Bernhard Dotzler

Demons—magic—cybernetics : On the introduction to natural magic as told by Heinz von Foerster

This paper concerns von Foersters interest in magic practices in former times as well as his observation of new kinds of demons, especially that demon which is acknowledged to be the paradigm for regulation: Maxwells demon. Von Foerster called it the patron saint of cybernetics; however, von Foerster, who is the patron saint of the cybernetics of cybernetics, was playing the magician himself. More specifically, the principle of order from noise can be proved to be the result of a certain demonic action which this paper will attempt to elucidate.

Accordance of Online Health Information on Prostate Cancer with the European Association of Urology Guidelines

Background: The internet is an emerging source of information for prostate cancer (PCa) patients. Since little is known about the quality of information on PCa provided online, we investigated its accordance to the latest European Association of Urology (EAU) guidelines. Methods: A total of 89 German web pages were included for analysis. A quality model classifying the provider of information and its expertise was introduced. Correctness of provided information was systematically compared to the EAU guidelines. Results: Information was provided by medical experts (41%), media (11%), and pharmaceutical companies (6%). Certificates were found in 23% with a significantly higher rate if provided by medical experts (p = 0.003). The minority of web pages showed information in accordance with the EAU guidelines regarding screening (63%), diagnosis (32%), classification (39%), therapy (36%), complications (8%), and follow-up (27%). Web pages by medical experts as well as websites with any kind of certification showed a significantly higher guideline conformity regarding diagnosis (p = 0.027, p = 0.002), therapy (p = 0.010, p = 0.011), follow-up (p = 0.005, p < 0.001), and availability of references (p = 0.017, p = 0.003). Conclusions: The present study reveals that online health information on PCa lacks concordance to current guidelines. Certified websites or websites provided by medical experts showed a significantly higher quality and accordance with guidelines.

Kleist mit Spencer-Brown

Kleist gibt weiter Ratsel auf. Wir schreiben das Jahr 1997 — die Wiederkehr des 220. Geburtstags des Besten seines Geschlechts: Heinrich von Kleist. Als dessen Geburtstag zum 100. Mal sich jahrte, wurde dem Dichter und seinem Publikum auch ein Jubilaumswiederabdruck des ›Zerbrochnen Krugs‹ beschert. Adolph Menzel schuf die Illustrationen dazu, beginnend mit einem Blatt zum Anfang der Einleitung, das alles folgende als »emblematische[s] Konzentrat«1 zusammenfast.