have to come up with your own unique identity. (If you live in Clifftown, Illinois, you are already part of a shared identity. You just don’t know it yet!) 

[maryanntorreson]

The 10 most popular TED-Ed Animations of 2020

Alexandra Panzer

In 2020, our YouTube audience spent nearly 32 million hours watching TED-Ed Animations (that’s equal to over 3,600 years!). Our most-viewed videos of 2020 include a couple of lovestruck tricksters, a self-cloning candy-pooping bug, a mysterious mathematician, a handful to help understand pandemics, and more.

Behold our top 10 most popular videos of 2020:

1. When is a pandemic over?

Consider the following scenario: a highly infectious, sometimes deadly respiratory virus infects humans for the first time. It spreads rapidly worldwide, and the WHO declares a pandemic. The death toll starts to rise and everyone is asking the same question: when will the pandemic end? Alex Rosenthal details the three main strategies governments can use to contain and end a pandemic.

2. The tale of the doctor who defied Death

A husband and wife were in despair. The woman had just given birth to their 13th child, and the growing family was quickly running out of food and money. Wandering into the woods, the father encountered a skeletal figure with sunken eyes and a gaunt face: this was Death himself, come to offer his services as Godfather. Iseult Gillespie tells the tale of Death and the doctor.

3. How does alcohol make you drunk?

Ethanol: this molecule, made of little more than a few carbon atoms, is responsible for drunkenness. Often simply referred to as alcohol, ethanol is the active ingredient in alcoholic beverages. So how exactly does it cause drunkenness, and why does it have dramatically different effects on different people? Judy Grisel explores alcohol’s journey through the body.

4. The bug that poops candy

Aphids can reproduce incredibly fast: they can make 20 new generations within a single season. And that means lots of poop. Some aphid populations can produce hundreds of kilograms of poop per acre— making them some of the most prolific poopers on the planet. We know this poop as the sweet, syrupy liquid called honeydew. George Zaidan explores the wonderfully weird life of an aphid.

5. What really happened during the Salem Witch Trials

You’ve been accused of a crime you did not commit. It’s impossible to prove your innocence. If you insist that you’re innocent anyway, you’ll likely be found guilty and executed. But if you confess, apologize, and implicate others, you’ll go free. This was the choice facing those accused of witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts in the 17th century. How did this happen? Brian A. Pavlac investigates.

6. The tale of the boy who tricked the Devil

In a small town, a proud mother showed off her newborn son. Upon noticing his lucky birthmark, townsfolk predicted he would marry a princess. But soon, these rumors reached the wicked king. Enraged, the king stole the child away, and sent him hurtling down the river. But the infant’s luck proved greater than the king’s plan. Iseult Gillespie tells the tale of the boy’s journey to meet the Devil.

7. How fast can a vaccine be made?

When a new pathogen emerges, our bodies and healthcare systems are left vulnerable. And when this pathogen causes the outbreak of a pandemic, there’s an urgent need for a vaccine to create widespread immunity with minimal loss of life. So how quickly can we develop vaccines when we need them most? Dan Kwartler describes the three phases of vaccine development.

8. What’s that ringing in your ears?

Tinnitus has been bothering humanity since Ancient Babylon, plaguing everyone from Leonardo da Vinci to Charles Darwin. Today, roughly one in seven people worldwide experiences this auditory sensation. So what exactly is tinnitus, and where does this persistent sound come from? Marc Fagelson travels into the auditory system to explore the loss of silence.

9. The greatest mathematician that never lived

When Nicolas Bourbaki applied to the American Mathematical Society in the 1950s, he was already one of the most influential mathematicians of his time. He’d published articles in international journals and his textbooks were required reading. Yet his application was firmly rejected for one simple reason: Nicolas Bourbaki did not exist. How is that possible? Pratik Aghor digs into the mystery.

10. Can you solve the Ragnarok riddle?

Ragnarok: The fabled end of the world, when giants, monsters, and Norse gods battle for the future. The gods were winning until the great serpent Jörmungandr emerged. It swallowed Valhalla and contorted itself across the land. Odin has just enough power to strike with one final bolt of lightning, and you have the fabled hammer, Mjölnir. Can you two destroy the serpent? Dan Finkel shows how.

On behalf of everyone here at TED-Ed, thanks for learning with us this year!

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The 10 most popular TED-Ed Animations of 2020 published first on https://premiumedusite.tumblr.com/rss

[dreisculpture]

Queer Art and Politics Seminar

1.0

What is queer?

Queer culture is a sexual freedom and liberation of all individuals. The term Queer distinguishes itself from sexual preferences such as Gay or Lesbian, as Queer it is not restricted or directly linked too sexual activity. Although this umbrella term is politically ingrained in standing for and changing the conditions of all individuals oppressed based on their sexuality and gender. The Queer culture understands the source of its oppression to be one of a class struggle. This has lead to contemporary Queer politics aligning itself with anti-capitalist, feminist and racial equality movements supported in the work and writing of groups such as the VNS matrix and Laboria Cuboniks. Contemporary Queer theory since its origins in the 1990’s has been about the fluid identity of Queer individuals.  

What is Queer Theory? 

Man and women, male and female, masculine and feminine: one and zero looked just right, made for each other: 1, the definite, upright line; and 0, the diagram of nothing at all: penis and vagina, thing and hole, hand in glove. A perfect match. It takes two to make a binary, but all these pairs are two of a kind, and the kind is always kind of one. 1 and 0 make another 1. Male and female add up to man. There is no female equivalent. No universal woman at his side. This male is one, ones everything, and the female has “nothing you can see.” Woman “functions as a hole,” a gab, a space, “a nothing- that is nothing the same, identical, identifiable, a fault, a flaw, a lack, an absence, outside the system of representations and auto- representations. This quote by Sadie Plant on page 35 of Zeros and Ones accurately portrays the social dominance of the masculine patriarchy, which results in the oppression of other individuals. This formulates the fundamental bases of Queer theory, which is to embrace and then abolish the otherness of identity. There is plant and animal, machine and organism, black and white, human and robot, male and female, queer theory aims to abolish all of these false dichotomies. In order to embrace and then abolish the otherness of identity caused by sexuality and gender, individuals must be viewed subjectively and not from the hegemonic social perspective which only reinforces the masculine patriarchy, but for all people to be embraced for their otherness, where the difference of every individual is celebrated. Donna Harroway in the Cyborg Manifesto summarises this by stating “the power to survive, not on the basis of original innocence, but on the basis of seizing the tools to mark the world that marked them as other.” Once the uniqueness and otherness of all individuals is embraced and celebrated it becomes equalised and reduced to nothing resulting in the fluid identity of all individuals. Therefore it is emancipated and no longer formulates the basis of oppression. 

 Eradicating the idea of the Natural 

Nothing should be accepted as fixed and permanent, neither material condition and social forms, nor the technological horizon. The glorification of ‘nature, has nothing to offer. Laboria Cuboniks in Xenofeminist manifesto. As I have explained earlier the objective of Queer theory is to embrace and abolish otherness resulting in a fluid identity. One main idealogical concept used to deploy these objectives is to eradicate the cognitive idea of nature. Nature being something that exists outside of culture, a predetermined higher force fighting for a universal equilibrium. All knowledge and imagination is within culture and nothing lies outside of this, any predetermined ideas only reinforce current white western patriarchal and hierarchal power structures. Explained by Laboria Cuboniks “to claim that reason or rationality is “by nature” White, patriarchal and European is to simply concede defeat. Nature is used as a tool to reinforce dogma by a individual, group or organisation as it is utilised to morally justify thought and action, restricting the ability for change. 

  What is Technoscientific Queer Theory?

 Technoscientific Queer theory, is a branch of contemporary Queer theory and politics that highlights the potential for the emancipation of oppressed individuals through the coding and programming of future hegemonies. Aligning itself with the Philosophy and theory of technology that understands technology as a species that will outlive the human race. Technoscientific Queer theory argues that long lasting gender, class and racial equality will come through the incorporation and providing of equal opportunities to all individuals through the diplomatic coding and programming of future technologies. Queer and transgender theorist Jack Halberstam’s work investigates the possibilities of oppressed individuals aligning themselves with technology evident in his quote “self and other, self and technology, self and power in queer feminism.” Technoscientific Queer is part of the origins and foundations of Queer theory first introduced into popular discourse in the 1990’s with writers such as Sadie Plant and Donna Harroway.  Presently Technoscientific Queer thoery is still evident in philosophy, theory and literature and has spread to a range of social mediums such as the political movement “accelerationism” artists such as Goodyn Green and Kaitlin Jane also heavily incorporate the ideology. In order for us to better understand the formation of Technoscientific Queer theory in stage 2 of the seminar I will aim to provide the historical context of the time Queer theory entered popular discourse.

 2.0

Queer theory marks its official formation and introduction into popular social and academic discourse in the 1990’s. Although post-structurlist  ideologies influence in the formation of the major themes and concepts in Queer theory date back to the 1960’s. Derrida was one of the first theorists to bring to attention the limitations of structuralism while lecturing in 1966. Theorists such as Roland Barthes, Jean Baudrillard and many other influential theorists of the time begun to produce work from a post-structuralism standpoint. By 1968 post-structuralism was already experiencing academic popularity, Gilles Deluze writes his doctrine paper “Difference and Repetition” which continues to be one of the driving forces behind post-structuralism and Queer Theory. Gilles Deluzes states “the self is only a threshold, a door, a becoming between two multiplicities.”

 3.0 In the third stage of the seminar we will investigate and deconstruct two art collectives that align, identify and incorporate Queer theory and politics as apart of their practice. The first is the multi disciplinary queer, feminist art collective the VNS matrix. Forming in 1991 in Perth, Australia at the origins of Queer theories introduction into popular social and academic discourse. Although being geographically isolated from the epicenter of radical queer and feminist discourse of the time the VNS matrix were instrumental to the rise of it’s awareness. The VNS matrix are the founders of “Cyber feminism,” a vastly significant branch of contemporary Queer culture. This allowed for the Queer community to move away from “folk political thinking” which focused on local politics and movements. But instead to incorporate and utilize computer technology and the possibilities that a worldwide network such as the Internet offered. The collective produced a wide range of work including installation, video games, and literature, their first piece “the cyber feminist manifesto’ in 1991 was shown first here in Australia and then internationally as a billboard famously citing “the clitoris is a direct line to the matrix” the following year they released the video game and accompanying video works “all new gen.” This video is currently apart of Red, Green, Blue a history of Australian video art showing at the Griffith Galleries if you have not already seen the piece I highly encourage you all to view the work. Between the years 1992-1997 the VNS matrix would release works such as “ensenual fragments” and, “bitch mutant manifesto” in 1994 and “bad code” in 1996. The collectives work continues to show here in Australia and internationally, as a driving force and influence on Queer and feminist art, theory and discourse. The formation of Cyber feminism and collectives such as the VNS matrix have directly laid the foundations for Queer and feminists collectives to expand in the twenty-first century. One such collective would be Laboria Cuboniks an international collective of 6 members, working from five separate locations around the world. The name is an anagram of Nicolas Bourbaki, a 20th century male dominated French mathematics collective. Forming in 2014 based on an interest in neo-rationalism and shared experiences of animosity as Queer females from institutions when showing interest in reason, science, technology and mathematics. As a fairly new collective their work has been centered around creating a new branch of feminism. First introduced in their 2014 “Xenofemnist” manifesto which aims to dismantle gender, reshape the “family” structure and do away with nature as a guarantor for inegalitarian political positions. This work has had a significant impact of Queer and Feminist communities since it’s release showing in institutions around the world and nationally here at first draft in Sydney. Laboria Cuboniks manifesto marks a time where Feminist, Queer and Trans discourse come together and aim to dismantle and reconstruct a new global hegemony. The VNS matrix and Laboria Cuboniks have both aesthetically and conceptually been instrumental into Queer theories emergence into institutional academic and social discourse.

 4.0  How Queer theory and Politics has influenced my practice?

Reading and researching Queer theory is an important element of my practice. My research on Queer theory is focused on a post nature society that understands the limitations of post-structuralist epistemology. Instead calling for a Queer theory that supports and makes firm depends for moral and political universals that support all individuals. This has lead me to look at the work of Technoscientific Queer theorists and artists. The VNS matrix and Laboria Cuboniks work with visual and conceptual themes to create a unique fluidity between the aesthetic and theoretical elements of their practices, where the art gallery becomes the library and the internet becomes the art gallery. The themes and concepts presented by the VNS matrix and Laboria Cuboniks as well as the fluidity between art and literature are influential to my practice. I aim to be apart of contemporary Queer culture that looks through post-structuralism, which still reinforces linear power structures. To a society that supports sexuality, gender and identity as a matrix, or a sphere, where nothing is fixed or permanent, there is no start or end. Ingrained in a Queer theory and politics that, abolishes nature as a tool used to reinforce dogma and restrict the ability for social change. Instead forming a Queer community that separates itself from sexuality but instead embraces the liberation from sexual oppression of all individuals.

[ao3feed-brucewayne]

A Bullet For You

read it on the AO3 at http://bit.ly/2ItJPKa

by AeternumSol

Your boyfriend, Tyler Joseph suddenly disappears. You find out he's being detained in Belle Reve asylum for a crime he didn't commit. You try to break him out and attempt to find justice in Gotham city.

Words: 1215, Chapters: 1/4, Language: English

Fandoms: Twenty One Pilots, DC Extended Universe, DC Elseworlds, Suicide Squad (2016), Justice League (2017)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/M

Characters: Tyler Joseph, Josh Dun, Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Diana (Wonder Woman), Evelyn Sharp, Blurryface | Nicolas Bourbaki

Relationships: Tyler Joseph/Reader

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Heathens (Music Video), Gotham City - Freeform, Belle Reve Penitentiary, Bruce Wayne is Batman, Twenty One Pilots Reference, Based on a Twenty One Pilots Song

read it on the AO3 at http://bit.ly/2ItJPKa