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London: a psychogeographic excursion

By Jonas Andersson

It is exciting to live here; so much history in a few square miles. I just found out that London School of Economics & Political Science had recently re-published an updated version of the highly influential ‘Descriptive Map of London Poverty’ by Charles Booth from 1898-99. This updated version displays an interactive version of Booth’s original map online, alongside a contemporary Ordnance Survey map, which makes for an exciting historical comparison! For example, noting the area around Goldsmiths College, one notices that surprisingly little has changed. Dan Hill notes how The Economist, in their article on the publishing of this map, had picked up on the fact that there is a consistency of place even within a city in as apparently constant flux as London. What is perhaps more striking, though, with Booth’s map is what Hill mentions was the deliberate method of taking a “necessarily impressionistic” approach to judging streets. His researchers simply walked all over London, noting down what they saw — from the shape of the streets to the tiniest details of flotsam and jetsam of living — as well as talking to people. The streets were then coded — sometimes with facets like viciousness! — and mapped. [...] For all their lack of validity, ethics or scientific rigour, they are often far more detailed, ironically, and the subjective personal views therein often provide engaging hooks upon which to hang your own constructed response to the city.Speaking of: Elsewhere on the web, the wonderfully esoteric Archeology of…

Human Train

By Nicholas Marsh

So I hate getting on a packed commuter train same as everyone else, but I love it when you get off, look back and realise just how packed it was. In this case (and I caught the photo quite late) it looks like the total volume of commuters is significantly larger than the total volume of the train they’ve just got off. I think this is actually true, I’ve always suspected that London commuter trains defy the accepted laws of thermodynamics, and finally, here’s the proof. 

Daybreak Page Five

By Chris Underwood

The Ultimate In Unethical Design

By Vicky Nagy

I came across this designed object that is a propaganda machine, literally. “A popular 1926 exhibit from the American Eugenics movement reads, “Some people are born to be a burden on the rest. Learn about heredity. You can help to correct these conditions.” Five panels are displayed, with flashing lights on them. The top one is captioned, “This light flashes every 15 seconds. Ever 15 seconds $100 of your money goes for the care of persons with bad heredity such as the insane, feeble-minded, criminals, and other defectives.” Under “America needs less of these,” there is a light that flashes every 48 seconds—“Every 48 seconds a person is born in the United states who will never grow up mentally beyond that stage of a normal 8 year old boy or girl”—and one that flashes every 50 seconds—“Every 50 seconds a person is committed to jail in the United States. Very few normal persons ever go to jail.” Under “America needs more of these,” there is a light that flashes every 16 seconds—“Every 16 seconds a person is born in the United States”, and another that flashes every 7 and a half minutes—“Every 7 1/2 minutes a high grade person is born in the United States who will have ability to do creative work and be fit for leadership. About 4% of all Americans come within this class.” These flashing-light exhibits were very popular at American eugenics exhibitions, and smaller, more portable versions were made to show everyone how rapidly all…

Hard Drive

By Chris Underwood