argia.eus
INPRIMATU
Physical laws of Basque culture
Angel Erro @angelerro 2013ko apirilaren 10

Sarasola Law. As a cultural discussion continues, the probability that one participant reproaches elitism to the other tends to go hand in hand.

Description: In his Argia blog, Gorka Bereziartua wrote an post called Problematizar, which collected the clash between writers and bertsolaris that came from before. Two days later, in response to the article's replies, Beñat Sarasola launched the following tweet: “Elitism, Godwin Law of Cultural Debates.” Godwin’s law is well known, as it says that as a debate spreads on the Internet, the chances of Hitler or the Nazis using it as arguments to suspend the debate increase. I have done no more than clarify the wording of Sarasola here, because I do not agree with this law. In Basque culture, at least, it is not being complied with. In our case, elitist accusation is usually the first stinger in dialectical competition, as demonstrated by the answers to Bereziartua's article. Those same responses also show what the true Godwin Law is in Basque cultural debates. I am therefore going to rectify the law of head of rank.

Sarasola Law (reformulated). As a cultural debate in Basque continues, the likelihood of one participant drinking a beer to the other (and the debate continues at another time) tends to go hand in hand.

The paradox of the yearning for plurality. While a tired group of uniformity is pleased with what comes from outside because of the novelty it brings to the group, coercive mechanisms are put in place to neutralize that novelty and perpetuate it in the boredom of the same.

Initiation to the originality of the disabled. Writing in a minority language increases the chances of being original.

Description: If I “use” something written by another, I will have to make a mention or the others will discover it, either before (if the author is featured) or later (if the author is a no). Plagiarism works gradually, from young to old, from day to day. This law that I have formulated in Euskera, by its own limitation of dissemination, has many chances that nobody will prevent me and never baptize me with my name, but with the name of the person who formulates in a larger system/language, its lack of originality, consciously or unconsciously, that no one can denounce (the smaller I am, the bigger). Thus, in addition, Stigler’s law would be complied with (“no scientific finding is named after the one who has discovered or invented it”).

Little ones are forced to be more ingenious, freer in creation. This relates to what Saizarbitoria has once said about the advantages of small cultures.

Error axiom. There are no errors.

Description: In the Ulysses version of James Joyce, which is usually taken as a model, there are about 5,000 errors. What a character from there says, in memory of a great writer, can also apply to Joyce: “The geniuses do not fail: their defects are always intentional and bring some finding.” Before I got to know the quote, I wrote a poem that said: “Mistakes don’t exist, / they are more the voice of the gods,” in my opinion, indicating the same thing in another way. I hope that you have dared to turn suspicion into a law or an axiom and that you will forgive me, now yes, for having the audacity to give me my surname. For having infringed Stigler's Law referred to above.