Il y aura un quiz sur le vocabulaire

Orwell's title remains a mystery. Some say he was alluding to the centenary of the Fabian Society, founded in 1884. Others suggest a nod to Jack London's novel The Iron Heel (in which a political movement comes to power in 1984), or perhaps to one of his favourite writer GK Chesterton's story, "The Napoleon of Notting Hill", which is set in 1984.

In his edition of the Collected Works (20 volumes), Peter Davison notes that Orwell's American publisher claimed that the title derived from reversing the date, 1948, though there's no documentary evidence for this. Davison also argues that the date 1984 is linked to the year of Richard Blair's birth, 1944, and notes that in the manuscript of the novel, the narrative occurs, successively, in 1980, 1982 and finally, 1984. There's no mystery about the decision to abandon "The Last Man in Europe". Orwell himself was always unsure of it. It was his publisher, Fred Warburg who suggested that Nineteen Eighty-Four was a more commercial title.

Freedom of speech: How '1984' has entrusted our culture

The effect of Nineteen Eighty-Four on our cultural and linguistic landscape has not been limited to either the film adaptation starring John Hurt and Richard Burton, with its Nazi-esque rallies and chilling soundtrack, nor the earlier one with Michael Redgrave and Edmond O'Brien.

It is likely, however, that many people watching the Big Brother series on television (in the UK, let alone in Angola, Oman or Sweden, or any of the other countries whose TV networks broadcast programmes in the same format) have no idea where the title comes from or that Big Brother himself, whose role in the reality show is mostly to keep the peace between scrapping, swearing contestants like a wise uncle, is not so benign in his original incarnation.

Apart from pop-culture renditions of some of the novel's themes, aspects of its language have been leapt upon by libertarians to describe the curtailment of freedom in the real world by politicians and officials - alarmingly, nowhere and never more often than in contemporary Britain.

George owes his own adjective to this book alone and his idea that wellbeing is crushed by restrictive, authoritarian and untruthful government.

A term in common usage for a scarily omniscient ruler long before the worldwide smash-hit reality-TV show was even a twinkle in its producers' eyes. The irony of societal hounding of Big Brother contestants would not have been lost on George Orwell.

Some hotels have refused to call a guest bedroom number 101 - rather like those tower blocks that don't have a 13th floor - thanks to the ingenious Orwellian concept of a room that contains whatever its occupant finds most impossible to endure. Like Big Brother, this has spawned a modern TV show: in this case, celebrities are invited to name the people or objects they hate most in the world.

An accusation often levelled at the current government by those who like it least is that they are trying to tell us what we can and cannot think is right and wrong. People who believe that there are correct ways to think find themselves named after Orwell's enforcement brigade.

See "Thought Police" above. The act or fact of transgressing enforced wisdom.

• 
  guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2009
  

Brain researcher Susan Greenfield claims 'mind change' as a result of using modern technology is one of humanity's greatest threats

• 
  Ian Sample, science correspondent
  
• 
  guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 14 September 2010 20.07 BST
  

Lady Greenfield reignited the debate over modern technology and its impact on the brain today by claiming the issue could pose the greatest threat to humanity after climate change.

The Oxford University researcher called on the government and private companies to join forces and thoroughly investigate the effects that computer games, the internet and social networking sites such as Twitter may have on the brain.

Lady Greenfield has coined the term "mind change" to describe differences that arise in the brain as a result of spending long periods of time on a computer. Many scientists believe it is too early to know whether these changes are a cause for concern.

"We need to recognise this is an issue rather than sweeping it under the carpet," Greenfield said. "We should acknowledge that it is bringing an unprecedented change in our lives and we have to work out whether it is for good or bad."

Everything we do causes changes in the brain and the things we do a lot are most likely to cause long term changes. What is unclear is how modern technology influences the brain and the consequences this has.

"For me, this is almost as important as climate change," said Greenfield. "Whilst of course it doesn't threaten the existence of the planet like climate change, I think the quality of our existence is threatened and the kind of people we might be in the future."

Lady Greenfield was talking at the British Science Festival in Birmingham before a speech at the Tory party conference next month. She said possible benefits of modern technology included higher IQ and faster processing of information, but using internet search engines to find facts may affect people's ability to learn. Computer games in which characters get multiple lives might even foster recklessness, she said.

"We have got to be very careful about what price we are paying, that the things that are being lost don't outweigh the things gained," Greenfield said. "Every single parent I have spoken to so far is concerned. I have yet to find a parent who says 'I am really pleased that my kid is spending so much time in front of the computer'."

Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, a cognitive neuroscientist at University College London and co-author of the book The Learning Brain, agreed that more research was needed to know whether technology was causing significant changes in the brain. "We know nothing at all about how the developing brain is being influenced by video games or social networking and so on.

"We can only really know how seriously to take this issue once the research starts to produce data. So far, most of the research on how video games affect the brain has been done with adult participants and, perhaps surprisingly, has mostly shown positive effects of gaming on many cognitive abilities," she said.

Maryanne Wolf, a cognitive neuroscientist at Tufts University in Massachusetts and author of Proust and the Squid, said that brain circuits honed by reading books and thinking about their content could be lost as people spend more time on computers.

"It takes time to think deeply about information and we are becoming accustomed to moving on to the next distraction. I worry that the circuits that give us deep reading abilities will atrophy in adults and not be properly formed in the young," she said.

Fears over computers’ impact on lives

By Clive Cookson, Science Editor Financial Times

Published: September 14 2010 18:55 | Last updated: September 14 2010 18:55

The potential transformation of our brains caused by intensive use of computers and the internet is a threat to our quality of life on the same scale as risks to the planet from climate change, according to an eminent neuroscientist.

Lady Greenfield of Oxford university has stepped up her campaign for an inquiry into “mind change” caused by computers and the internet.

Lady Greenfield, former director of the Royal Institution, called on the government and private sector to set up a joint research programme to look at the effects of modern technology on the brain.

“For me this is almost as important as climate change,” she said, ahead of a speech on Tuesday night at the British Science Festival in Birmingham.

“While it doesn’t threaten the existence of the planet like climate change, I think the quality of our existence is threatened – and the kind of people we might be in the future.”

Lady Greenfield said the possible benefits of modern technology included a higher IQ, better memory and quicker processing of information. But she is more worried about the potential negative side. For example, social networking sites might reduce the empathy that young people felt towards others; using search engines to find facts might hinder the ability to learn; and computer games in which it was possible to start from the beginning, no matter how many mistakes were made, might make us more reckless in our day-to-day lives, she said.

Dismissing charges of scaremongering, Lady Greenfield said: “Every single parent I have spoken to so far is concerned. I have yet to find a parent who says: ‘I am really pleased that my kid is spending so much time in front of the computer.’”

She acknowledged that information technology was bringing huge benefits to society, but added: “We should be the masters and not the slaves of technology – and harnessing it in ways that we could do exciting and fulfilling things with.”

WORKSHEET ON AN IMMIGRANT’S STORY

Village voice

Man born under a good star rejects ill-fortune
In his column from a poor Ganges village in the shadow of the Himalayas VICTOR ZORZA, the distinguished journalist, writes about the joys and sorrows of Indian village life. Here he relates one man’s dream of emigration and riches.
A bicycle would cost a fortune, but the young man who yearned for the marvellous shiny machine had it all worked out. He would borrow the money, ride the bicycle into town every day carrying two churns of milk, and would soon be on his way to becoming the richest man in the village.

The moneylender demanded interest at 60 per cent, so Surat Singh kept borrowing small sums from friends until he had collected what he needed. But his first milk delivery almost ended in disaster.

The jungle track connecting the village to the road had been flooded during the monsoon. His front wheel struck an unseen stone, the bicycle overturned, and one churn spilled its precious contents into the water. But since it was the smaller of the two, he regarded it as a good omen. Surat Singh always looked on the bright side.

He had another stroke of luck just outside town, at the checkpost where officials inspect the milk. The inspector wasn’t there , so he didn’t have to pay a bribe. He knew his good fortune couldn’t last, because in the end everybody had to pay up, but he got away with it for the whole of the first week. Another favourable omen.

The neighbours from whom Surat Singh collected the milk always diluted it, adding a quart of water to every two quarts of milk. When the inspector did stop him later to take a sample, Surat Singh slipped him the 200 rupees (about £13) he had borrowed from the moneylender for this contingency. It would take him a fortnight to earn that much, but it was a good investment : he would not be bothered again for some time.

The money Surat Singh earned from milk deliveries would finance his dream of emigration for that was how he was going to make his fortune. His first attempt to emigrate ended in disaster when the confidence trickster who had promised to smuggle him to a foreign country left him high and dry after taking him to Bombay and relieving him of his savings.

This time, Surat Singh told me, he would be more careful : he would rely on me to get him to the promised land. Once abroad, he would work hard for a couple of years – « very hard, » he told me – and return with 100,000 rupees (more than £6,500). « Here it takes a lifetime to earn that much, » he said, « even as a milkman. »

The milk inspector had never promised complete immunity to milkmen, claiming that he had to do his duty « sometimes ». It kept them jumpy and compliant. But he always warned Surat Singh when he was going to take a sample – and demanded a new bribe. Sometimes he would say that his own chief was coming to inspect him, explain that he had to share his bribe with his superior – and extort a bigger payment. Another milkman, slow with his bribes, was caught and fined the equivalent of several months’ earnings. Surat Singh, frightened, again borrowed from the moneylender to pay the inspector.

The rainy season was worse than the heat. The jungle track was difficult enough to negotiate ; the highway to town – wet and slippery, with huge lorries rushing past, their drivers heedless of cyclists – was a more serious hazard. Cyclists had been maimed and killed.

A speeding truck knocked him off his bicycle. The driver didn’t stop, but passers-by pulled him out of the mud, put him on a bullock cart, and took him to hospital. His broken arm, first in plaster and then in a sling, took months to mend. He lost his remaining customers to other milkmen, but he has now resumed deliveries and is trying to build up his trade again.
The bone hasn’t set properly. It will have to be broken and re-set. He rides with one hand resting on the handlebars – a difficult and risky feat, with his heavy load. But he is saving again – to repay the loan for medical expenses, also at 60 per cent, and the earlier borrowings. « Then, » he says, « I’ll buy an air ticket to go abroad. »

« I’m lucky, » he explains. « If I’d been in the middle of the road when I was hit, I would have been killed. » But he was born under a good star, he insists, and will find his way abroad and return rich.

« If it has to happen, it will, » he says.

Victor Zorza

Solar-powered flight Its moment in the sun An attempt to fly around the world in a solar-powered plane

Mar 2nd 2013 | PAYERNE |From the print edition of The Economist

A REVOLUTIONARY solar-powered aircraft touched down recently at Moffett Airfield, in the heart of Silicon Valley. No champagne corks were popped, however, for it arrived disassembled in the belly of a 747 cargo jet. The aircraft will be reassembled by the end of March and then begin flight tests. If all goes well, by May it should be ready to fly across America, stopping in four cities before landing in New York. However, this aircraft is just an experimental prototype for a much bigger exploit.

The team behind the project, called Solar Impulse, are using their prototype to learn what will be required to build a second aircraft capable of circumnavigating the globe using only the power of the sun. After carrying out a number of successful test flights of the prototype from their base at an airfield in Payerne, Switzerland, construction of their second aircraft began. But last July the Solar Impulse project suffered a big setback. The second aircraft failed a critical safety check. Its main wing spar, the backbone of any aeroplane, broke during structural tests.

There is always a risk of pushing technology too far when doing something new. Bertrand Piccard, one of Solar Impulse’s founders, had been in the same situation before and knew that success comes by learning from mistakes and moving on. In 1999 he co-piloted Orbiter 3, the first balloon to circumnavigate the globe (the other two Orbiters failed to complete the trip). It was when he landed in the Egyptian desert with just 40kg of propane left from the 3.7 tonnes he had taken off with 20 days earlier that Mr Piccard decided his next challenge would be to repeat the flight using no fuel at all. He teamed up with André Borschberg, a fighter pilot and engineer, to form the Solar Impulse project. Mr Piccard comes from a line of adventurers. His grandfather, Auguste, was the first to fly a balloon into the stratosphere. His father, Jacques, plunged to record depths in a deep-sea submersible.

Making the most of it

The problem with the wing spar has set back the team a year. Making a new one, completing the second aircraft and waiting for suitable weather means that the round-the-world flight is now scheduled for 2015. In the meantime, the team decided to make the best of their enforced delay by flying their prototype across America. This will provide more valuable operating experience and help with the development of the technologies they will need. Plus, if anything goes wrong, it is easier to land on dry land than the ocean.

Solar-powered aircraft are not new. One of the earliest, Solar Challenger, flew across the English Channel in 1981. It was built by the late Paul MacCready, an American aeronautical engineer. Its 14.3-metre wing was covered in photovoltaic cells. These powered two electric motors, which in turn drove a single propeller.

The Solar Impulse project is a very different beast. The prototype aircraft (pictured above) which will fly across America has a wingspan of 63.4 metres, which is as big as a jumbo jet’s. Yet its fuselage is as slender as a glider’s and its single-person cockpit is cramped. The wings are covered in almost 12,000 photovoltaic cells, which can simultaneously run its four electrically driven propellers while charging four packs of lithium-polymer batteries. The batteries are needed because the aircraft has to be able to fly through the night.

The second aircraft (the one being built to circumnavigate the globe) will have to do that non-stop for five-to-six days at a time. The plan is to take off in an easterly direction and land on every continent that touches the Tropic of Cancer. This will involve long flights across oceans. With only as much power as a motor scooter, the planned aircraft will cruise at just 70kph (43mph). Its ultimate range will be limited by the physical ability of the pilot to remain alert, with little room to move or to store much food and water. With current technology, the team reckon, a two-person solar plane would be too heavy.

To give Mr Piccard and Mr Borschberg (who take turns as pilot) room to exercise and lie down, the next aircraft will be about 15% bigger than the prototype, which tips the scales at just 1,600kg (3,527lb). Weight is the critical factor. The wing spar that broke had been redesigned with an ultralight carbon-fibre process to shed the grams. “But we went too close to the limits,” confesses Mr Borschberg.

There is little scope for a full autopilot system, and it would weigh too much. However, Altran, an engineering consultancy based in France and one of the project’s supporters, is developing a partial system. In calm weather, it will keep the aircraft pointing in the right direction. And if turbulence causes a wing to dip by more than five degrees, a cuff on the pilot’s right or left arm will vibrate to tell him which way to correct course. He must react quickly to keep control. This system will be tried out on the prototype flight in America.

The ground crew can monitor both the flight and the pilot with telemetry. When circumnavigating the globe the pilot will be able to lower a seat (which also doubles as a toilet) to lie down and take catnaps of up to 20 minutes. That is enough, the team calculate, to ward off some of the effects of sleep deprivation. The pilot must not be too groggy if he has to swing suddenly into action. This procedure has been tested in a flight simulator for 72 hours non-stop, and seems to work.

A typical flight involves taking off in the early morning, when winds are light, and ascending to 10,000 metres to stay above any stormclouds. At this altitude, though, the air is thin and an oxygen supply is needed. The pilot has to wear an oxygen mask because pressurising the cockpit, as an airliner does with air from its jet engines, is not possible. Nor do the team want to carry heavy oxygen cylinders. As an alternative Air Liquide, an industrial-gases firm, is developing a solar-powered system to generate oxygen.

At night the pilot descends slowly, carefully using up the power until dawn. Once the sun returns the batteries can recharge in three hours as the plane ascends again. Landings are also left until the early evening, when winds are light.

The flight across America will give the team’s meteorologists an opportunity to see how their weather models stand up. Sometimes it is necessary for the pilot to delay a landing to wait for optimum conditions. Mr Piccard and Mr Borschberg have learned an interesting technique to do that. Flying slowly, they turn the nose into a headwind, which can make the aircraft fly backwards. It is not the sort of thing to try in a jumbo jet.

Slum growth 'shames the world' By Alex Kirby BBC News Online environment correspondent

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