title: Systems theory

text: László explains that the new systems view of organized complexity went "one step beyond the Newtonian view of organized simplicity" which reduced the parts from the whole, or understood the whole without relation to the parts. The relationship between organisations and their environments can be seen as the foremost source of complexity and interdependence. In most cases, the whole has properties that cannot be known from analysis of the constituent elements in isolation.


title: Systems theory

text: Béla H. Bánáthy, who argued—along with the founders of the systems society—that "the benefit of humankind" is the purpose of science, has made significant and far-reaching contributions to the area of systems theory. For the Primer Group at the International Society for the System Sciences, Bánáthy defines a perspective that iterates this view:


title: Systems theory

text: Systems biology is a movement that draws on several trends in bioscience research. Proponents describe systems biology as a biology-based interdisciplinary study field that focuses on complex interactions in biological systems, claiming that it uses a new perspective (holism instead of reduction).


title: Systems theory

text: Particularly from the year 2000 onwards, the biosciences use the term widely and in a variety of contexts. An often stated ambition of systems biology is the modelling and discovery of emergent properties which represents properties of a system whose theoretical description requires the only possible useful techniques to fall under the remit of systems biology. It is thought that Ludwig von Bertalanffy may have created the term "systems biology" in 1928.


title: Systems theory

text: Systems ecology is an interdisciplinary field of ecology that takes a holistic approach to the study of ecological systems, especially ecosystems; it can be seen as an application of general systems theory to ecology.


title: Systems theory

text: Central to the systems ecology approach is the idea that an ecosystem is a complex system exhibiting emergent properties. Systems ecology focuses on interactions and transactions within and between biological and ecological systems, and is especially concerned with the way the functioning of ecosystems can be influenced by human interventions. It uses and extends concepts from thermodynamics and develops other macroscopic descriptions of complex systems.


title: Systems theory

text: Systems chemistry is the science of studying networks of interacting molecules, to create new functions from a set (or library) of molecules with different hierarchical levels and emergent properties. Systems chemistry is also related to the origin of life (abiogenesis).


title: Systems theory

text: Systems engineering is an interdisciplinary approach and means for enabling the realisation and deployment of successful systems. It can be viewed as the application of engineering techniques to the engineering of systems, as well as the application of a systems approach to engineering efforts. Systems engineering integrates other disciplines and specialty groups into a team effort, forming a structured development process that proceeds from concept to production to operation and disposal. Systems engineering considers both the business and the technical needs of all customers, with the goal of providing a quality product that meets the user's needs.


title: Systems theory

text: Systems thinking is a crucial part of user-centered design processes and is necessary to understand the whole impact of a new human computer interaction (HCI) Information System. Overlooking this and developing software without insights input from the future users (mediated by user experience designers) is a serious design flaw that can lead to complete failure of information systems, increased stress and mental illness for users of information systems leading to increased costs and a huge waste of resources. It is currently surprisingly uncommon for organizations and governments to investigate the project management decisions leading to serious design flaws and lack of usability.


title: Systems theory

text: The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers estimates that roughly 15% of the estimated $1 trillion used to develop information systems every year is completely wasted and the produced systems are discarded before implementation by entirely preventable mistakes. According to the CHAOS report published in 2018 by the Standish Group, a vast majority of information systems fail or partly fail according to their survey:


title: Systems theory

text: System dynamics is an approach to understanding the nonlinear behaviour of complex systems over time using stocks, flows, internal feedback loops, and time delays.


title: Systems theory

text: Systems psychology is a branch of psychology that studies human behaviour and experience in complex systems.


title: Systems theory

text: It received inspiration from systems theory and systems thinking, as well as the basics of theoretical work from Roger Barker, Gregory Bateson, Humberto Maturana and others. It makes an approach in psychology in which groups and individuals receive consideration as systems in homeostasis. Systems psychology "includes the domain of engineering psychology, but in addition seems more concerned with societal systems and with the study of motivational, affective, cognitive and group behavior that holds the name engineering psychology."


title: Systems theory

text: In systems psychology, characteristics of organizational behaviour (such as individual needs, rewards, expectations, and attributes of the people interacting with the systems) "considers this process in order to create an effective system."


title: Systems theory

text: System theory has been applied in the field of neuroinformatics and connectionist cognitive science. Attempts are being made in neurocognition to merge connectionist cognitive neuroarchitectures with the approach of system theory and dynamical systems theory.


title: Systems theory

text: Systems thinking can date back to antiquity, whether considering the first systems of written communication with Sumerian cuneiform to Mayan numerals, or the feats of engineering with the Egyptian pyramids. Differentiated from Western rationalist traditions of philosophy, C. West Churchman often identified with the I Ching as a systems approach sharing a frame of reference similar to pre-Socratic philosophy and Heraclitus. Ludwig von Bertalanffy traced systems concepts to the philosophy of G.W. Leibniz and Nicholas of Cusa's "coincidentia oppositorum". While modern systems can seem considerably more complicated, they may embed themselves in history.


title: Systems theory

text: Figures like James Joule and Sadi Carnot represent an important step to introduce the "systems approach" into the (rationalist) hard sciences of the 19th century, also known as the energy transformation. Then, the thermodynamics of this century, by Rudolf Clausius, Josiah Gibbs and others, established the "system" reference model as a formal scientific object.


title: Systems theory

text: Similar ideas are found in learning theories that developed from the same fundamental concepts, emphasising how understanding results from knowing concepts both in part and as a whole. In fact, Bertalanffy's organismic psychology paralleled the learning theory of Jean Piaget. Some consider interdisciplinary perspectives critical in breaking away from industrial age models and thinking, wherein history represents history and math represents math, while the arts and sciences specialization remain separate and many treat teaching as behaviorist conditioning.


title: Systems theory

text: The contemporary work of Peter Senge provides detailed discussion of the commonplace critique of educational systems grounded in conventional assumptions about learning, including the problems with fragmented knowledge and lack of holistic learning from the "machine-age thinking" that became a "model of school separated from daily life." In this way, some systems theorists attempt to provide alternatives to, and evolved ideation from orthodox theories which have grounds in classical assumptions, including individuals such as Max Weber and Émile Durkheim in sociology and Frederick Winslow Taylor in scientific management. The theorists sought holistic methods by developing systems concepts that could integrate with different areas.


title: Systems theory

text: Some may view the contradiction of reductionism in conventional theory (which has as its subject a single part) as simply an example of changing assumptions. The emphasis with systems theory shifts from parts to the organization of parts, recognizing interactions of the parts as not static and constant but dynamic processes. Some questioned the conventional closed systems with the development of open systems perspectives. The shift originated from absolute and universal authoritative principles and knowledge to relative and general conceptual and perceptual knowledge and still remains in the tradition of theorists that sought to provide means to organize human life. In other words, theorists rethought the preceding history of ideas; they did not lose them. Mechanistic thinking was particularly critiqued, especially the industrial-age mechanistic metaphor for the mind from interpretations of Newtonian mechanics by Enlightenment philosophers and later psychologists that laid the foundations of modern organizational theory and management by the late 19th century.


title: Systems theory

text: Where assumptions in Western science from Plato and Aristotle to Isaac Newton's "Principia" (1687) have historically influenced all areas from the hard to social sciences (see, David Easton's seminal development of the "political system" as an analytical construct), the original systems theorists explored the implications of 20th-century advances in terms of systems.


title: Systems theory

text: Between 1929 and 1951, Robert Maynard Hutchins at the University of Chicago had undertaken efforts to encourage innovation and interdisciplinary research in the social sciences, aided by the Ford Foundation with the university's interdisciplinary Division of the Social Sciences established in 1931.


title: Systems theory

text: Many early systems theorists aimed at finding a general systems theory that could explain all systems in all fields of science.


title: Systems theory

text: "General systems theory" (GST; German: "allgemeine Systemlehre") was coined in the 1940s by Ludwig von Bertalanffy, who sought a new approach to the study of living systems. Bertalanffy developed the theory via lectures beginning in 1937 and then via publications beginning in 1946. According to Mike C. Jackson (2000), Bertalanffy promoted an embryonic form of GST as early as the 1920s and 1930s, but it was not until the early 1950s that it became more widely known in scientific circles.


title: Systems theory

text: Jackson also claimed that Bertalanffy's work was informed by Alexander Bogdanov's three-volume "Tectology" (1912-1917), providing the conceptual base for GST. A similar position is held by Richard Mattessich (1978) and Fritjof Capra (1996). Despite this, Bertalanffy never even mentioned Bogdanov in his works.


title: Systems theory

text: The systems view was based on several fundamental ideas. First, all phenomena can be viewed as a web of relationships among elements, or a system. Second, all systems, whether electrical, biological, or social, have common patterns, behaviors, and properties that the observer can analyze and use to develop greater insight into the behavior of complex phenomena and to move closer toward a unity of the sciences. System philosophy, methodology and application are complementary to this science.


title: Systems theory

text: Cognizant of advances in science that questioned classical assumptions in the organizational sciences, Bertalanffy's idea to develop a theory of systems began as early as the interwar period, publishing "An Outline for General Systems Theory" in the "British Journal for the Philosophy of Science" by 1950.


title: Systems theory

text: In 1954, von Bertalanffy, along with Anatol Rapoport, Ralph W. Gerard, and Kenneth Boulding, came together at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences in Palo Alto to discuss the creation of a "society for the advancement of General Systems Theory." In December that year, a meeting of around 70 people was held in Berkeley to form a society for the exploration and development of GST. The Society for General Systems Research (renamed the International Society for Systems Science in 1988) was established in 1956 thereafter as an affiliate of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), specifically catalyzing systems theory as an area of study. The field developed from the work of Bertalanffy, Rapoport, Gerard, and Boulding, as well as other theorists in the 1950s like William Ross Ashby, Margaret Mead, Gregory Bateson, and C. West Churchman, among others.


title: Systems theory

text: Bertalanffy's ideas were adopted by others, working in mathematics, psychology, biology, game theory, and social network analysis. Subjects that were studied included those of complexity, self-organization, connectionism and adaptive systems. In fields like cybernetics, researchers such as Ashby, Norbert Wiener, John von Neumann, and Heinz von Foerster examined complex systems mathematically; Von Neumann discovered cellular automata and self-reproducing systems, again with only pencil and paper. Aleksandr Lyapunov and Jules Henri Poincaré worked on the foundations of chaos theory without any computer at all. At the same time, Howard T. Odum, known as a radiation ecologist, recognized that the study of general systems required a language that could depict energetics, thermodynamics and kinetics at any system scale. To fulfill this role, Odum developed a general system, or universal language, based on the circuit language of electronics, known as the Energy Systems Language.


title: Systems theory

text: The Cold War affected the research project for systems theory in ways that sorely disappointed many of the seminal theorists. Some began to recognize that theories defined in association with systems theory had deviated from the initial general systems theory view. Economist Kenneth Boulding, an early researcher in systems theory, had concerns over the manipulation of systems concepts. Boulding concluded from the effects of the Cold War that abuses of power always prove consequential and that systems theory might address such issues. Since the end of the Cold War, a renewed interest in systems theory emerged, combined with efforts to strengthen an ethical view on the subject.


title: Systems theory

text: In sociology, systems thinking also began in the 20th century, including Talcott Parsons' action theory and Niklas Luhmann's social systems theory. According to Rudolf Stichweh (2011):Since its beginnings the social sciences were an important part of the establishment of systems theory... [T]he two most influential suggestions were the comprehensive sociological versions of systems theory which were proposed by Talcott Parsons since the 1950s and by Niklas Luhmann since the 1970s.Elements of systems thinking can also be seen in the work of James Clerk Maxwell, particularly control theory.


title: Systems theory

text: Many early systems theorists aimed at finding a general systems theory that could explain all systems in all fields of science. Ludwig von Bertalanffy began developing his 'general systems theory' via lectures in 1937 and then via publications from 1946. The concept received extensive focus in his 1968 book, "General System Theory: Foundations, Development, Applications".


title: Systems theory

text: There are many definitions of a general system, some properties that definitions include are: an overall goal of the system, parts of the system and relationships between these parts, and emergent properties of the interaction between the parts of the system that are not performed by any part on its own. Derek Hitchins defines a system in terms of entropy as a collection of parts and relationships between the parts where the parts of their interrelationships decrease entropy.


title: Systems theory

text: Bertalanffy aimed to bring together under one heading the organismic science that he had observed in his work as a biologist. He wanted to use the word "system" for those principles that are common to systems in general. In "General System Theory" (1968), he wrote:


title: Systems theory

text: Bertalanffy outlines systems inquiry into three major domains: philosophy, science, and technology. In his work with the Primer Group, Béla H. Bánáthy generalized the domains into four integratable domains of systemic inquiry:


title: Systems theory

text: These operate in a recursive relationship, he explained; integrating 'philosophy' and 'theory' as knowledge, and 'method' and 'application' as action; systems inquiry is thus knowledgeable action.


title: Systems theory

text: General systems may be split into a hierarchy of systems, where there is less interactions between the different systems than there is the components in the system. The alternative is heterarchy where all components within the system interact with one another. Sometimes an entire system will be represented inside another system as a part, sometimes referred to as a holon. These hierarchies of system are studied in hierarchy theory. The amount of interaction between parts of systems higher in the hierarchy and parts of the system lower in the hierarchy is reduced. If all the parts of a system are tightly coupled (interact with one another a lot) then the system cannot be decomposed into different systems. The amount of coupling between parts of a system may differ temporally, with some parts interacting more often than other, or for different processes in a system. Herbert A. Simon distinguished between decomposable, nearly decomposable and nondecomposable systems.


title: Systems theory

text: Russell L. Ackoff distinguished general systems by how their goals and subgoals could change over time. He distinguished between goal-maintaining, goal-seeking, multi-goal and reflective (or goal-changing) systems.


title: Systems theory

text: Cybernetics is the study of the communication and control of regulatory feedback both in living and lifeless systems (organisms, organizations, machines), and in combinations of those. Its focus is how anything (digital, mechanical or biological) controls its behavior, processes information, reacts to information, and changes or can be changed to better accomplish those three primary tasks.


title: Systems theory

text: The terms "systems theory" and "cybernetics" have been widely used as synonyms. Some authors use the term "cybernetic" systems to denote a proper subset of the class of general systems, namely those systems that include feedback loops. However, Gordon Pask's differences of eternal interacting actor loops (that produce finite products) makes general systems a proper subset of cybernetics. In cybernetics, complex systems have been examined mathematically by such researchers as W. Ross Ashby, Norbert Wiener, John von Neumann, and Heinz von Foerster.


title: Systems theory

text: Threads of cybernetics began in the late 1800s that led toward the publishing of seminal works (such as Wiener's "" in 1948 and Bertalanffy's "General Systems Theory" in 1968). Cybernetics arose more from engineering fields and GST from biology. If anything, it appears that although the two probably mutually influenced each other, cybernetics had the greater influence. Bertalanffy specifically made the point of distinguishing between the areas in noting the influence of cybernetics:Systems theory is frequently identified with cybernetics and control theory. This again is incorrect. Cybernetics as the theory of control mechanisms in technology and nature is founded on the concepts of information and feedback, but as part of a general theory of systems... [T]he model is of wide application but should not be identified with 'systems theory' in general ... [and] warning is necessary against its incautious expansion to fields for which its concepts are not made.Cybernetics, catastrophe theory, chaos theory and complexity theory have the common goal to explain complex systems that consist of a large number of mutually interacting and interrelated parts in terms of those interactions. Cellular automata, neural networks, artificial intelligence, and artificial life are related fields, but do not try to describe general (universal) complex (singular) systems. The best context to compare the different "C"-Theories about complex systems is historical, which emphasizes different tools and methodologies, from pure mathematics in the beginning to pure computer science today. Since the beginning of chaos theory, when Edward Lorenz accidentally discovered a strange attractor with his computer, computers have become an indispensable source of information. One could not imagine the study of complex systems without the use of computers today.


title: Systems theory

text: Complex adaptive systems (CAS), coined by John H. Holland, Murray Gell-Mann, and others at the interdisciplinary Santa Fe Institute, are special cases of complex systems: they are "complex" in that they are diverse and composed of multiple, interconnected elements; they are "adaptive" in that they have the capacity to change and learn from experience.


title: Systems theory

text: In contrast to control systems, in which negative feedback dampens and reverses disequilibria, CAS are often subject to positive feedback, which magnifies and perpetuates changes, converting local irregularities into global features.


title: Anastacia

text: Anastacia Lyn Newkirk ( ; born September 17, 1968) is an American singer, songwriter and former dancer. Her first two albums "Not That Kind" (2000) and "Freak of Nature" (2001) were released in quick succession to major success. Spurred on by the multi-platinum, global smash "I'm Outta Love", Anastacia was awarded as the 'World's Best-Selling New Female Pop Artist' in 2001. Her commercial success continued with international hits such as "Paid My Dues", "One Day In Your Life" and the official song of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, "Boom". After recovering from cancer, she returned with 2004's "Anastacia" which deviated from previous albums into pop-rock. Peaking at number one in 11 countries, it became Europe's second-biggest-selling album of the year. Its lead single "Left Outside Alone" remained at number one on the European "Billboard" chart for 15 weeks and helped Anastacia launch the most successful European tour by a solo artist that same year. The album also provided another three singles: "Sick and Tired", "Welcome to My Truth", and "Heavy on My Heart".


title: Anastacia

text: In 2005, the multi-platinum compilation project "Pieces of a Dream" was released, which spawned the chart-topping duet with Eros Ramazzotti, "I Belong to You (Il Ritmo della Passione)". Her fourth studio album "Heavy Rotation" (2008) produced the songs "Absolutely Positively", "Defeated", and "I Can Feel You". Her cover album "It's a Man's World" (2012) was followed by a sixth studio album "Resurrection" (2014), which reached the top ten of several European charts. Her "Ultimate Collection" was released in 2015 and peaked in the top ten of the UK charts, giving the singer her sixth top-ten album in Britain. In 2017, Anastacia released the studio album "Evolution" and its lead single "Caught in the Middle". Anastacia has established herself as one of the best-selling international female singers of the 2000s and 2010s. As of 2016, she has reported worldwide sales of more than 50 million. She has had five top ten singles on U.S. "Billboard"'s Dance Club chart and three albums on its Top Album Sales chart.


title: Anastacia

text: Known for her powerful mezzo-soprano voice and her small stature of , she has been dubbed "the little lady with the big voice". She underwent corrective LASIK surgery in August 2005, although she still frequently wears the glasses for which she became noted when she first became famous.


title: Anastacia

text: During her life Anastacia has battled many health problems. She was diagnosed with Crohn's disease when she was 13, breast cancer at the age of 34, and supraventricular tachycardia aged 39. In 2013, Anastacia was diagnosed with breast cancer for a second time. In recognition of her decade-long charitable efforts in breast cancer awareness, Anastacia became the second woman ever to be presented with the Humanitarian Award at the "GQ" Men of the Year Awards in 2013.


title: Anastacia

text: Anastacia was born in Chicago, Illinois; her late father Robert Newkirk (of German descent) was a club-singer and her mother Diane Hurley (of Irish descent) an actress on Broadway. Her parents split up when she was five years old. After her father (who had bipolar disorder) left the Newkirk family, they moved to New York City when she was a teenager. She enrolled at the Professional Children's School in Manhattan. After graduation, she worked jobs at restaurants and hair salons while pursuing a career in the music industry.


title: Anastacia

text: Anastacia was diagnosed with Crohn's disease when she was thirteen. Despite her ongoing health problems Anastacia continued to pursue her ambitions for the next decade. Anastacia started her career in 1983 as a dancer for hire. Her first claim to fame was as a professional dancer (dancer for hire), making regular appearances in the mid-1980s and early '90s on MTV's "Club MTV". She appeared in two videos for American hip hop trio Salt-N-Pepa ("Get Up Everybody (Get Up)" in 1988 and "Twist and Shout" in 1989). In 1990, she started her musical career as a backing vocalist. She sang back-up vocals on pop star Tiffany's "New Inside" album in 1990. In 1991, she featured in music video "My Fallen Angel" of Dominican singer/actor Coro. In 1992 she gained her first break as a solo singer on BET's "ComicView", singing Oleta Adams' "Get Here".


title: Anastacia

text: In 1993 she moved to Los Angeles to record the song "One More Chance" for the producer OG Pierce but it brought no record deal. That same year the singer recorded a collaboration with David Morales called "Forever Luv". Throughout the mid 1990s producers claimed to be intrigued by her voice's unusual tone, Anastacia would be continuously told that 'her sound just didn't quite fit into any category'. In 1994, she sang back-up vocals on Jamie Foxx debut album "Peep This", and in 1995 Anastacia sang back-up on Paula Abdul's third studio album "Head Over Heels". By 1997, Anastacia had become a member of a band called "The Kraze" which she remained a part of until 1999. In 1997 she also sung in the background choir for Kurt Carr's gospel vocal ensemble called The Kurt Carr Singers on their album "No One Else". She had two duet songs with Cuban composer Omar Sosa in 1998, performing "Mi Negra, Tu Bombón" and "Tienes Un Solo" in 1999. Eventually in 1998, before turning 30, Anastacia attracted the interest of record labels after making the finals of the short-lived MTV talent show "The Cut" hosted by rapper Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes . Anastacia signed a contract with Daylight Records, a custom label of Sony Music Entertainment's Epic Records in March 1999.


title: Anastacia

text: Anastacia met Lisa Braude in 1997, who later became her manager and encouraged her to join MTV's talent show "The Cut" in 1998. She made her way to be one of the ten finalists, performing her own composition entitled "Not That Kind". Even though she did not win, she had impressed Elton John and Michael Jackson as well as the show's judges David Foster and Faith Evans. This led her to sign with Daylight, one of Epic's labels, by March 1999. Backed up by leading American producer/writers, she released her debut album, "Not That Kind" on June 13, 2000. The album reached the top ten in eight countries in Europe and Asia. It sold four times platinum in Europe and triple platinum in Australia; her debut single "I'm Outta Love" was a global smash hit in 2000, topping the charts in Belgium, Australia and New Zealand, peaking at number two in France, Switzerland, Italy and Ireland as well as also reaching number six both in Germany and the UK. In the U.S., it was only a minor radio hit. The second single "Not That Kind" reached number 11 in the UK and became a top 10 hit in Italy. It also entered the top 20 in Switzerland and France. "Cowboys & Kisses" was released as the third single from the album, charting in the top forty in some European countries. As the last promotional only single, "Made for Lovin' You" charted in the UK at number twenty-seven and in France at number seventy-two. While "I'm Outta Love" was a top ten hit on the Hot Dance Club Play chart in the United States, "Not That Kind" did not chart on the "Billboard" Hot 100; however by the end of the year Anastacia became the World's Best Selling New Female Pop Artist at the 2001 World Music Awards.


title: Anastacia

text: Anastacia's second album "Freak of Nature", released in November 2001, achieved success in the UK where it went triple platinum as well as being a hit throughout continental Europe; however, it did not match the success of her international debut. The first single released was "Paid My Dues". The song became an overall hit, in 2001, peaking in Denmark, Italy, Norway, and Switzerland, and reaching the top ten in several other mainland European countries. The second single, released in 2002, "One Day in Your Life", reached number eleven in the UK and the top ten in many European countries. The next single "Why'd You Lie to Me" reached the top thirty in the UK. "You'll Never Be Alone", the fourth single, reached number twenty-eight on the Adult Contemporary chart in the U.S. The album was released in the United States in May 2002. Soon after she released a double disc edition featuring two bonus hits, remixes for three of the tracks on the album and two live tracks taken from a Japan gig that was performed on the September 13, 2002. "People" magazine reviewed her album, writing "Anastacia is most successful when she shifts gears on more reflective, folk-tinged pop-rock tunes such as "Overdue Goodbye" and "How Come the World Won't Stop" on which her more nuanced vocals flow naturally."


title: Anastacia

text: Anastacia joined Celine Dion, Shakira, Cher, Mary J. Blige, Dixie Chicks, and Stevie Nicks for "VH1 Divas Las Vegas" in 2002 and she also contributed the song "Love Is a Crime" to the "Chicago" soundtrack. The song peaked at number one on the Hot Dance Club Play chart and enjoyed moderate airplay on Rhythmic/Dance format. Anastacia sang the official song for the 2002 FIFA World Cup held in South Korea and Japan at the opening ceremony.


title: Anastacia

text: In January 2003, Anastacia decided to have breast reduction because of back strain. From a routine mammogram for the surgery she discovered she had breast cancer. She immediately had surgery and radiotherapy. Anastacia subsequently established the Anastacia Fund to promote awareness of breast cancer among younger women. She has attributed her health scare as an inspiration for her third album. According to an interview she gave in 2005 on British music station The Box, her voice lost its power and she became unable to record, so she spent a long time writing and trying to create a sound with which she could finally be happy.


title: Anastacia

text: As stated on the Australian talk show "Rove" in 2004, Anastacia wanted to have more edge to her vocals as she felt something was missing from her previous work. She brought in rock instruments to create a new atmosphere. She felt that she needed more funkiness and pop but not too much edge. Out of this came a new sound she described as sprock—a combination of soul, pop, and rock. She named the album after herself. Anastacia entered record studios in September 2003 to begin recording the album, working with Glen Ballard, Dallas Austin, and David A. Stewart for release in 2004. On the album, Anastacia also collaborated with P.O.D. lead singer Sonny Sandoval on the socially conscious track "I Do".


title: Anastacia

text: The first single, released in March, was "Left Outside Alone", which saw a change in direction for Anastacia. It was one of the biggest songs in Europe of 2004, reaching number one in Austria, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland; number two in Denmark, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Norway; and number three in the United Kingdom and Hungary. Overall the song remained at number one on the European "Billboard" singles chart for 15 weeks. The song also topped the Australian charts, Anastacia's second number one in the country, where it went on to become the second-biggest-selling single of 2004.


title: Anastacia

text: "Anastacia" quickly became her most successful album to date, giving her a third consecutive triple platinum album in the UK and reaching the top of the national charts in Ireland, the Netherlands, Australia, Greece, Germany and other countries. Unlike her first two albums, which were released in her homeland of America, "Anastacia" was not, despite being scheduled for release on three occasions. "Left Outside Alone" was released twice, but failed to pick up heavy airplay. It only gained sporadic Adult Contemporary format airplay. Again, it sparked Rhythmic/Dance format airplay and the dance mix of "Left Outside Alone" peaked at number five on the Hot Dance Club Play chart. After the original version of "Left Outside Alone" failed to catch on after lukewarm promotion, especially on radio, the album was postponed and eventually cancelled after the release date of August 30, 2004, passed. Anastacia released three further internationally successful singles; "Sick and Tired" (which gave her another number one in Spain and another UK top five single), "Welcome to My Truth" (her best-selling hit in Spain), and the ballad "Heavy on My Heart", sales of which went towards the Anastacia Fund (a charitable organization providing research funding for breast cancer).A small batch of her self-titled album was released with a bonus DVD, poster and slip case. The DVD includes a making-of documentary, footage from her 2002 Europe Promo Tour, and a photo gallery. From September 2004 to August 2005, Anastacia embarked on the Live at Last Tour. In 2005 the tour was renamed the Encore Tour. The tour would become the second most popular tour of 2004 behind only U2.


title: Anastacia

text: In late 2005, she released her first greatest hits collection, called "Pieces of a Dream", named after a track of the same name. The album spawned the hit singles "Pieces of a Dream", which peaked at number one in Spain, and the duet with Eros Ramazzotti, "I Belong to You (Il Ritmo della Passione)", which was a number 1 hit in Germany, Hungary, Italy and Switzerland and a hit throughout continental Europe. Even though Sony BMG required her to release this collection, Anastacia has said that she is happy now that it was created, as it was like a "story book", or summary of the first six years of her career. In 2005, she was recognized for worldwide sales of over 20 million.


title: Anastacia

text: Not long after the release of "I Belong to You (Il Ritmo Della Passione)", Anastacia released her first live DVD "Live at Last" on March 27, 2006, in Europe. The DVD contains footage from concerts in Berlin and Munich. It includes music videos to her four singles; "Left Outside Alone", "Everything Burns", "Pieces of a Dream", and "I Belong to You (Il Ritmo Della Passione)", five alternative videos ("I Do", "Rearview", "Seasons Change", "Underground Army", and "Time") to songs from her self-titled album, and a documentary about the tour. Soon after the DVD release Anastacia took a break from the music industry and began concentrating on her growing fashion line with S. Oliver.


title: Anastacia

text: Anastacia attended the memorial Concert for Diana on July 1, 2007, which would have been on Diana's forty-sixth birthday. This was one of the first major events to take place in the new Wembley Stadium, and one of her first major appearances since she took a break from the industry. She opened the medley section of the show and sang a rendition of "Superstar", from Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Jesus Christ Superstar", with a gospel chorus behind her.


title: Anastacia

text: In August 2007, a video was posted on the "Anastacia by S. Oliver" web site. During the video, when Anastacia was asked about her future plans, she confirmed that she was working on an album as well as the clothing line. A specific month of release or title was not mentioned. In November 2007, her biography on the official Anastacia website was updated to say there would be an album in 2008, with a tour to follow. It was in this period also that Anastacia left Sony and moved to Mercury. During an interview for the UK breakfast show "This Morning", the singer said that David Massey's move from Sony to Mercury was key to her own label change because Massey had originally signed her and had been involved in all of her previous albums.


title: Anastacia

text: On July 24, Anastacia announced that her fourth studio album "Heavy Rotation" would be released in Europe and Asia on October 27, 2008 (and elsewhere in 2009). The album featured collaborations with producers Ne-Yo, The Heavyweights, Lester Mendez, J.R. Rotem, and Rodney Jerkins, departing from the pop rock sound of her previous material. The album's first single, called "I Can Feel You", began playing in some radio markets on August 25, 2008. The second single from "Heavy Rotation" was "Absolutely Positively", later served as a promotional single only. The third official single from the album, "Defeated", was released as a promotional single in Europe without a music video.


title: Anastacia

text: Her fourth studio album proved to be less successful; her singles failed to reach the top 40 in her most commercially successful country (UK). Anastacia remained positive, stating that other artists have faced the same problems while changing a record label, also blaming the world economical crisis and the label's decision to alter her sound from her own "sprock" sound of her previous record to a more "urban feel". In later years Anastacia regretted the change of sound, citing personal problems that led to a creative sell-out. Regardless of the lack of success, the album was ranked number ten on "Billboard" magazine's online "Readers' Poll: 10 Best Albums of 2008". In 2009, the Women's World Award presented Anastacia with the World Artist Award, recognizing the singer's success and ongoing positive influence.


title: Anastacia

text: In June 2009, Anastacia began her second tour throughout Europe to promote her fourth studio album. The tour was funded by the singer herself, not her label, and was well received by critics and fans alike. In November and December 2009 Anastacia, Chaka Khan and Lulu were headlining the "Here Come the Girls" a special Christmas concert that visited the United Kingdom only.


title: Anastacia

text: On December 7, 2009, Anastacia opened the annual "Royal Variety Performance" with Lulu and Chaka Khan, performing a rendition of "Relight My Fire". The tour sold out 24 shows. In October 2009, Anastacia released a collaborative single with British band Ben's Brother entitled "Stalemate", which was included on the band's album "Battling Giants".


title: Anastacia

text: During the winter of 2009, Anastacia once again joined Lulu for the Here Come the Girls Tour with Heather Small replacing Chaka Khan. In March 2010, Anastacia re-entered the recording studio. Around this time, she headlined several shows at Art on Ice in Zürich, the Hallenstadion and Lausanne. Her website stated: "In a unique, groundbreaking combination of Olympic-level figure skating and smash hit pop, the music of Anastacia will soundtrack and seamlessly inspire a performance from some of the world's best figure skaters, perfectly choreographed to complement her hits."


title: Anastacia

text: During the summer of 2010 Anastacia became one of the main judges on British talent series "Don't Stop Believing", a contest inspired by the musical comedy-drama "Glee". During promotion for the reality show the singer stated that she had left Mercury Records and was without a label. Following "Stalemate", Anastacia released "Safety", a duet with Russian singer Dima Bilan, recorded in Los Angeles in May 2010. The song was performed live for the first time at the Muz-TV Music Awards Moscow in June 2010 and was released as a single in Russia in August 2010. On August 13, Anastacia announced that she would join Belgian singer Natalia Druyts for a joint tour, Natalia Meets Anastacia, for six arena shows performed at the Sportpaleis, Belgium. On August 17, Natalia and Anastacia recorded a collaborative single, "Burning Star", which was released on September 17, 2010, to promote the concert series. On November 13, Anastacia became the first international singer to perform a concert in Northern Cyprus, which is occupied by Turkish forces. In February 2011, Anastacia was a guest at the Gigi D'Alessio concert at Radio City Music Hall in New York, performing as an opening act. On November 11, 2011, she performed in Madrid for the SAP Sapphire Conference.


title: Anastacia

text: In June 2012, Anastacia was confirmed as a guest judge for the ninth series of "The X Factor UK" at the Glasgow auditions alongside judges Louis Walsh, Gary Barlow and Tulisa Contostavlos. Her appearance on the show was highly praised saying that she had "great chemistry" with the others and had greatly impressed the producers, causing speculation that the singer would become the new fourth judge. However it was later revealed that she had to reject the judging offer due to contractual agreements for the Night of the Proms European winter tour as well of the release of her independent cover album.


title: Anastacia

text: During summer 2012, Anastacia toured throughout Europe. In July 2012, Anastacia announced on her Twitter page and Facebook fan page the release of a commercial single for car company Škoda Auto. She performed the song "What Can We Do (Deeper Love)" for the first time on July 10 in the Jazz Festival in Montreaux, Switzerland. She later released the video for the song through her social media pages. On September 17, it was announced that Anastacia had signed with the "BMG Masters Model" service of BMG Rights Management, along with the service's primary German-based distributing partner, Rough Trade Distribution. Global distribution is expected to be achieved via a range of partnering labels and distribution services. The deal included the release of her next two albums, "It's a Man's World", a collection of covers of songs by male rock artists released on November 9, 2012, followed by an album of original material.


title: Anastacia

text: Throughout November and December 2012 Anastacia took part in the annual Night of the Proms, a series of concerts held in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany which combine classical music with famous pop songs. On February 2, 2013, Anastacia tweeted that she would start writing for her next studio album of new material in the following week. In 2012, Anastacia starred in the film "All You Can Dream", directed by Valerio Zanoli.


title: Anastacia

text: On February 27, 2013, Anastacia announced that she had cancelled her European tour because she was diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time and was undergoing treatment. Due to her decade-long charitable efforts in breast cancer awareness, Anastacia became only the second woman to be presented with the Humanitarian Award at the "GQ" Men of the Year Awards in 2013. Anastacia later confirmed via her Twitter account that she was writing and recording songs for her sixth studio album, including working with producers John Fields and Steve Diamond. She also stated it would mark a return to her "sprock" sound.


title: Anastacia

text: The album, entitled "Resurrection", was released in May 2014 and was met with both critical and commercial success, giving the singer her sixth top ten Italian album and fifth top ten UK album. It also reached the top 5 of the Swiss and German charts and the top ten of the Dutch charts. Reviews were overwhelmingly positive, acknowledging a return to form for the singer as well as a creative resurgence. The lead single "Stupid Little Things" was released on April 4, 2014. The single was moderately successful, reaching the top ten in Belgium and top 20 in Italy. It was quickly met with a positive reaction from music critics, with MTV's Brad Stern naming it one of the "5 Must-Hear Pop Songs of the Week!" and calling it a "return to form" for the "pop princess and proof that Anastacia's a true survivor", after her second battle with breast cancer. Anastacia was given the German Radio Regenbogen Award for Charity and Entertainment in April 2014.


title: Anastacia

text: In June 2014, Anastacia announced that due to a hernia procedure she would be unable to promote the album for a number of weeks. After returning to her promotional tour Anastacia played numerous festivals throughout Europe including headlining Manchester Pride which was heavily praised. She was also named as one of the judges on the German talent show "Rising Star". In November 2014, Anastacia began her Resurrection Tour, her first tour to include Australia. The tour ended in September 2015 after 80 shows and was well received by fans and critics. During this period it was also announced that Anastacia had re-signed with her original label and that a compilation album would be released.


title: Anastacia

text: Anastacia's "Ultimate Collection" was released in November 2015 and peaked in the top ten of the UK charts, giving the singer her 6th top ten album in Britain. During the same month Anastacia attended The Children For Peace Gala at Spazio Novecento in Rome where she received the special artist award. As of 2016, she has sold over 52 million albums worldwide.


title: Anastacia

text: In August 2016, Anastacia became a contestant on the fourteenth series of the British television dance contest "Strictly Come Dancing", broadcast BBC One. Partnered with dancer Brendan Cole, the couple were voted in the bottom two to compete in the dance-off in the show's second week. A doctor ruled Anastacia unable to compete from an injury sustained during the previous day's performance, and instead the result was decided by selecting the competitor with the higher number of audience votes. The decision was controversial, resulting in complaints, and judge Bruno Tonioli reportedly threatened to quit. She was eliminated from the show in its sixth week.


title: Anastacia

text: On February 17, 2016, "Women's Wear Daily" announced that Anastacia teamed up with Blumarine for an eyewear collection. "The Blumarine Eyewear by Anastacia" capsule collection included three styles of sunglasses and two optical frames, and was released in April 2016.


title: Anastacia

text: In June 2017, she supported Lionel Richie in some of the UK dates of his All the Hits Tour. The following July, she released a new single, "Caught in the Middle" which preceded her seventh studio album "Evolution", released in September 2017. After the success of her album, she embarked on her Evolution Tour to promote the record. In 2018, she appeared on "Ballando con le stelle", the Italian version of "Dancing with the Stars", in a special one-off performance. In January 2019, it was announced that Anastacia would portray Killer Queen in the 2019 Dutch run of the "We Will Rock You" musical. She performed in Amsterdam and The Hague from December 6, 2019, to January 13, 2020, covering various Queen songs.


title: Anastacia

text: Anastacia was revealed as the winner of the third season of "The Masked Singer Australia" in October 2021, competing as the "Vampire" mask making her the first American singer to win the show. Singing cover songs on "The Masked Singer" reminded Anastacia of her early career when she was trying to establish herself as an artist. When speaking to Australian media outlets in 2021, she suggested that "Evolution" (2017) could be her last album and she might only release singles in the future. However, in October 2022, she announced that she is preparing to release her eighth studio album in 2023.


title: Anastacia

text: In November 2021, Anastacia announced a concert tour, I'm Outta Lockdown – The 22nd Anniversary European Tour in 2022. The tour was planned for the 20th anniversary of the release of her debut single "I'm Outta Love" in 2020, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On February 7, 2022, Anastacia released the single "American Night", the theme song to the 2021 film "American Night" starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Paz Vega; Anastacia made a cameo appearance. The official music video was released the same day.


title: Anastacia

text: In November 2022, Anastacia released a capsule collection called "Not That Kind of Bag Collection", with Italian brand Poshead. She designed three exclusive bags named after her songs: Not That Kind, Freak of Nature and Paid My Dues.


title: Anastacia

text: Anastacia has supported many nonprofit organizations and attended various charity events such as Life Ball in 2006 (Europe's largest annual AIDS charity event), Make a Difference and Challenge for the Children. Anastacia was one of the fifteen artists to record their take on a Disney song on the compilation album "Disneymania" (2002). Anastacia recorded "Someday My Prince Will Come" from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". It is also included on the Collector's Edition of her second album.


title: Anastacia

text: In 2003, Anastacia took part in the charity event, 46664, organized by Nelson Mandela to raise awareness of AIDS. She sang with U2 and Queen, and also contributed to the song "Amandla", recording the song and providing some of the lyrics. Annie Lennox joined forces with Anastacia and 22 other female artists to raise awareness of the transmission of HIV to unborn children in Africa. The single "Sing" was released on World AIDS Day, December 1, 2007, in conjunction with Annie Lennox's appearance at the Nelson Mandela 46664 concert in South Africa.


title: Anastacia

text: After being diagnosed with cancer, Anastacia created "The Anastacia Fund" in partnership with Estée Lauder. The organization helps raise awareness about breast cancer and the importance of mammograms to women 35 and under. Anastacia began selling her stage clothing on eBay, donating a portion to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. The auctions were hosted by an eBay Trading Assistant and Certified Business Consultant. New listings began every Friday for 6 months.


title: Anastacia

text: In 2008, she performed at the "Pink Ribbon Gala" in Stockholm, she appeared on "Divas II", a benefit concert along with many other female artists as well as performing at the ChildLine Concert in Dublin.


title: Anastacia

text: In late 2006, Anastacia and German clothing company s. Oliver launched a clothing collection called "Anastacia by s. Oliver". A limited-edition CD named "Welcome to My Style" was also available for free to customers who spent 60 euros or more on the clothes in November. A limited edition clothing line called "Limited Luxury" was also launched, which was designed together with Swarovski. The clothing line hit the stores on November 2, 2007. In 2015, Anastacia announced her collaboration with jewelry brand Tat2 Designs, saying "I'm super excited to announce The Resurrection Collection–Anastacia by Tat2." The jewelry line consisted of bracelets, earrings and necklaces by Anastacia and designer Briana Erin.


title: Anastacia

text: Over the course of her life Anastacia has battled numerous health problems including being diagnosed with Crohn's disease at age 13, breast cancer at age 34, and the heart condition supraventricular tachycardia, which the singer discovered she had at age 39. In February 2013, it was announced that Anastacia was battling a more intense form of breast cancer. In recognition of her decade-long charitable efforts in breast cancer awareness, Anastacia became only the second woman to be presented with the Humanitarian Award at the "GQ" Men of the Year Awards in 2013.


title: Anastacia

text: Anastacia married her bodyguard Wayne Newton in Huatulco, Mexico, on April 21, 2007. She became a step-mother to his two children from a previous relationship. In April 2010, it was confirmed that the two had filed a petition for divorce.


title: Anastacia

text: Anastacia has several tattoos on her back, and one below her neck saying "Forever" in an unusual font. In 2008 she added wings to this tattoo. She also has an ankh on her lower back, which appeared on her first album. Since it represents eternal life, to her fans it has come to symbolize her. Her third tattoo is at the base of her neck just above "Forever" and is her only coloured tattoo. It says A&W to symbolise her marriage to Wayne Newton. Although the pair are now divorced Anastacia has said she does not regret the tattoo.


title: Anastacia

text: She has appeared in television commercials for Skoda, Honda, and Dr Pepper alongside Cyndi Lauper. She has graced the covers of numerous international magazines, including Ecuador's "Cosmopolitan"; Bulgaria's "Eva"; Italy's "Grazia"; UK's "Fault", "Fabulous" and "Love Sunday" and the Netherlands' "Veronica." She has also appeared in pictorials for US's "FHM" and "Playboy" and UK's "You."


title: Curtis Yarvin

text: Curtis Guy Yarvin (born 1973), also known by the pen name Mencius Moldbug, is an American blogger, software engineer, and Internet entrepreneur. He is known, along with fellow theorist Nick Land, for founding the anti-egalitarian and anti-democratic philosophical movement known as the Dark Enlightenment or neoreactionary movement (NRx).


title: Curtis Yarvin

text: In his blog "Unqualified Reservations", which he wrote from 2007 to 2014, and on his younger Substack page called "Gray Mirror", which he started in 2020, he argues that American democracy is a failed experiment which should be replaced by an accountable monarchy, similar to the governance structure of corporations. Yarvin has been described as a "neoreactionary" and "neo-monarchist" who "sees liberalism as creating a Matrix-like totalitarian system and who wants to replace American democracy with a sort of techno-monarchy".


title: Curtis Yarvin

text: In 2002, Yarvin launched the Urbit computer platform. In 2013, he co-founded the company Tlon to oversee the Urbit project, and helped lead it until 2019.


title: Curtis Yarvin

text: Curtis Guy Yarvin was born in 1973 to an educated, liberal, secular family. His father is Herbert Yarvin. His grandparents on his father's side were Jewish American and communists. His father worked for the US government as a foreign service officer, and his mother was a Protestant from Westchester County. Yarvin spent part of his childhood abroad, mainly in Cyprus. In 1985, he returned to the US and entered Johns Hopkins' longitudinal Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth. He graduated from Brown University in 1992, then was a graduate student of a computer science PhD program at UC Berkeley, before dropping out after a year and a half to join a tech company.


title: Curtis Yarvin

text: In the 1980–1990s, Yarvin was influenced by the libertarian tech culture of the Silicon Valley. Yarvin read right-wing and American conservative works. The libertarian University of Tennessee law professor Glenn Reynolds introduced him to writers like Ludwig von Mises and Murray Rothbard. The rejection of empiricism by Mises and the Austrian School, who favored instead deduction from first principles, influenced Yarvin's mind-set.


title: Curtis Yarvin

text: In 2002, Yarvin founded the Urbit computer platform as a decentralized network of personal servers. In 2013 he co-founded the San Francisco-based company Tlön Corp to build out Urbit further with funding from Peter Thiel's venture capital arm, the Founders Fund. In 2016, Yarvin was invited to present on the functional programming aspects of Urbit at LambdaConf 2016, which resulted in the withdrawal of five speakers, two sub-conferences, and several sponsors. Yarvin left Tlon in January 2019, but retains some intellectual and financial involvement in the development of Urbit.


title: Curtis Yarvin

text: Yarvin's reading of Thomas Carlyle convinced him that libertarianism was a doomed project without the inclusion of authoritarianism, and Hans-Hermann Hoppe's 2001 book "" marked Yarvin's first break with democracy. Another influence was James Burnham, who asserted that real politics occurred through the actions of elites, beneath what he called apparent democratic or socialist rhetoric. In the 2000s, the failures of US-led nation building in Iraq and Afghanistan strengthened Yarvin's anti-democratic views, the federal response to the 2008 financial crisis strengthened his libertarian convictions, and Barack Obama's election as US president reinforced his belief that history inevitably progresses toward left-leaning societies.


title: Curtis Yarvin

text: In 2007, Yarvin began the blog "Unqualified Reservations" to promote his political vision. He largely stopped updating his blog in 2013, when he began to focus on Urbit; in April 2016 he announced that "Unqualified Reservations" had "completed its mission".


title: Curtis Yarvin

text: Yarvin believes that real political power in the United States is held by something he calls "the Cathedral", an amalgam of universities and the mainstream press. According to him, a so-called "Brahmin" social class dominates American society, preaching progressive values to the masses. Yarvin and the Dark Enlightenment (sometimes abbreviated to "NRx") movement assert that the cathedral's commitment to equality and justice erodes social order. Drawing on computer metaphors, Yarvin contends that society needs a "hard reset" or a "rebooting", not a series of gradual political reforms. Instead of activism, he advocates passivism, claiming that progressivism would fail without right-wing opposition. According to him, NRx adherents should rather design "new architectures of exit" than engage in ineffective political activism.


title: Curtis Yarvin

text: Yarvin argues for a "neo-cameralist" philosophy based on Frederick the Great of Prussia's cameralism. In Yarvin's view, democratic governments are inefficient and wasteful and should be replaced with sovereign joint-stock corporations whose "shareholders" (large owners) elect an executive with total power, but who must serve at their pleasure. The executive, unencumbered by liberal-democratic procedures, could rule efficiently much like a CEO-monarch. Yarvin admires Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping for his pragmatic and market-oriented authoritarianism, and the city-state of Singapore as an example of a successful authoritarian regime. He sees the US as soft on crime, dominated by economic and democratic delusions.


title: Curtis Yarvin

text: Yarvin supports authoritarianism on right-libertarian grounds, claiming that the division of political sovereignty expands the scope of the state, whereas strong governments with clear hierarchies remain minimal and narrowly focused. According to scholar Joshua Tait, "Moldbug imagines a radical libertarian utopia with maximum freedom in all things "except politics"." He has favored same-sex marriage, freedom of religion, private use of drugs, and written against race- or gender-based discriminatory laws, although, according to Tait, "he self-consciously proposed private welfare and prison reforms that resembled slavery". Tait describes Yarvin's writing as contradictory, saying: "He advocates hierarchy, yet deeply resents cultural elites. His political vision is futuristic and libertarian, yet expressed in the language of monarchy and reaction. He is irreligious and socially liberal on many issues but angrily anti-progressive. He presents himself as a thinker in search of truth but admits to lying to his readers, saturating his arguments with jokes and irony. These tensions indicate broader fissures among the online Right."


title: Curtis Yarvin

text: Under his Moldbug pseudonym, Yarvin gave a talk about "rebooting" the American government at the 2012 BIL Conference. He used it to advocate the acronym "RAGE", which he defined as "Retire All Government Employees". He described what he felt were flaws in the accepted "World War II mythology" alluding to the idea that Hitler's invasions were acts of self-defense. He argued these discrepancies were pushed by America's "ruling communists", who invented political correctness as an "extremely elaborate mechanism for persecuting racists and fascists". "If Americans want to change their government," he said, "they're going to have to get over their dictator phobia."


title: Curtis Yarvin

text: In the inaugural article published on "Unqualified Reservations" in 2007, entitled "a formalist manifesto", Yarvin called his concept of aligning property rights with political power "formalism", that is the formal recognition of realities of the existing power, which should eventually be replaced in his views by a new ideology that rejects progressive doctrines transmitted by the cathedral. Yarvin's first use of the term 'neoreactionary' to describe his project occurred in 2008. His ideas have also been described by Dylan Matthews of "Vox" as "neo-monarchist".


title: Curtis Yarvin

text: Yarvin's ideas have been influential among right-libertarians and paleolibertarians, and the public discourses of prominent investors like Peter Thiel have echoed Yarvin's project of seceding from the US to establish tech-CEO dictatorships. Political strategist Steve Bannon has read and admired his work.


title: Curtis Yarvin

text: According to Tait, "Moldbug's relationship with the investor-entrepreneur Thiel is his most important connection." Thiel was an investor in Yarvin's startup Tlon and gave $100,000 to Tlon's co-founder John Burnham in 2011. In 2016, Yarvin privately asserted to Milo Yiannopoulos that he had been "coaching Thiel" and that he had watched the 2016 US election at Thiel's house. In his writings, Yarvin has pointed to a 2009 essay written by Thiel, in which the latter declared: "I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible... Since 1920, the vast increase in welfare beneficiaries and the extension of the franchise to women—two constituencies that are notoriously tough for libertarians—have rendered the notion of 'capitalist democracy' into an oxymoron."


title: Curtis Yarvin

text: Investor Balaji Srinivasan has also echoed Yarvin's ideas of techno-corporate cameralism. He advocated in a 2013 speech a "society run by Silicon Valley (...) an opt-in society, ultimately outside the US, run by technology."


title: Curtis Yarvin

text: Yarvin has been described as part of the alt-right by journalists and commentators. Journalist Mike Wendling has called Yarvin "the alt-right's favorite philosophy instructor". Tait describes "Unqualified Reservations" as a "'highbrow' predecessor and later companion to the transgressive anti-'politically correct' metapolitics of nebulous online communities like 4chan and /pol/." Yarvin has publicly distanced himself from the alt-right. In a private message, Yarvin counseled Milo Yiannopoulos, then a reporter at "Breitbart News", to deal with neo-Nazis "the way some perfectly tailored high-communist NYT reporter handles a herd of greasy anarchist hippies. Patronizing contempt. Your heart is in the right place, young lady, now get a shower and shave those pits."


title: Curtis Yarvin

text: Writing in "Vanity Fair," James Pogue said of Yarvin, "Some of Yarvin's writing from (his blog "Unqualified Reservations") is so radically right wing that it almost has to be read to be believed, like the time he critiqued the attacks by the Norwegian far-right terrorist Anders Behring Breivik -- who killed 77 people, including dozens of children at a youth camp -- not on the grounds that terrorism is wrong but because the killings wouldn't do anything effective to overthrow what Yarvin called Norway's 'communist' government. He argued that Nelson Mandela, once head of the military wing of the African National Congress, had endorsed terror tactics and political murder against opponents, and said anyone who claimed 'St. Mandela' was more innocent than Breivik might have "a mother you'd like to fuck.'"


title: Curtis Yarvin

text: Yarvin came to public attention in February 2017 when "Politico" magazine reported that Steve Bannon, who served as White House Chief Strategist under U.S. President Donald Trump, read Yarvin's blog and that Yarvin "has reportedly opened up a line to the White House, communicating with Bannon and his aides through an intermediary." The story was picked up by other magazines and newspapers, including "The Atlantic", "The Independent," and "Mother Jones." Yarvin denied to "Vox" that he was in contact with Bannon in any way, though he jokingly told "The Atlantic" that his White House contact was the Twitter user Bronze Age Pervert. Yarvin later gave a copy of Bronze Age Pervert's book "Bronze Age Mindset" to Michael Anton, a former senior national security official in the Trump administration.


title: Curtis Yarvin

text: Yarvin has alleged that whites have higher IQs than blacks for genetic reasons. He has been described as a modern-day supporter of slavery, a description he disputes. He has claimed that some races are more suited to slavery than others. In a post that linked approvingly to Steve Sailer and Jared Taylor, he wrote: "It should be obvious that, although I am not a white nationalist, I am not exactly allergic to the stuff." In 2009, he wrote that since US civil rights programs were "applied to populations with recent hunter-gatherer ancestry and no great reputation for sturdy moral fiber", the result was "absolute human garbage."


title: Curtis Yarvin

text: Yarvin disputes accusations of racism, and in his essays, "Why I am not a White Nationalist" and "Why I am not an Anti-Semite," he offered a somewhat sympathetic analysis of those ideologies before ultimately rejecting them. He has also described the use of IQ tests to determine superiority as "creepy". Per Tait, "Moldbug's racial comments suggest a broader trend: the anonymity of the internet allows him and others who have followed in his wake to revel in taboo language, ideas, and activities. Violating social norms is a kind of liberation for Moldbug: entertaining these ideas is to break from the Cathedral."


title: Artemisia absinthium

text: Artemisia absinthium (wormwood, grand wormwood, absinthe, absinthium, absinthe wormwood, mugwort, wermout, wermud, wormit, wormod) is a species of "Artemisia", native to temperate regions of Eurasia and North Africa, and widely naturalized in Canada and the northern United States. It is grown as an ornamental plant and is used as an ingredient in the spirit absinthe and some other alcoholic beverages.


title: Artemisia absinthium

text: "Artemisia" comes from Ancient Greek ἀρτεμισία, from Ἄρτεμις (Artemis). In Hellenistic culture, Artemis was a goddess of the hunt, and protector of the forest and children. The name "absinthum" comes from the Ancient Greek ἀψίνθιον, meaning the same. An alternative derivation is that the genus was named after Queen Artemisia, who was the wife and sister of Mausolus, ruler of Caria.


title: Artemisia absinthium

text: The word "wormwood" may come from Middle English "wormwode" or "wermode". Webster's Third New International Dictionary attributes the etymology to Old English "wermōd" (compare with German "Wermut" and the derived drink vermouth), which the OED ("s.v.") marks as "of obscure origin". Some sources state the word "wormwood" comes from the ancient use of the plant as antihelminthic (expelling parasitic worms from the body by either stunning or killing them), documented in "Natural History" by Pliny (first century AD).


title: Artemisia absinthium

text: "A. absinthium" is a herbaceous perennial plant with fibrous roots. The stems are straight, growing to (and rarely over ) tall, grooved, branched, and silvery-green.


title: Artemisia absinthium

text: Leaves are spirally arranged, greenish-grey colored above, white below, covered with silky silvery-white trichomes, and bearing minute oil-producing glands. The basal leaves are up to long, bi- to tripinnate with long petioles, with the cauline leaves (those on the stem) smaller, long, less divided, and with short petioles. The uppermost leaves can be both simple and sessile (without a petiole).


title: Artemisia absinthium

text: Flowers are pale yellow, tubular, and clustered in spherical bent-down heads (capitula), which are in turn clustered in leafy and branched panicles. Flowering occurs from early summer to early autumn; pollination is anemophilous. The fruit is a small achene. Seed dispersal occurs by gravity.


title: Artemisia absinthium

text: "A. absinthium" grows naturally on uncultivated arid ground, on rocky slopes, and at the edge of footpaths and fields. Although once relatively common, it is becoming increasingly rare in the UK, where it has recently been suggested to be an archaeophyte rather than a true native.


title: Artemisia absinthium

text: The plant can easily be cultivated in dry soil. It should be planted under bright exposure in fertile, midweight soil. It prefers soil rich in nitrogen, and can be propagated by ripened cuttings taken in spring or autumn in temperate climates, or by seeds in nursery beds. Growing the plant with others tends to stunt their growth; accordingly, it is not considered to be a good companion plant. "A. absinthium" also self-seeds generously. It is naturalised in some areas away from its native range, including much of North America and Kashmir Valley of India.


title: Artemisia absinthium

text: This plant, and its cultivars 'Lambrook Mist' and 'Lambrook Silver' have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. These two short cultivars are very similar and more silver than typical British absinthium material and probably derive from southern Europe. 'Lambrook Silver' is the earliest of these cultivars, having been selected in the late 1950s by Margery Fish, who developed the garden at East Lambrook Manor. 'Lambrook Mist' was selected about 30 years later by Andrew Norton, a subsequent owner of the garden. Both gained their Awards of Garden Merit during the RHS Artemisia Trial 1991–3.


title: Artemisia absinthium

text: Cultivar 'Silver Ghost' is a taller, silver plant, which flowers much later (August–September) than typical absinthium (June–July) in UK, so holds its silver appearance for longer. This and a more feathery-leaved cultivar 'Persian Lace' were selected by National Collection Holder John Twibell in the 1990s.


title: Artemisia absinthium

text: Wormwood herb contains bitter substances from the group of sesquiterpene lactones; absinthin, at 0.20 to 0.28%, is the main component of these bitter substances. Essential oils make up 0.2 to 0.8% and contain (-) - thujone, (+) - isothujone, thujyl alcohol and its esters, chamazulene and other mono- and sesquiterpenes. In Bailen et al 2013 and Gonzalez-Coloma et al 2013 the Gonzalez-Coloma group discovered a chemotype that does not produce β-thujone but does contain terpenoids not seen elsewhere.


title: Artemisia absinthium

text: It is an ingredient in the spirit absinthe, and is used for flavouring in some other spirits and wines, including bitters, bäsk, vermouth, and pelinkovac. As medicine, it is used for dyspepsia, as a bitter to counteract poor appetite, for various infectious diseases, Crohn's disease, and IgA nephropathy.


title: Artemisia absinthium

text: In the Middle Ages, wormwood was used to spice mead, and in Morocco, it is used with tea, called "sheeba".


title: Artemisia absinthium

text: Wormwood was traditionally relatively common as a bittering spice in farmhouse brewing in Denmark, and to some extent Estonia. In 18th-century England, wormwood was sometimes used instead of hops in beer.


title: Artemisia absinthium

text: Wormwood clippings and cuttings are added to chicken nesting boxes to repel lice, mites, and fleas. Bailen "et al." 2013 and Gonzalez-Coloma "et al." 2013 find the unique terpenoids of the Gonzalez-Coloma chemotype make this strain especially promising for insect control. a company named EcoflorAgro is investing heavily into increasing the planted area of this strain, hoping to commercialize it to a degree attempted but never achieved due to unreliable supply for other botanical insecticides before.


title: Artemisia absinthium

text: Most chemotypes of "A. absinthium" contain (−)-α- and/or (+)-β-thujone, though some do not. (−)-α-Thujone by itself is a GABA receptor antagonist that can cause convulsions and death when administered in large amounts to animals and humans. However, there is only one case of documented toxicity of wormwood involving a 31-year-old man who drank 10 mL of steam-distilled volatile oil of wormwood, wrongly believing it was absinthe liqueur. Medicinal extracts of wormwood have not been shown to cause seizure or other adverse effects at usual doses. Thujones have not been shown to be the cause of excessive doses' toxicity for any kind of wormwood extracts, including absinthe.


title: Artemisia absinthium

text: "A. absinthium" has many folk names: "absint-alsem" (Dutch), "absinth, absinthe, absinthium vulgate, Absinthkraut, agenjo, ajenjo común, artenheil, assenzio vero" (Italian), "Bitterer Beifuß, botrys, eberreis, echter Wermut, gengibre verde" (Spanish)", Heilbitter," green muse," grüne Fee, la fée verte, Magenkraut, Shih" (Arabic)," Schweizertee, wermod "(Saxon)," wor-mod "(Old English), ”malört” (Swedish) and others.


title: Artemisia absinthium

text: In the Bible, the Book of Revelation tells of a star named Wormwood that plummets to Earth and turns a third of the rivers and fountains of waters bitter.


title: Artemisia absinthium

text: Nicholas Culpeper insisted that wormwood was the key to understanding his 1651 book "The English Physitian". Richard Mabey describes Culpeper's entry on this bitter-tasting plant as "stream-of-consciousness" and "unlike anything else in the herbal", and states that it reads "like the ramblings of a drunk". Culpeper biographer Benjamin Woolley suggests the piece may be an allegory about bitterness, as Culpeper had spent his life fighting the Establishment, and had been imprisoned and seriously wounded in battle as a result.


title: Artemisia absinthium

text: William Shakespeare referred to wormwood in Romeo and Juliet: Act 1, Scene 3. Juliet's childhood nurse said, "For I had then laid wormwood to my dug" meaning that the nurse had weaned Juliet, then aged three, by using the bitter taste of wormwood on her nipple.


title: Artemisia absinthium

text: John Locke, in his 1689 book titled "An Essay Concerning Human Understanding", used wormwood as an example of bitterness, writing, "For a child knows as certainly before it can speak the difference between the ideas of sweet and bitter (i.e. that sweet is not bitter), as it knows afterwards (when it comes to speak) that wormwood and sugarplums are not the same thing."


title: Artemisia absinthium

text: Edwin Arlington Robinson relates in a poem how Cliff Klingenhagen gave a guest a glass of wine while drinking a glass of wormwood himself. He concludes, "I have spent / Long time a-wondering when I shall be / As happy as Cliff Klingenhagen is."


title: Corporal punishment

text: A corporal punishment or a physical punishment is a punishment which is intended to cause physical pain to a person. When it is inflicted on minors, especially in home and school settings, its methods may include spanking or paddling. When it is inflicted on adults, it may be inflicted on prisoners and slaves.


title: Corporal punishment

text: Physical punishments for crimes or injuries, including floggings, brandings and even mutilations, were practised in most civilizations since ancient times. With the growth of humanitarian ideals since the Enlightenment, such punishments are increasingly viewed as inhumane in the Western society. By the late 20th century, corporal punishment had been eliminated from the legal systems of most developed countries.


title: Corporal punishment

text: In the twenty-first century, the legality of corporal punishment in various settings differs by jurisdiction. Internationally, the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries saw the application of human rights law to the question of corporal punishment in a number of contexts:


title: Corporal punishment

text: In many Western countries, medical and human rights organizations oppose the corporal punishment of children. Campaigns against corporal punishment have aimed to bring about legal reforms in order to ban the use of corporal punishment against minors in homes and schools.


title: Corporal punishment

text: Author Jared Diamond writes that hunter-gatherer societies have tended to use little corporal punishment whereas agricultural and industrial societies tend to use progressively more of it. Diamond suggests this may be because hunter-gatherers tend to have few valuable physical possessions, and misbehavior of the child would not cause harm to others' property.


title: Corporal punishment

text: Researchers who have lived among the Parakanã and Ju/’hoansi people, as well as some Aboriginal Australians, have written about the absence of the physical punishment of children in those cultures.


title: Corporal punishment

text: In the Western world, the corporal punishment of children has traditionally been used by adults in authority roles. Beating one's child as a form of punishment is even recommended in the book of Proverbs:


title: Corporal punishment

text: Robert McCole Wilson argues that, "Probably this attitude comes, at least in part, from the desire in the patriarchal society for the elder to maintain his authority, where that authority was the main agent for social stability. But these are the words that not only justified the use of physical punishment on children for over a thousand years in Christian communities, but ordered it to be used. The words were accepted with but few exceptions; it is only in the last two hundred years that there has been a growing body of opinion that differed. Curiously, the gentleness of Christ towards children (Mark, X) was usually ignored".


title: Corporal punishment

text: Corporal punishment was practiced in Egypt, China, Greece, and Rome in order to maintain judicial and educational discipline. Disfigured Egyptian criminals were exiled to Tjaru and Rhinocorura on the Sinai border, a region whose name meant "cut-off noses." Corporal punishment was prescribed in ancient Israel, but it was limited to 40 lashes. In China, some criminals were also disfigured but other criminals were tattooed. Some states gained a reputation for their cruel use of such punishments; Sparta, in particular, used them as part of a disciplinary regime which was designed to increase willpower and physical strength. Although the Spartan example was extreme, corporal punishment was possibly the most frequent type of punishment. In the Roman Empire, the maximum penalty which a Roman citizen could receive under the law was 40 "lashes" or 40 "strokes" with a whip which was applied to the back and shoulders, or 40 lashes or strokes with the ""fasces"" (similar to a birch rod, but consisting of 8–10 lengths of willow rather than birch) which were applied to the buttocks. Such punishments could draw blood, and they were frequently inflicted in public.


title: Corporal punishment

text: Quintilian (c. 35 – c. 100) voiced some opposition to the use of corporal punishment. According to Wilson, "probably no more lucid indictment of it has been made in the succeeding two thousand years".


title: Corporal punishment

text: In Medieval Europe, the Byzantine Empire blinded and denosed some criminals and rival emperors. Their belief that the emperor should be physically ideal meant that such disfigurement notionally disqualified the recipient from office. (The second reign of Justinian the Slit-nosed was the notable exception.) Elsewhere, corporal punishment was encouraged by the attitudes of the Catholic church towards the human body, flagellation being a common means of self-discipline. This had an influence on the use of corporal punishment in schools, as educational establishments were closely attached to the church during this period. Nevertheless, corporal punishment was not used uncritically; as early as the 11th century Saint Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury was speaking out against what he saw as the excessive use of corporal punishment in the treatment of children.


title: Corporal punishment

text: From the 16th century onwards, new trends were seen in corporal punishment. Judicial punishments were increasingly turned into public spectacles, with public beatings of criminals intended as a deterrent to other would-be offenders. Meanwhile, early writers on education, such as Roger Ascham, complained of the arbitrary manner in which children were punished.


title: Corporal punishment

text: Peter Newell writes that perhaps the most influential writer on the subject was the English philosopher John Locke, whose "Some Thoughts Concerning Education" explicitly criticised the central role of corporal punishment in education. Locke's work was highly influential, and may have helped influence Polish legislators to ban corporal punishment from Poland's schools in 1783, the first country in the world to do so.


title: Corporal punishment

text: A consequence of this mode of thinking was a reduction in the use of corporal punishment in the 19th century in Europe and North America. In some countries this was encouraged by scandals involving individuals seriously hurt during acts of corporal punishment. For instance, in Britain, popular opposition to punishment was encouraged by two significant cases, the death of Private Frederick John White, who died after a military flogging in 1846, and the death of Reginald Cancellor, killed by his schoolmaster in 1860. Events such as these mobilised public opinion and, by the late nineteenth century, the extent of corporal punishment's use in state schools was unpopular with many parents in England. Authorities in Britain and some other countries introduced more detailed rules for the infliction of corporal punishment in government institutions such as schools, prisons and reformatories. By the First World War, parents' complaints about disciplinary excesses in England had died down, and corporal punishment was established as an expected form of school discipline.


title: Corporal punishment

text: In the 1870s, courts in the United States overruled the common-law principle that a husband had the right to "physically chastise an errant wife". In the UK, the traditional right of a husband to inflict moderate corporal punishment on his wife in order to keep her "within the bounds of duty" was similarly removed in 1891. See Domestic violence for more information.


title: Corporal punishment

text: In the United Kingdom, the use of judicial corporal punishment declined during the first half of the twentieth century and it was abolished altogether in the Criminal Justice Act, 1948 (zi & z2 GEo. 6. CH. 58.), whereby whipping and flogging were outlawed except for use in very serious internal prison discipline cases, while most other European countries had abolished it earlier. Meanwhile, in many schools, the use of the cane, paddle or tawse remained commonplace in the UK and the United States until the 1980s. In rural areas of the Southern United States, and in several other countries, it still is: see School corporal punishment.


title: Corporal punishment

text: Key developments related to corporal punishment occurred in the late 20th century. Years with particular significance to the prohibition of corporal punishment are emphasised.


title: Corporal punishment

text: The notion of children’s rights in the Western world developed in the 20th century, but the issue of corporal punishment was not addressed generally before mid-century. Years with particular significance to the prohibition of corporal punishment of children are emphasised.


title: Corporal punishment

text: 66 countries, most of them in Europe and Latin America, have prohibited any corporal punishment of children.


title: Corporal punishment

text: The earliest recorded attempt to prohibit corporal punishment of children by a state dates back to Poland in 1783. However, its prohibition in all spheres of life – in homes, schools, the penal system and alternative care settings – occurred first in 1966 in Sweden. The 1979 Swedish Parental Code reads: "Children are entitled to care, security and a good upbringing. Children are to be treated with respect for their person and individuality and may not be subjected to corporal punishment or any other humiliating treatment."


title: Corporal punishment

text: , corporal punishment of children by parents (or other adults) is outlawed altogether in 63 nations (including the partially recognized Republic of Kosovo) and 3 constituent nations.


title: Corporal punishment

text: For a more detailed overview of the global use and prohibition of the corporal punishment of children, see the following table.


title: Corporal punishment

text: Domestic corporal punishment (i.e. the punishment of children by their parents) is often referred to colloquially as "spanking", "smacking", or "slapping".


title: Corporal punishment

text: It has been outlawed in an increasing number of countries, starting with Sweden in 1979. In some other countries, corporal punishment is legal, but restricted (e.g. blows to the head are outlawed, implements may not be used, only children within a certain age range may be spanked).


title: Corporal punishment

text: In all states of the United States and most African and Asian nations, corporal punishment by parents is legal. It is also legal to use certain implements (e.g. a belt or a paddle).


title: Corporal punishment

text: In Canada, spanking by parents or legal guardians (but nobody else) is legal, with certain restrictions: the child must be between the ages of 2–12, and no implement other than an open, bare hand may be used (belts, paddles, etc. are prohibited). It is also illegal to strike the head when disciplining a child.


title: Corporal punishment

text: In the UK (except Scotland and Wales), spanking or smacking is legal, but it must not cause an injury amounting to actual bodily harm (any injury such as visible bruising, breaking of the whole skin, etc.). In addition, in Scotland, since October 2003, it has been illegal to use any implements or to strike the head when disciplining a child, and it is also prohibited to use corporal punishment towards children under the age of 3 years. In 2019, Scotland enacted a ban on corporal punishment, which went into effect in 2020. Wales also enacted a ban in 2020, which has gone into effect in 2022.


title: Corporal punishment

text: Corporal punishment in schools has been outlawed in many countries. It often involves striking the student on the buttocks or the palm of the hand with an implement (e.g. a rattan cane or a spanking paddle).


title: Corporal punishment

text: In countries where corporal punishment is still allowed in schools, there may be restrictions; for example, school caning in Singapore and Malaysia is, in theory, permitted for boys only.


title: Corporal punishment

text: In India and many other countries, corporal punishment has technically been abolished by law. However, corporal punishment continues to be practiced on boys and girls in many schools around the world. Cultural perceptions of corporal punishment have rarely been studied and researched. One study carried out discusses how corporal punishment is perceived among parents and students in India.


title: Corporal punishment

text: Medical professionals have urged putting an end to the practice, noting the danger of injury to children's hands especially.


title: Corporal punishment

text: Around 33 countries in the world still retain judicial corporal punishment, including a number of former British territories such as Botswana, Malaysia, Singapore and Tanzania. In Singapore, for certain specified offences, males are routinely sentenced to caning in addition to a prison term. The Singaporean practice of caning became much discussed around the world in 1994 when American teenager Michael P. Fay received four strokes of the cane for vandalism. Judicial caning and whipping are also used in Aceh Province in Indonesia.


title: Corporal punishment

text: A number of other countries with an Islamic legal system, such as Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Iran, Brunei, Sudan, and some northern states in Nigeria, employ judicial whipping for a range of offences. In April 2020, the Saudi Supreme Court ended the flogging punishment from its court system, and replaced it with jail time or fines. , some regions of Pakistan are experiencing a breakdown of law and government, leading to a reintroduction of corporal punishment by "ad hoc" Islamicist courts. As well as corporal punishment, some Islamic countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iran use other kinds of physical penalties such as amputation or mutilation. However, the term "corporal punishment" has since the 19th century usually meant caning, flagellation or bastinado rather than those other types of physical penalty.


title: Corporal punishment

text: In parts of England, boys were once beaten under the old tradition of "Beating the Bounds" whereby a boy was paraded around the edge of a city or parish and spanked with a switch or cane to mark the boundary. One famous "Beating the Bounds" took place around the boundary of St Giles and the area where Tottenham Court Road now stands in central London. The actual stone that marked the boundary is now underneath the Centre Point office tower.


title: Corporal punishment

text: In the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and some parts of Hungary, a tradition for health and fertility is carried out on Easter Monday. Boys and young men will spank or whip girls and young women on the bottom with braided willow branches. After the man sings the verse, the young woman turns around and the man takes a few whacks at her backside with the whip.


title: Jar Jar Binks

text: Jar Jar Binks is a fictional character of the Gungan race from the "Star Wars" saga created by George Lucas. Jar Jar appears throughout the "Star Wars" prequel trilogy – as a major character in "", with a smaller role in "", and with only a one-line cameo in " –" as well as having a role in the television series "". The first fully computer-generated supporting character in a live-action film, he has been voiced by Ahmed Best in most of his appearances, who also acted out the character with prosthetics prior to the CGI work. The last mention of Jar Jar is in the 2017 canonical novel "".


title: Jar Jar Binks

text: Jar Jar's primary role in "Episode I" was to provide comic relief for the audience. He was met with overwhelming dislike from both critics and audiences, and is recognized as one of the most hated characters in "Star Wars" and the history of film in general, with some critics even considering him a racist caricature. The hate affected Best personally, who rejected the idea that the character was based on black stereotypes.


title: Jar Jar Binks

text: Part of the perception of the character changed in 2015, when a fan theory originating from Reddit gained popularity and was encouraged by Best. The theory stated that Jar Jar was originally intended to be a manipulative villain, but George Lucas replaced him in "Episode II" at the last minute with Count Dooku because of Jar Jar's unpopularity. Ahmed would later confirm that this was partially true, as he felt it would have happened without the backlash.


title: Jar Jar Binks

text: George Lucas was inspired to develop Jar Jar based on the Disney character Goofy. Singer Michael Jackson wanted to play the role, but wished to portray the character using prosthetics while Lucas wanted him to be all CGI. Ahmed Best was cast based on his work in the production of "Stomp", as Lucas wanted someone athletic for the role. During his audition he performed several martial arts moves and flips, which according to Best was a contrast to how Lucas pictured the character, more in line with comedic silent actors such as Buster Keaton. After Lucas walked out of the audition, Best felt he had failed it. Terryl Whitlatch created the final designs for the "cowardly and insecure" character.


title: Jar Jar Binks

text: Best wore a prosthetic costume to portray Jar Jar, which cost about $100,000 and served as a reference for the actors to interact with, animators to base the performance on, and digital artists to match the lighting. He was the first computer-generated supporting character in a live-action film, although in a small number of shots (such as those only showing the character's hands or feet), the costume was not replaced with CGI.


title: Jar Jar Binks

text: Jar Jar Binks first appears in "" as a bumbling, foolish Gungan from the planet Naboo who is banished by his tribe as punishment for his clumsiness. He is nearly killed by a Trade Federation transport, only to be saved at the last minute by Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson). Qui-Gon and his padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), persuade Jar Jar's tribe to release him to their custody as a guide. He later goes with the Jedi and Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman) to the planet Tatooine, where he meets and befriends nine-year-old slave Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd).


title: Jar Jar Binks

text: Jar Jar later appears in the film's climactic battle scene, where he leads his fellow Gungans, as a general in the Gungan army, in defeating the Trade Federation. After the battle, he appears at the funeral of Qui-Gon Jinn and in the ending parade with his fellow Gungans.


title: Jar Jar Binks

text: Jar Jar's role in "" is much smaller, but his actions are significant. Ten years after helping save his planet, he is a delegate to the Galactic Senate and as such, plays a role in bringing his old friends, Obi-Wan and Anakin (Hayden Christensen), back to Coruscant, where he greets them with enthusiasm. Later, on the behalf of the Naboo, he gives a speech to the assembled Senate in favor of granting Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) vast emergency powers.


title: Jar Jar Binks

text: Jar Jar appears in only a few scenes in "", and has no dialogue (besides a brief "'scuse me" at one point). He was originally given some dialogue in the beginning, but this was cut. Another cut scene would have shown Palpatine mocking Jar Jar for putting him in power before crowning himself emperor. He is most prominently featured in Padmé Amidala's funeral procession at the end of the film, marching sadly behind her coffin alongside Boss Nass.


title: Jar Jar Binks

text: Jar Jar Binks is a supporting character in the animated series "Star Wars: The Clone Wars", once again voiced by Best, although Phil LaMarr voiced the character in three season one episodes under the pseudonym BJ Hughes. In this series, he is a Senate representative who sometimes accompanies the main characters—Anakin, Obi-Wan, Padmé, and Anakin's padawan Ahsoka Tano—on their adventures. He and Jedi Master Mace Windu are the two main characters of the two-part episode "The Disappeared" in which they had to search for missing elders and rescue a queen, who was Jar Jar's past love interest.


title: Jar Jar Binks

text: Chuck Wendig's 2017 novel "", set after the events of "Return of the Jedi", finds Binks as a street performer who entertains refugee children but is loathed by adults who blame him for his part in the rise of the Empire. Chris Taylor of Mashable wrote that the situation reflects real life in that adults disliked Jar Jar in the prequel films, but children were entertained by him.


title: Jar Jar Binks

text: In an interview, director J. J. Abrams suggested that Jar Jar's death might be referenced in "", but this did not happen.


title: Jar Jar Binks

text: With the 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm by The Walt Disney Company, most of the licensed "Star Wars" novels and comics produced since the originating 1977 film "Star Wars" were rebranded as "Star Wars Legends" and declared non-canon to the franchise in April 2014.


title: Jar Jar Binks

text: In the game "", Jar Jar is shown to have been frozen in carbonite by an Imperial officer and kept in his trophy room.


title: Jar Jar Binks

text: Binks is a Lego mini-figure in the "Lego Star Wars" video games, and appears as an Angry Bird with a hook move called "Jar Jar Wings" in "Angry Birds Star Wars II". Ahmed Best was signed on to portray Binks in the show "Star Wars Detours".


title: Jar Jar Binks

text: Even before the release of "The Phantom Menace", Jar Jar Binks became the subject of significant media and popular attention. After the film's release, Binks became symbolic of what many reviewers such as Brent Staples ("The New York Times"), David Edelstein ("Slate"), and Eric Harrison ("Los Angeles Times") considered to be creative flaws of the film. The character was widely rejected and often ridiculed by people who felt that Jar Jar was included in the film solely to appeal to children (a criticism first leveled with the introduction of the Ewoks in "Return of the Jedi"). Bruce Handy of "Vanity Fair" wrote that "Jar Jar has come to symbolize what many fans see as the faults of the prequel trilogy: characters no one much cares about; a sense of humor geared toward the youngest conceivable audience members; an over-reliance on computer graphics; and story lines devoted to the kinds of convoluted political machinations which wouldn’t have been out of place in adaptations of "I, Claudius" or "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich", but which fit less snugly in films with characters like Jar Jar Binks." One fan, Mike J. Nichols, created and distributed, free of charge, a modified version of the film, entitled "The Phantom Edit", which cut out several scenes featuring what Nichols dubbed 'Jar Jar antics.' The character was also lampooned on an episode of the television show "South Park" entitled "Jakovasaurs", in "The Fairly OddParents" (Episode: "Abra-Catastrophe!"), "The Simpsons" (Episode: "Co-Dependents' Day"), as well as the parody of "Robot Chicken", in which Best reprised the role in voice-over form.