23 May 2016

Tatoo obsession in Sweden

Swedes have a huge obsession with tatoos:
Tatoos have become so commonplace in Sweden that Stockholm is now believed to be home to the world's most inked population outside of tribal societies. [Source]

I wrote about this in an earlier post because one of the first things I noticed in Sweden was that shops that carry magazines and newspapers have many more publications devoted to tatoos than to news. Sometimes one cannot find newspapers (other than trash tabloids) but there are surely several (sometimes dozens) tatoos magazines always available.  I tested this today at the main airport in Stockholm. I asked, at Pressbyrån, if they have any newspapers. They pointed out Expressen  to me.  I said,  "that's a tabloid,  do you have any regular newspaper?" They pointed out Aftonbladet to me.  I replied that this is also junk press.  "Any serious newspapers?" No.  None.  And yet they had several magazines on tattoo.

It's very hard to find newspapers at the main airport of Stockholm.  As for foreign press,  forget it,  there is none.  But tatoos are everywhere.  There is even a tatoo parlor at the Stockholm airport:
http://www.swedavia.com/arlanda/about-stockholm-arlanda-airport/about-stockholm-arlanda-airport/news/worlds-first-tattoo-studio-at-an-airport/
And they're proud about it: it's the first airport in the world to have a tatoo shop. (Caveat: there's nothing decent to eat at Stockholm airport,  but there's a place where you can get a tatoo.) I guess it's important to some to get their tattoo before they fly.

I observed these peculiarities long time ago.  But I didn't know that Sweden has as many tatoos per capita as in tribal societies.

N.B. See my old  posting on 3 Swedish fetishes:
http://randomprocessed.blogspot.fr/2011/09/three-swedish-fetishes.html?m=0




T H E B O T T O M L I N E

What measure theory is about

It's about counting, but when things get too large.
Put otherwise, it's about addition of positive numbers, but when these numbers are far too many.

The principle of dynamic programming

max_{x,y} [f(x) + g(x,y)] = max_x [f(x) + max_y g(x,y)]

The bottom line

Nuestras horas son minutos cuando esperamos saber y siglos cuando sabemos lo que se puede aprender.
(Our hours are minutes when we wait to learn and centuries when we know what is to be learnt.) --António Machado

Αγεωμέτρητος μηδείς εισίτω.
(Those who do not know geometry may not enter.) --Plato

Sapere Aude! Habe Muth, dich deines eigenen Verstandes zu bedienen!
(Dare to know! Have courage to use your own reason!) --Kant