Jesus Christ superstars: meet the modern-day messiahs

David Shayler worked for MI5, Vissarion was a traffic policeman… now both preach as the son of God. Jonas Bendiksen tells Paula Cocozza about his portraits of 21st-century messiahs

Jonas Bendiksen grew up in a “godless home” in Tønsberg, Norway, which makes him an unlikely candidate to photograph the messiah, let alone six of them. But this is what he has spent the past three years doing: chronicling the lives of men – and they are all men – who claim to be Jesus returned to Earth, from Siberia to the Philippines, Japan to Devon.

A member of the Magnum photo agency, 39-year-old Bendiksen describes himself as ardently scientific: “Faith has always been very hard for me to conceptualise,” he says. He thinks it might be this lack of preconceptions that has allowed him “to go and touch divinity itself”. He has no interest in mocking or defrocking his Jesus claimants: “My mission was to say, ‘OK, if one were to accept the prophecy of Jesus’s return, why wouldn’t it be this guy?’”

Continue reading...The Guardian http://ift.tt/2vOACkC September 01, 2017 at 10:00AM

Comments

Solving Van der Pol equation with ivp_solve

Van der Pol’s differential equation is The equation describes a system with nonlinear damping, the degree of damping given by μ. If μ = 0 the system is linear and undamped, but for positive μ the system is nonlinear and damped. We will plot the phase portrait for the solution to Van der Pol’s equation in Python using SciPy’s new ODE solver ivp_solve . The function ivp_solve does not solve second-order systems of equations directly. It solves systems of first-order equations, but a second-order differential equation can be recast as a pair of first-order equations by introducing the first derivative as a new variable. Since y is the derivative of x , the phase portrait is just the plot of ( x , y ). If μ = 0, we have a simple harmonic oscillator and the phase portrait is simply a circle. For larger values of μ the solutions enter limiting cycles, but the cycles are more complicated than just circles. Here’s the Python code that made the plot. from scipy import linspace from ...

Lawyer: 'Socialite Grifter' Anna Sorokin 'Had To Do It Her Way' (And Steal $275,000)

Opening statements were made in the "Socialite Grifter" trial on Wednesday, and both sides provided extremely different reasons why Anna Sorokin allegedly scammed a number of people and institutions out of $275,000. [ more › ] Gothamist https://ift.tt/2HXgI0E March 29, 2019 at 12:33AM

5 Massively Important AI Features In Time Tracking Applications

Artificial intelligence has transformed the future of many industries. One area that has been under- investigated is the use of AI in time tracking technology. AI is Fundamentally Changing the Future of Time Tracking Technology A time tracking software is a worthy investment irrespective of the size of your organization. It generates accurate reports based on the amount of time your team spends working on a task. These reports facilitate planning of budgets for upcoming projects. Many AI tools are changing the nature of time management. MindSync AI discussed the pivotal role of AI in time management in a Medium article . Why is time tracking software important? It helps with keeping track of the hours being invested on a given task. This sheds light on the timeline for the overall project. It also helps in determining the productivity levels of the employees. This is one of the many reasons that AI is driving workplace productivity . But how can employers utilize it effectively? ...

DataScience4you2me

Search This Blog