31. marec 2008

Z računalniki do boljših predpisov

Čez nekaj let bodo vsi (sodobni in napredni) izdajatelji predpisov (parlamenti, vlade, ministrstva…) pri svojem delu uporabljali posebne urejevalnike za zagotavljanje konsistentnosti in kvalitete besedil, katera bodo obravnavali in sprejemali. Pri tem pa ne bo šlo le za postopkovno spremljanje zakonodajnega postopka (kot ga ima že sedaj prav zgledno zagotovljenega tudi naš Državni zbor), temveč za nekaj bistveno zahtevnejšega in vrednejšega: računalniški programi bodo »razumeli« vsebino besedil in jo tudi usklajevali ter dopolnjevali…

Posledično se bo s tem začela tudi bistveno spreminjati in (upam si trditi) izpopolnjevati sama pravna veda! Večja logičnost (in računalniška podprtost) predpisov se bo počasi selila tudi na področje pravosodja, kjer bodo začeli z računalniško pomočjo nastajati tudi judikati, pa tudi na druga pravna področja (pogodbeno pravo, upravni postopki itd.)… in posledično tudi v pravne učbenike.

V pravnih besedilih bo vse manj napak, ki so posledica človeške površnosti in omejene sposobnosti – ponavadi že prvega avtorja (osnutka) predpisa. Besede bodo imele vedno enak pomen in s tem bodo odpravljene številne možnosti nesporazumov in različnih tolmačenj. Pravni inštituti, ki bi morali biti urejeni na enak način, bodo tako tudi vedno definirani in se bodo deli besedil veliko večkrat ponavljali, kot doslej. Saj se dostikrat izrazi med seboj razlikujejo čisto po nepotrebnem, zaradi subjektivnega faktorja: ker je prvi sestavljalec besedila takrat pač izbral takšen izraz… Odpadle bodo dvoumne besede, kot n.pr. »oziroma« in jih nadomestile bolj točne (v tem primeru »in« ali »ali«).

Načeloma seveda že sedaj profesorji svoje študente učijo, kako je potrebno oblikovati pravna besedila, da bodo logična in pravilna. Obstaja tudi poseben predmet in dober priročnik – »Nomotehnika« - toda kaj, ko si vsega niti ne zapomnimo, veliko pozabimo in marsikaj tudi razumemo vsak po svoje. V tej bližnji prihodnosti, katero opisujem, pa bodo nomotehnični priročnik programerji povsem in dosledno vključili v poseben program – urejevalnik za normativna besedila in uporabnike bo računalnik neusmiljeno opozarjal na razne napake in nelogičnosti. Predvsem pa tudi na morebitno neusklajenost predlaganih besedil z drugimi, že veljavnimi deli prepisov! Uporaba posebnih urejevalnikov bo namreč omogočala veliko večjo notranjo konsistenco celotne zakonodaje, saj bodo označena tudi vsa medsebojna sklicevanja, pravne podlage, posledice itd. Ob nameravani spremembi enega zakona se bodo takoj pokazale možne posledice ali neusklajenosti glede na vse druge predpise.

Zaradi kvalitetne in konsistentne osnove – dobrih predpisov – bo tudi veliko lažje izboljševati (in jih narediti bolj učinkovite) razne pravne postopke s pomočjo posebnih ekspertnih sistemov. Tukaj mislim predvsem na sodne in upravne postopke, kjer se bodo s pomočjo modulov umetne inteligence lahko simulirali posamezni primeri, izračunavale večje možnosti za pravilnejšo odločitev in celo pripravljali osnutki obrazložitev sodb in odločb.

Zakonodajni sistemi posameznih držav in njihovih asociacij (Evropske unije) bodo ob tem postali veliko bolj primerljivi in postopoma tudi vse bolj usklajeni. Tako bodo tudi najboljše rešitve na posameznih področjih lažje prevladale in prišlo bo do vsestranskega izboljšanja kvalitete – prava.
Že vidim, da marsikdo nejeverno zmiguje z glavo in našteva razloge za dvom v takšen razvoj, kot ga napovedujem. Problemov vidim veliko tudi sam, vendar bodo prednosti gotovo večje in se temu enostavno ne bomo mogli (smeli) izogniti. Namesto da mencamo na mestu, je bolje da smo med prvimi, ki se tega lotimo in tako pridobimo koristno časovno prednost…

»Dobro, če bi takšen urejevalnik že imeli« gotovo razmišlja strokovni sodelavec iz DZ »… ampak, kako bomo pa pripravili poslance, da bodo to upoštevali ter tudi sprejemali tako kvalitetne in računalniško logične zakone?«. Vem, ne bo šlo lahko, ampak tudi že doslej ste morali dostikrat razne politične ideje poslancev pretvoriti v zakonske osnutke in amandmaje in tako boste delali tudi še vnaprej. Morda boste pa lahko s pomočjo kvalitetnega zakonodajnega urejevalnika še lažje kaj prepričali poslance, da »tako pa ne gre«, »da bi bila takšna formulacija boljša«, saj boste imeli ob sebi še večjo avtoriteto, kot doslej. Ko bo sistem enkrat uveljavljen v več državah in morda tudi verificiran (s strani EU), potem si pač nobena vlada, niti ministrstva, niti parlamentarci ne bodo mogli privoščiti, da bi ga na veliko ignorirali in s tem kazali svojo »zarukanost«.

Največja negativna posledica, katero pričakujem ob uvajanju računalniške natančnosti v vsebino predpisov, je v tem, da bodo (pravna) besedila postala (še bolj) pusta in enolična (brezosebna). Ampak, to je pač nujni davek za velik splošni napredek. Se bomo morali pač sprijazniti, da v pravu ni prostora za leposlovje! Če se neka misel lahko izrazi na način ABCDeFGh, naj se pač vedno in povsod izraža kot ABCDeFGh, ne pa kdaj tudi kot ABCDeFGH…

Tako kot so Rimljani vedno svoje govore zaključevali s stavkom »Sicer pa mislim, da je treba Kartagino porušiti!«, naj tudi sam (kot ponavadi) zagotovim, da velika opremljenost pravnikov z računalniškimi pripomočki (na katero prisegam) nikoli ne bo zamenjala človeka (pravnika) pri odločanju in da bo še tako računalniško podprt sodnik še vedno odločil kot človek in ne kot stroj. Dobro se zavedam tudi velikega pomena pravnega občutka (ali kot nas v svoji kolumni tako lepo podučuje prof. Cerar: das Rechtsgefühl).

Pa še dva linka, ki vas bosta popeljala do prvih poskusov zakonodajnih urejevalnikov:
http://www.ittig.cnr.it/legws/Presentations/AgnoloniFrancesconiSpinosa.pdf
http://www.ittig.cnr.it/EditoriaServizi/EventiConvegni/BiagioliFrancesconiSpinosaTaddei2005.pdf
In zakaj je (prav)o najbolj primerno področje človeške dejavnosti za uvajanje umetne inteligence? http://www.tomazic.info/Why%20is%20legal%20content%20ideal%20for%20AI.htm

Vir, 2. 9. 2006

30. marec 2008

Glokalizacija

Globalizacije se danes verjetno že vsi zavedamo in bojim se, da pri večini prevladuje odpor ali celo strah pred njo. Če pa jo sprejmemo kot realnost in se ji prilagodimo ter vanjo aktivno vključimo, se lahko spremeni v veliko prednost in izzivalno priložnost, tako za posameznika, kot (in predvsem tudi) za Slovenijo…

Kar najprej zgleda slabo ali celo katastrofalno, se lahko kmalu izkaže za koristno in prinaša nove, prej povsem neslutene možnosti. Ko so v Ameriki začeli izgubljati delovna mesta zaradi poceni kitajskih izdelkov, so se najprej vznemirjali, potem pa začeli usmerjati v panoge in storitve z večjo dodano vrednostjo (predvsem informacijske tehnologije) in prepričan sem, da bodo še dolgo imeli vodilno vlogo v inovativni ekonomiji.

Tudi nam ne bo prav nič pomagalo, če se nam bo tožilo po dobrih starih tekstilnih in čevljarskih tovarnah in prav škodljivo bo, če bomo skušali (s kakršnimikoli subvencijami ali z državno pomočjo) obdržati delovna mesta, ki niso konkurenčna – v svetovnem merilu. Manj škode je, če vsa tista delovna mesta, ki so očitno neperspektivna (nekonkurenčna) takoj opustimo, kot pa če za njihovo vegetiranje trošimo sredstva iz javnih virov. Bodo delodajalci in delojemalci vsaj prisiljeni, da se čim prej prilagodijo sodobni konkurenci! Priznam, da zveni neusmiljeno, ampak prav v tem je kleč in trend sodobne globalizacije: Nenehno tekmovanje in boj za (gospodarsko) preživetje! Če nujne preusmeritve ne bomo naredili takoj, jo bomo pa čez nekaj let, na še bolj boleč način in z večjim zaostankom za vodečimi.

Dobro, pa kako naj se tisoč delavcev neperspektivne tekstilne tovarne preusmeri (»prestrukturira«)? Enotnega odgovora ni, vsak se bo moral »znajti« po svoje. Visoko izobraženi ekonomisti, inženirji, pravniki, se bodo že nekako znašli, če ne drugega na obstoječem trgu delovne sile. Za srednji kader bo že malo težje… Marsikdo pa se bo šele sedaj opogumil za podjetniški poskus… Odvisno od osebnih lastnosti. Ne pozabimo, da je del globalizacije tudi večja mobilnost ljudi. Pri nas se bodo (zaradi pomanjkanja domačih kadrov) kmalu pojavili bistri programerji iz Bolgarije in Indije. Jim bodo pač tisti Slovenci, ki se drugače ne bodo znašli, pekli pizze in jih vozili s taksijem…

Globalizacijo pa je možno tudi speljati na svoj mlin, tako kot so to na primer uspeli v Indiji. Namesto, da bistri in pridni izobraženci množično odhajajo v Ameriko in druge najrazvitejše države »s trebuhom za kruhom«, so začeli svoje storitve prodajati kar od doma. Kot gobe po dežju rastejo podjetja s po več tisoč zaposlenimi, ki preko ultrahitrih internetnih povezav nudijo vse vrste storitev komurkoli po svetu (predvsem pa programiranje, telefonska pomoč, itd.). Glokalizirali so se tako, da lahko dobro zaslužijo, pa so še vedno doma, nosijo udobne halje in jedo hrano, na katero so najbolj navajeni.

Kako pa se bi (bo!) lahko Slovenija glokalizirala? Kje so njene primerjalne prednosti? Vsekakor niso v kakšnih naravnih bogastvih, razen če kot taka ne štejemo tudi naše lepe pokrajine in kulturnozgodovinske dediščine. Na materialnem področju skoraj ne vidim drugega kot toplice za visokokvaliteten (»welness«) turizem (v kombinaciji z zasebnimi zdravstvenimi storitvami) in možnost biološkega kmetijstva (kmečki turizem, vrnitev k naravi itd.).

Največ možnosti imamo verjetno v ljudeh samih: v znanju in smislu za podjetništvo. Slednje je bilo v prvi polovici prejšnjega stoletja že prav lepo razvito in na najboljši poti, da prodre v evropski vrh, pa je bilo z revolucijo povsem zamorjeno in le ubogi obrtniki so ohranjali žlahtno tradicijo, seveda v zelo omejenih okvirih.

Srečni smo lahko, da sedaj živimo v času, ko ni nobenih omejitev več! Ves svet je pred nami: mladi podjetniki imajo na Facebooku pred sabo trg 60 milijonov posameznikov, od katerih je vsakdo le en klik in eno sekundo oddaljen! Pa naj se znajdejo!

Seveda ne bodo mogli uspeti le kot posamezniki. Namesto da si slepo konkurirajo na malem slovenskem trgu, naj se povežejo in skupaj podajo v veliko večje arene. Namesto, da jih pet razvija vsak svoj sistem »opozorilo-potnikom-da-se-bliža-postaja«, naj se raje dogovorijo, uskladijo ter povežejo in skupaj naredijo en »passenger-alerting-system« ter ga prodajajo po vsem svetu.

Od države pač ni treba pričakovati, da nas bo usmerjala, v kakšne vrsto gospodarstva naj se podajamo. Dovolj je, da se čim bolj umika in odstranjuje administrativne in davčne ovire. Ocenjujem, da sedanji vladi to kar dobro uspeva.

29. marec 2008

Iskanje s pomočjo umetne inteligence

Bolj kot razvijamo in obvladujemo informacijske tehnologije, bolj spoznavamo kako fantastično razvita in popolna s(m)o (že milijone let delujoča) živa bitja - in mi ljudje kot krona stvarstva še posebej. Sedaj ko imamo že super hitre procesorje, gigabajtne nosilce »spomina« in celo terabajtno svetovno omrežno podporo, uspevamo počasi (in zelo nezanesljivo) prepoznavati obraze na (ustrezno kvalitetnih) slikah, kar je sicer prava malenkost za vsakega povprečnega otroka, pa čeprav tudi preko človeškega očesa informacije pridejo v možgane preko tisočih pikčastih impulzov (v bistvu tudi digitalnih)…

Družbe kot Riya, ki so doslej uspele še najbolje spoznati vsebino slik (»Visual Search«), se hvalijo s tem, da so še največ dosegle na enem od področij umetne inteligence – »computer vision«. Slike, katere mi spoznamo in »razumemo, sprejmemo« v sekundi, morajo računalniki najprej spremeniti v matematične algoritme in šifre (povprečne slike jih imajo vsaka po 6.000), nato pa se začne strašno komplicirano »računanje« zato da bi se našle znane in smiselne kombinacije… In če naj bi nek obraz prepoznali za potrebe bio-metričnih potnih listov, potem je treba dobljene kombinacije primerjati še z tisoči in tisoči drugimi slikami… (kar mi spet naredimo ponavadi kar mimogrede in se spomnimo znanca izpred 10 let)…

Z vizualnim področjem sem začel zato, da bi si lažje predstavljali, na kakšen zapleten način mora »neumni« računalnik začeti tudi na področju besedil (kar je nam pravnikom bolj pomembno). Zaporedje črk in drugih znakov je potrebno najprej »na grobo« spoznati in razdeliti na besede in stavke. Umetna inteligenca je potrebna od tu naprej, začenši z že dokaj razvitimi besednimi tehnologijami. Visok nivo (formalnega) prepoznavanja besedil tudi v slovenščini si lahko ogledate pri Microsoftovih orodjih v Pisarni – Office 2003, kjer vam računalnik lahko že kar koristno pomaga pri odpravljanju slovničnih napak.

Trdo delo pa se tu seveda šele začenja: ugotoviti, kaj besedilo POMENI in to potem povezati z drugimi ustreznimi pojmi in besedili. Za to pa je potrebno (biti vključeno) že zelo specifično znanje. Umetna inteligenca na področju medicine (ki je tudi že precej razvita), mora povezati težave s krvnim pritiskom z (ne)primerno prehrano in z ustreznimi terapijami in zdravili.
Nepogrešljivi iskalni stroji doslej niso imeli ustreznih rešitev, niti vključenih elementov umetne inteligence. Še najbolj se je temu približal legendarni Google (in v tem je tudi skrivnost njegovega uspeha), vendar na dokaj specifičen način, s pomočjo določenih »trikov«. Iskane pojme je namreč začel povezovati s pomočjo statističnih metod: od kje so se ponavadi pojavljali iskalci, katere so (naj)bolj iskane strani, kateri linki so najpogostejši itd. Tako bi nas na področju medicine verjetno hitro pripeljal tudi od visokega pritiska do ustreznih zdravil (s plačanimi oglasi). Za splošno iskanje je tudi to ponavadi dovolj, nikakor pa ni to prava smer za bolj zahtevno in kvalitetno iskanje – predvsem tudi ne na pravnem področju. Z vidika iskalnika, kot je Google je namreč celotni internet ena sama ogromna zakladnica najrazličnejših besed (na določenih straneh), skupaj s povezavami med temi besedami in stranmi. Pa prav nič več!

Upam si celo trditi, da še tako izpopolnjen(i) iskalnik(i) a la Google predstavlja(jo) povsem neustrezno smer (»dead end«) nadaljnjega razvoja obdelave informacij, razen seveda, če jim bodo določili povsem novo arhitekturo. Kot si lahko predstavljate bodo morali pri (zasnovi in) izdelavi novega (pravega) iskalnika na medicinskem področju sodelovati predvsem zdravniki, na pravnem pa – predvsem pravniki. Med bilijoni in bilijoni besed (pogosto obdanih z morjem navlake) bo možno dobro informacijo najti le z uporabo pravega ZNANJA (ki pa doslej ni bilo ustrezno vkomponirano v iskalnike).

Imamo srečo, da je prav pravo eno od najbolj ustreznih področij človeške dejavnosti za obvladovanje s pomočjo računalnikov, saj se študentje na nek način vsa leta študija učijo predvsem raznih PRAVIL.

S pomočjo umetne inteligence bo torej potrebno najprej vsa ta pravila (in njihove povezave) predstaviti računalniku, ki bo odslej znal prepoznati tudi nova (pravna) besedila in nam jih predstaviti preko iskalnika (search engine). Postopek bo sicer dopolnjen s spoznanji strojnega učenja in statistike, vendar bo temeljil na znanju in pravilih, katera bodo definirali pravniki.
Kot vse kaže se bomo zelo ambicioznega (in dolgotrajnega) projekta uporabe umetne inteligence v pravu lotili skupaj z nekaterimi najrazvitejšimi državami EU in lahko napovem, da bodo uporabniki siatema IUS-INFO eni prvih, ki bodo uporabljali PRAVI pravni iskalnik.

Vir, 26. 8. 2006

28. marec 2008

Ali je pravo tudi gensko pogojeno?

… in bodo znanstveniki nekoč odkrili tudi enega ali več genov, ki vplivajo na človekov odnos do prava? Ko človek bere knjigo GENOM* si lahko zamisli tudi to možnost. Odkar je bilo namreč lociranih tistih 100.000 genov (porazdeljenih na 23 kromosomih), se je namreč šele dobro začelo odkrivanje njihovih lastnosti ter pogojenosti raznih človekovih lastnosti in funkcionalnosti z zaporedji »binarne kode« na teh zelo dolgih in zapletenih verigah (sladkorjev in fosfatov, ki se imenujejo) DNK.

Hkrati s tem so se začele definitivno potrjevati nekatere stoletja stare znanstvene (biološke, medicinske, psihološke in celo sociološke) teorije (in celo utrjevati z novimi dokazi), druge pa so (bodo) lahko dokončno zavržene (z jasnimi dokazi o napačnih predpostavkah in zaključkih). In če so na nekaterih genih tudi nedvomno »stikala« za razne družbene odnose med ljudmi, potem so nekatera verjetno tudi za naš odnos do tega, kar nam naša okolica zapoveduje kot prav(no)…
Že v šoli smo se učili o stranskih vejah tradicionalne biologije (genetike), ki so dokazovale, da imajo nekateri ljudje že v svojih dedni zasnovi nagnjenje h kriminalnosti. Čeprav so malo resnejši raziskovalci skušali odstraniti sociološke komponente (okolje, vzgoja), so še vedno lahko našli statistične dokaze, da je hudodelnost lahko podedovana. Danes bi se takšen zaključek sicer označil kot šarlatanski, vendar pa vse bolj poglobljeno spoznavanje človeškega genoma prinaša tudi nova spoznanja, ki včasih delno rehabilitirajo tudi povsem zavržene teorije. Trije stavki se v takšni ali drugačni obliki bralcu ponavljata skozi vso knjigo: »Tudi v tem je lahko delček resnice.«. »Zakaj – ne vemo.« in pa »Obstajajo pa seveda izjeme.«

Sicer pa si lahko vprašanje o morebitnem obstoju »pravnega gena« zastavimo drugače, ne z negativne strani (tako kot to isto velja za gene kot nosilce dednih bolezni – ugodna »nastavitev« gena bolezen ravno preprečuje!). »Ali imamo ljudje prirojen odnos do upoštevanja pravnih norm?« »Ali ima lahko nekdo takšen »karakter«, da vedno teži k »uboganju« (predpisov), drugi pa takšnega, da ga vedno bolj (za)mika, da bi se jim izognil?« »Ali je nekdo lahko »že po naravi« bolj discipliniran davčni obveznik, kot drugi?«

Stavim, da bi mi veliko staršev pritrdilo, da je nekaj »ubogljivega«, »kljubujočega«, »zvijačnega«, »redoljubnega«, »prevratniškega«, tudi v naših genih (to ni isto kot podedovano), saj imajo dokaj različne otroke, katere vzgajajo enako in v enakih okoljih, a so vendar med seboj dokaj različni. Gotovo bi si pogosto upali tudi napovedati tudi, kateri od njih bo bolj pridno plačeval položnice in kateri bo vedno najprej skušal najti kakšne luknje v zakonu ter bo vedno pripravljen za izkazovanje kakšne oblike »državljanske nepokorščine«. Na koncu vsakega odstavka moram seveda dodati tudi stavek: »Obstajajo pa seveda izjeme.«

Če še niste prebrali knjige o genomu, se verjetno sprašujete, ali govorim figurativno, ali pa bi bil takšen »pravniški« gen nekaj dejanskega in znanstveno opisanega? Če bi ga odkrili (morda so ga pa že (?) in se skriva v kakšni ogromni spletni podatkovni bazi, tako kot že drugi (približno) 10.000 malo bolje raziskani geni. Opisan bi bil pa približno tako, kot je »inteligenčni gen«: imenuje se IGF2R, nahaja se na dolgem kraku 6. kromosoma. Kadar je vklopljen (»Obstajajo pa seveda izjeme.«) določa funkcijo posebne beljakovine, ki povzroča bistre ideje. Ima kar 7.473 črk, vendar se celotno njegovo sporočilo (praktično digitalna koda) razteza prek 98.000 črk dolgega odseka genoma, kar 48-krat prekinjenega z nesmiselnimi zaporedji, imenovanimi intromi (podobno kot pri tistih revijah, kjer imajo veliko reklam med članki). Gen je povezan z inzulinu podobnimi beljakovinami in povzroča, da ljudje z visokim IQ učinkoviteje porabljajo glukozo v možganih…

Locirani so tudi že geni za sramežljivost, za zapeljevanje in za odpor… eden od evolucijskih biologov pa je prepričan celo, da je našel nevronski modul, ki omogoča večjo ali manjšo nagnjenost k religioznosti… Dvomim, vendar le dodajam stavek: »Tudi v tem je morda lahko delček resnice.«.

Kandidatov za gen, ki ima največji vpliv na človekov odnos do prava, je vsekakor znanih že precej, saj jih najdemo opisane v citirani knjigi v najrazličnejših kombinacijah. Še najbližji so tisti, ki izhajajo iz zgodovinskega razvoja naše vrste in so bili posledica različno organiziranih in strukturiranih družbenih skupin (lovci ali poljedelci, patriarhalni ali matriarhalni, monogamni ali poligamni, stacionirani ali nomadi itd.). Da pa ne bi koga spet misel zapeljala v kakšen svet preživelih ideologij in kvazi-znanstvenih smeri (evgenika, super rase, socialni inženiring, itd.) naj takoj omenim, da so geni le eden od dejavnikov, ki (lahko) vplivajo na človekovo telo in na njegovo ravnanje. Njihove »ventile« (koliko so vklopljeni in koliko ne) namreč upravlja tudi zunanja okolica in družbeno okolje, predvsem pa tudi človek sam s svojo – svobodno voljo. To se lahko pozna takoj (zavestno preusmeritev človekove misli v kakšno prijetnejšo in srečnejšo smer mu lahko takoj spremeni razpoloženje, saj se ob tem preklopi marsikatero stikalo za kakšno ugodnejšo beljakovino) ali pa morda šele čez več generacij »Zakaj – ne vemo.«

Ali ob branju teh vrstic čutite, kako revolucionarna so bila odkritja (prave strukture človeškega genoma) okrog zadnjega preloma stoletja? Vsaj za tiste, ki smo se šolali pred nekaj desetletji! Še v sedemdesetih letih je izšla knjiga, ki pove vse že v naslovu: »Ne v naših genih!« (»Not in Our Genes!«). V tistem času je bila še vedno verjetna hipoteza, da so genetski vplivi na vedenje neznatni. Po poldrugem stoletju raziskav vedenjske genetike taka zamisel ne vzdrži več. Geni vplivajo na vedenje! Mi sami pa seveda tudi lahko vplivamo na vedenje genov.
Če (ko) se bo v »knjigi« Človeški genom (ta knjiga obsega okrog milijardo besed!) definiral tudi »pravniški gen«, se bo seveda pojavila tudi nova nevarnost (kot se je že v toliko drugih primerih) in skušnjava, da bi »se dali pregledati« in ugotoviti »kvaliteto« (stopnjo intenzivnosti) tega gena. Tako kot se za nagnjenost k holesterolu zanimajo razne zavarovalnice, bi se za »prav(n)o naravnanost« (»usmerjenost«) razno raznih kandidatov za razno razne funkcije zanimale razno razne inštitucije…

To pa je že tema za nove in še bolj aktualne kolumne…

*Zelo priporočam branje knjige »Matt Ridley: GENOM Biografija človeške vrste; Žepna knjiga«

Vir, 29. 7. 2006

27. marec 2008

The SIMS - Legal stuff

Verjetno je najbolj razširjena in komercialno uspešna računalniška igrica vseh časov - The SIMS – simulacija običajnega življenja, predvsem družinskega, uspeh pa izhaja verjetno prav iz dejstva, da nobena druga igra ne temelji na tako doslednem, vsakdanjem (včasih tudi dolgočasnem) ponavljanju vsakodnevnih opravil in družabnih stikov. K sreči (ali pa po zaslugi našega ministra Zvera) program (še) ni preveden v slovenščino in zato obstaja vsaj ena oblika »kolateralne koristi«, saj se otroci hote ali nehote ob njegovi uporabi naučijo precej angleščine.

Če si boste zadevo hoteli malo ogledati (kar pomeni, da doma nimate najstnic, ki bi ure in ure presedale pred računalnikom z znanimi liki), potem vas opozarjam, da je domena za domačo stran »thesims.com«. Avtorji so razvili tudi posebne tematske pakete – Expansion Packs – z različnih področij, n.pr. Univerza, Biznis, Nočno življenje, Glamur, itd. Za nas bo seveda najbolj zanimiv paket »The SIMS – Legal Stuff«, ki predstavlja simulacije prav(d)nih postopkov na različnih sodiščih.

Kot pri ostalih paketih, se lahko na začetku uporabnik malo poigra s scenografijo in organizacijo sodišč, namešča in zamenjuje sodnike ter sodnice (v Ameriki je relevanten celo njihov ideološki profil - konzervativnost oziroma liberalnost), povišuje ali zmanjšuje stopnjo represivnosti pravnega sistema (višina odškodnin, smrtna kazen ali celo šeriatski običaji), število porotnikov itd. Pri nekaterih državah je možno uporabljati celo drsnik s stopnjo skorumpiranosti pravosodnega aparata (pri članicah EU in s tem tudi pri Sloveniji tega seveda ni).

Prava igra pa se začne, ko se uporabnik odloči, za kakšno vrsto postopka bo šlo: za kazenski, civilni, socialni, nepravdni, itd. Uporabniški vmesnik omogoča zelo dobro simulacijo resničnih življenjskih situacij, tako da ima program s tem tudi veliko praktično vrednost. Če ste nekomu dali predujem, pa se je potem ponesrečil, izgubil vse premoženje in postal invalid in vam ne more (noče) denarja vrniti, čeprav se njegovi otroci valjajo v denarju, boste vse te okoliščine lahko definirali za začetek postopka. Če boste imeli običajne »cheat code« (in otroci jih ponavadi tudi preskrbijo!), potem se vam niti ne bo treba pretirano truditi preko celotnega postopka, ampak boste lahko dobili končni rezultat (sodbo) že kar takoj.

Sicer pa se boste seveda odločili za tožbo. Priporočam pa vam, da si najamete dobrega (=dragega) odvetnika, sicer je dosti manj možnosti, da boste s svojim zahtevkom uspeli. Boste pa zato tudi imeli dober občutek in velik užitek, ko boste opazovali, kako se nasprotniki potijo pred sodnikom, ko jim On servira dokaz za dokazom, predvsem pa seveda tudi najbolj relevantne judikate (ne pozabite, da gre za program, ki temelji pretežno na anglosaksonskem pravnem sistemu). Res pa je, da boste morali na koncu vam prisojeno odškodnino temeljito zmanjšati, saj si jo boste morali z Njim razdeliti.

Resnici na ljubo je treba povedati, da obstaja velika razlika med dvema primeroma uporabe programa: če vam gre le za končni rezultat (simulacija sodbe), ali pa tudi za užitke zaradi samega igranja. V prvem primeru lahko čas med začetkom in trenutkom razglasitve sodbe zelo zmanjšate. V podmenuju »Settings« je potrebno zmanjšati intenzivnost na gumbu »Human factor«, n.pr. za 80%. V tem primeru bo dogajanje dosti hitrejše. Sami boste s svojimi argumenti in dejanji še vedno lahko vplivali na potek procesa, računalnik pa se očitno ne bo več trudil z zamiki, ki simulirajo počasno človeško mišljenje.

Računalniške igrice v obliki simulatorjev so imele že večkrat nepričakovano velik vpliv na povsem druga profesionalna področja. To velja predvsem za razne simulacije letalskih poletov in vseh oblik vojskovanja, saj jih v pedagoškem procesu uporabljajo tudi najbolj elitne vojaške akademije. Podoben trend se kaže s paketom »The SIMS - Legal Stuff«, ki je v kratkem času povsem osvojil številne pravne fakultete. Če je bil pred tem večkrat upravičen očitek, da diplomanti dobijo premalo praktičnega znanja, je sedaj že skoraj obratno: študenti prava po cele dneve (in noči) prebijejo pred računalniki, kjer simulirajo najbolj nenavadne in zahtevne sodne postopke. Pri tem se seveda tako navadijo na ta nova orodja, da jih uporabljajo tudi še kasneje na svojem novem delovnem mestu. Nobena skrivnost ni, da se mladi sodniki pred usodno odločitvijo še malo zaprejo v svoje pisarne, tam simulirajo postopek ter natisnejo osnutek sodbe z obrazložitvijo. V tistih nekaj primerih, ko gre za očitno nesmiselno rešitev, le-to seveda zavržejo, v večini primerov pa računalniško odločitev potrdijo, morda še malo popravijo in uporabijo v resničnem življenju.

Kot vsaka novost, ima tudi to sodobno orodje med strokovno javnostjo svoje zagovornike in tudi nasprotnike, vendar vse kaže, da se (kot običajno) število slednjih zmanjšuje, pač tudi glede na vse večjo izpiljenost in točnost zadnjih verzij programskega paketa.

Zanimivo je, da se v osrčju rešitve skriva modul, ki je bil po treh letih razvit na podlagi mednarodnega projekta hitrejšega razvoja umetne inteligence na področju prava (v ta projekt je vključena tudi Slovenija) in ki je bil prvič javno predstavljen lansko leto na mednarodnem kongresu »IT Congress 2008 e-LAW« v Ljubljani (v organizaciji Slovenije kot predsedujoče članice EU).

Vir, 22. 7. 2006

26. marec 2008

Celotno pravo na eni zgoščenki?

Če (ko) se lotevamo ambicioznega projekta umetne inteligence, po katerem bi v digitalno (računalniško) obliko spravili (tudi) pomenski del prava (z vsemi pravnimi pravili vred), potem se nam upravičeno zastavi tudi vprašanje o možnem obsegu takšne na novo ustvarjene (ne več samo podatkovne) zbirke znanja. Temeljit premislek pa nas pripelje do zapeljive pomisli, da bi dobro organizirano ter kvalitetno obdelano celotno znanje o pravnem sistemu ene države lahko stisnili kar na – eno samo zgoščenko?

Najprej pa naj (za vzpodbudo) opozorim na projekt, ki je v preteklih letih tako lepo uspel, čeprav je po svojih gabaritih gotovo veliko bolj zahteven in obsežen, kot pa je sinteza nekega pravnega sistema v digitalno zbirko znanja. Gre za »Človeški GENOM«, ki je v nekaj letih na revolucionaren način pripeljal do zapisa celotnega človeškega genskega zapisa: prvič v zgodovini je človek prišel do »recepta« za svoj lastni organizem. Gre za navodilo, kako zgraditi in upravljati človeško telo!

V tej novi zakladnici znanja je skritih na tisoče (blizu 100.000) genov in na milijone drugih zaporedij, zbranih v celotni zgodovini živih bitij. Zanimivo je, da je do presenetljivo hitrega uspeha prišlo prav zaradi sinergije med javnim in zasebnim sektorjem. Potem ko je akademska znanost v preteklih desetletjih (in celo stoletjih, če smo natančni) dosegla ogromno in rezultate ponudila že kar »na krožniku«, je bila potrebna le še odločna zasebna iniciativa – in kvaliteten dogovor a la »javno-zasebno partnerstvo«. Potem ko so leta 1998 državni znanstveniki napovedovali, da bodo za zapis celotnega človeškega genoma potrebovali vsaj sedem let in ogromno sredstev, je »Craig Venter, sijajen in nemiren znanstvenik, oznanil, da bo njegova družba delo opravila do leta 2001 z veliko manj stroški: za manj kot 200 milijonov funtov… 26. junija 2000 sta predsednik Bill Clinton v Beli hiši in Tony Blair na Downing Streetu hkrati oznanila, da je grobi osnutek končan…«*.

Preko spletne strani GENOMA bi verjetno lahko prišel do podatka o obsegu podatkovne baze, vendar se niti ne bom trudil, saj vem, da je v vsakem primeru možno vso to bogato zakladnico znanja materializirati v nekaj fizičnih kilogramov. Po prvi varianti so to kakšni DVD-ji, po drugi, gotovo bogatejši in meni še veliko bolj očarljivi, pa v obliki dojenčka, ki je pravkar privekal na svet: VSE, prav VSE informacije o skrivnosti življenja so zbrane v teh dveh ali treh kilogramih!
No, pa naj se vrnem na pravo… In takole kar po bližnjici ocenim, kakšen bi bil lahko obseg (teža) celotne pravne vede neke države, n.pr. Slovenije… In kje bi lahko bolj(e) obvladali pravo, kot na Pravni fakulteti? Saj tam ga pravniki tudi obvladajo.. Seveda pa toliko spet ne bom poenostavljal, da bi iskal razliko v teži med brucem in diplomiranim pravnikom… Konec koncev študentke v teh letih pazijo na postavo in bi na rezultate vplivali še drugi dejavniki…

Ali pa je celotna pravna znanost sploh kje prostorsko skoncentrirana? V stavbi Pravne fakultete? V njeni knjižnici? Ali pa kar v najboljšem profesorju? Jaz bi se bolj kot na kakšno skladovnico knjig in uradnih listov zanesel na kolega kolumnista – Prof. dr. Mira Cerarja
Kje je meja med navadnim (normalnim) človekom in pravnikom? V diplomi! Pravi Pravnik je tisti, ki je prebral vse pravne UČBENIKE, poslušal vsaj nekaj predavanj (ZAPISKI), spoznal nekaj PREDPISOV in morda še kakšen JUDIKAT – in potem na izpitu to tudi dokazal.
Po tej logiki lahko pridemo tudi do nekaj kvantitativnih ocen, seveda ne v KG, temveč v MB. Zložimo skupaj vse učbenike Pravne fakultete, jih skeniramo, OCR-amo, podobno ocenimo za zapiske, glede ostalega pa vzamemo kar točne podatke iz IUS-INFA.

Ob tem naj nepoučene bralce opozorim na to, da golo besedilo v digitalni obliki, očiščeno raznih oblikovnih dodatkov, predstavlja presenetljivo majhen obseg glede na današnje spominske kapacitete naše računalniške opreme! Obligacijski zakonik obsega 614 kB. Povprečen učbenik kakšen MB (manj kot ena sama fotografija iz sodobnega žepnega fotoaparata). Tako imate lahko že na obesku za ključe po nekaj sto knjig (učbenikov)…

Čistopisi vseh veljavnih predpisov obsegajo manj kot pol Giga (= 500 MB), relevantni judikati pa dva- do trikrat več. Zbirka strokovnih člankov iz preteklih let lahko obseg še poveča, po drugi strani pa lahko velik obraten učinek dosežemo z »zipanjem«…

Hitro lahko ugotovimo, da bi na eno zgoščenko (DVD) lahko zlahka spravili VSA pravna pravila nekega pravnega sistema. Toda – ali je to tudi že znanje? Seveda ne! To so le goli podatki. Znanje je potrebno iz njih šele izluščiti (knowledge extraction), ga na nek način (znati) interpretirati. Poudarjam: na nek način – do neke mere – kolikor se mehanično to sploh da. Toliko, da takšno »znanje« lahko predstavlja dober pripomoček in koristno orodje – človeku, pravniku, sodniku. Dobro se zavedam velikega pomena pravnega občutka (ali kot nas v kolumni tako lepo podučuje prof. Cerar: das Rechtsgefühl).

Ker bodo meta podatki (takšni, ki vidno besedilo sicer bogatijo, vendar se pri branju “ne vidijo”) gotovo za nekajkrat povečali obseg celotne podatkovne zbirke o nekem pravnem sistemu, si ne upam zatrditi, da bi že danes lahko celotno pravo lahko stisnili na eno zgoščenko (DVD), upam pa si napovedati, da bo že ob kateri od prvih naslednjih generacij teh prenosnih medijev zagotovo možno “celotno pravo” nositi s seboj – ne samo v glavi, temveč tudi - v žepu.

*Zelo priporočam branje knjige »Matt Ridley: GENOM Biografija človeške vrste; Žepna knjiga«

Vir, 15. 7. 2006

25. marec 2008

Kako naj računalnik razume pravo?

Kako so organizirani naši možgani? Ali imajo kakšen »operacijski sistem«? Kje so shranjene besede in kje pojmi? Obstajajo kakšni splošni »direktoriji« z našimi spomini in ali so naprej hirerahično razčlenjeni? Kako pogosto se nam vklaplja »iskalni stroj«? Kako se nam pojavijo nove ideje? Kaj je to učenje? – takšna vprašanja se mi pojavljajo, ko premišljujem o možnostih črpanja pravnega znanja iz obstoječih dokumentov (predpisov, judikatov, člankov…)…

Če hočemo pravno informatiko dvigniti na povsem novo in bistveno bogatejšo stopnjo, kot je prevladovala doslej (zbiranje, iskanje in razpečevanje mehaničnih nizov črk in besed, katere bo šele končni uporabnik »razumel«), potem se ne moremo izogniti primerjav med človeško in računalniško logiko. Če naj bi računalnik bistveno bolj(e) pomagal človeku (na pravnem področju), potem mora tudi on, vsaj do določene mere »razumeti« pravna besedila.

Ker pa verjetno do izvorne kode operacijskega sistema človeških možganov verjetno ne bomo nikoli prišli, si bomo morali pač pomagati vsaj z omejenimi simulacijami našega miselnega procesa ter to uporabiti za izdelavo algoritmov, ki bodo računalniku pomagali priti do približno enakih zaključkov kot jih na podlagi enakega »inputa« doseže človek.

Tudi pravo je določeno in zapisano v obliki človeškega jezika in za začetek je potrebno najti vsaj okvirne pomene besed in njihovih povezav. Na tem področju (in v prvih korakih pri razvoju umetne inteligence na področju prava) pa si bomo lahko že veliko pomagali z lepimi rezultati, katere so v preteklih desetletjih dosegle JEZIKOVNE TEHNOLOGIJE. Običajno si kot najbolj popularne njihove dosežke predstavljamo razne aplikacije za računalniško obdelavo naravnega jezika. Slovenski primer: KOLOS

Manj spektakularne, vendar tudi zelo bogate pa so razne leksikalne podatkovne zbirke, kot n.pr. WordNet in EuroWordNet, ki temeljijo na povezavi pojmov z leksikalnimi in semantičnimi relacijami. Prvi sistem je začel nastajati v Ameriki že pred desetletji in ima danes velik vpliv) (in s tem tudi angleščina kot dominantni jezik na tem področju) na vse druge projekte. V tej podatkovni zbirki so samostalniki, glagoli, pridevniki in prislovi urejeni v sinonimske nize (sinsete), EuroWord Net pa je temu pridružil še več jezikov, ki se do določene meje povsem ujemajo, v velikem delu pa obstajajo tudi njihove specifike.

Obstaja pa tudi že projekt BalkaNetWord (kamor pa Slovenija seveda ne spada).
Zaradi izrazito ontološkega pristopa (vključno z relacijami kot so sopomenskost, nadpomenskost, podpomenskost, protipomenskost) ) takšne »besedne mreže« predstavljajo dobro osnovo tudi za specifična področja, kot je tudi pravo. Doslej je bilo na tem področju še največ doseženega v okviru projekta LOIS (Lexical Ontologies for legal Information Sharing). Izhodiščna ugotovitev njegovih nosilcev je bila, da je ena glavnih pomanjkljivosti obstoječih pravnih informacijskih sistemov v tem, da nimajo učinkovite predstavitve semantičnih razmerij med pravnimi pojmi (doslej še) »skritimi« v vsebini (?) pravnih dokumentov. Po domače povedano: računalnik (program) uporabnikom ne more prav nič pomagati glede prave VSEBINE besedila.
Kot sem napovedal že v svoji kolumni »Prav(n)i iskalec« se bomo tudi Slovenci v naslednjih letih veliko ukvarjali s »črpanjem znanja« (knowledge extraction) iz obstoječih pravnih podatkovnih baz, kot tudi s pomočjo pri nastanku (kreiranju) novih (pravnih dokumentov vseh vrst) na veliko bogatejši način. Iz praktičnih razlogov večje učinkovitosti bomo (na začetku še dokaj nezanesljive) metode teoretičnih pravnih pravil kombinirali s tehnologijami strojnega učenja in teorije iger, ki veliko vsebinskih pojmov »zadenejo« tudi po statističnih pravilih običajnega vrstnega reda besed.

Zato bomo morali tako »ukrotiti« računalnike in jim »razložiti« način človeškega mišljenja in izražanja, da bodo začeli z razumevanjem prava…

S skupnimi močmi (ljudi in računalnikov) bomo posledično lahko tudi izboljšali kvaliteto samega prava…

Ne verjamete? Stavim za tisoč evrov: izplačilo leta 2015…

Vir, 8. 7. 2006

24. marec 2008

Nemoč prava

Pravijo, da ima (klasična, zahodna, kapitalistična) demokracija tudi veliko slabosti in da je daleč od idealnega družbenega sistema, vendar boljšega pač (še) ni in zato se moramo z njo kar sprijazniti. Podobno velja za pravo: nepopolno je, velikokrat nas pusti na cedilu, razočarani smo nad njim, vendar – hvala Bogu, da ga imamo!

Verjetno ima že vsakdo kakšno slabo izkušnjo s pravom, če ne drugače zaradi neučinkovitega (prepočasnega) sodnega varstva. Za ilustracijo si zamislimo tri primere, ko se pokaže žalostna NEmoč prava…

Prvi primer. Oseba A pri podjetniku (parketarju) - osebi B naroči polaganje parketa v svoji na novo zgrajeni hiši. Da bi bil hrastov parket res kvaliteten in da bi imel s temi opravili čimmanj opravkov, oseba A pristane na predlog osebe B, da bi mu parket nabavil na Hrvaškem in ga s kamionom pripeljal direktno na gradbišče. Potrebno pa bo imeti gotovino in zato oseba B predlaga osebi A, da ji ga preskrbi in izroči – do četrtka, da bi bil parket lahko pripeljan v petek. Ker se tako velikih zneskov (kar precej milijonov) ne daje kar tako, se oseba A najprej prepriča, da ima za partnerja verodostojno osebo. Na občini preveri njegov status obrtnika, kot odločilno pa upošteva dejstvo, da oseba B živi v istem bloku kot oseba A (hiša še ni vseljiva), v sosednjem stopnišču, skupaj z ženo in dvema otrokoma. Goljuf pač ne bo šel goljufati ravno svojega soseda… In tako se stvari začnejo dogajati. Oseba A v četrtek izroči osebi B toliko milijonov, kot je pač potrebno. Mine petek. Mine sobota. Parketa pa še od nikoder… Oseba A pozvoni pri stanovanju osebe B. Odpre žena osebe B. Moža da še ni nazaj… Mine nedelja, mine ponedeljek… Oseba A spet pozvoni pri stanovanju osebe B in se z njegovo ženo pogovori že z malo višjimi toni. Moža pač še eni… Oja, včasih ga res kaj zanese… Njegova šibka točka da je tudi igralništvo… Oseba A je že tako živčna zaradi svojih milijonov, da gre kar na policijo. Ja, ga poznajo, ja… Če ima kaj več denarja, da se kar napije in včasih za nekaj dni izgine… baje zapravlja denar v koroških igralnicah… No, pa smo tam! Oseba A se zave, da je nasedla… in da včasih lahko kdo ogoljufa tudi svojega soseda… Dogodki potrdijo najhujše slutnje osebe A: čez nekaj dni se oseba B - skesani mož vrne k ženi in otrokom, malo mačka in podočnjakov, pa nobenega denarja več… Sledi seveda: kazenska ovadba, civilna tožba… nekaj let postopkov… in končno: PRAVNOMOČNA sodba! (Če je oseba B zaradi goljufije po nekaj letih celo kaj »odsedela«, je za osebo A irelevantno…) Ja, pa kaj? Samo še izvršba! Ha, ha, … Obrt je bila medtem odvzeta, stroji so izginili… Stanovanje je socialno… Izvršitelj lahko ugotovi le, da je vse pohištvo nujno za preživljanje družine, televizor je pa od tašče… In tako si lahko oseba A pravnomočno sodbo (vključno s sklepom o izvršbi) nekam zatakne (mislim seveda za klobuk)…

Drugi primer. Oseba A se na plaži igra (skupaj s svojimi otroci) z družino osebe B. Ko se lovijo, med drugim ujame tudi 8-letno hčerkico osebe B in jo pri tem za trenutek pridrži v objemu. Bratec slika z mobilcem in smešno sliko strička, ki je pravkar ujel sestrico, popoldne pošlje prijatelju v domači kraj, da bo videl, kako zabavno se imata obe družini. Prijatelj sliko pošlje naprej sošolcu… Četrto kopijo vidi tudi oseba C, ki je politični in poslovni nasprotnik osebe A. Ker ob sliki ni komentarjev, na njej pa ne drugih oseb, je videti, kot da bi se oseba A lahko sama zabavala z deklico, kakor si to že kdo razlaga… Oseba C se odloči, da bo osebi A malo ponagajala in sliko pošlje novinarju rumenega dnevnika… Jutranja redakcija… Nič uporabnega… Koga bomo pa danes zj...li? Ste videli tole sliko? Kaj če bi jo kar objavili? Če ni res, bo pa že demantiral… Sicer pa: brez milosti! Naslednje jutro osebo A zbudijo klici ob 6. uri zjutraj: »A že veš? Si že videl, kaj je o tebi v časopisu?«. Žena je že oblečena in lahko skoči za vogal v trafiko… Na prvi strani pa: »Oseba A ovadena zaradi pedofilije«, pa seveda tista nedolžna slika, ki pa sedaj ne izgleda nič kaj nedolžno… Zraven pa nekaj namigovanj iz dobro obveščenih virov… Naslednji dan popravek, da je šlo za sum in ne za ovadbo… Odvetniki… Tožba… Citati iz obravnav v črnih kronikah… Morda kdaj tudi sodba? Morda celo kakšna odškodnina čez nekaj let…? Osebi A se bo pa še celo življenje dogajalo, da jo bodo neznanci postrani pogledovali in šepetali nekaj o pedofiliji…

Tretji primer. Škodljivost kajenja za zdravje (aktivna in pasivna) je tako nedvoumna in dokazana, da je to definirano in določeno celo v zakonu in so na vsakem zavojčku cigaret zapisane in opisane številne grozljive posledice, od bolezni, grdote, impotence, frigidnosti, iznakaženosti do smrti – pa kaj?

In vendar: srečni smo lahko, da živimo v (bolj ali manj) pravni državi! In da v težavah in stiskah lahko pokličemo na 113, ko se začne odvijati pravo…

Vir, 10. 6. 2006

Prav(N)i iskalnik

Če boste na Googlu vnesli iskalni izraz »legal search engine«, boste sicer dobili kar precej zadetkov (približno 120.000.000), vendar ne boste izsledili niti enega PRAVEGA pravnega iskalnika. Zakaj? Zato, ker (še) ne obstaja! Ni ga (še)!

Vse to, kar si je doslej kdorkoli upal objaviti pod tem imenom, je lahko le »pravni« iskalnik (v narekovaju) – »legal« search engine… Gre pa v bistvu za OBIČAJNE iskalnike, uporabljane na pravnem področju (morda le še nekoliko prilagojene). Ponavadi, tako kot po drugih besedilih, iščejo takšne nize zaporednih znakov (in njihovih kombinacij), kot jih je vnesel uporabnik. Morda je ob tem (pravno)informacijski ponudnik pripravil še prijazen vmesnik, ki ponuja vnos raznih (pravno)relevantnih podatkov za iskanje po različnih »poljih« (zahtevno iskanje), seznamih odvetnikov, pravnih virov in seveda direktno povezavo na dokumente v pravni podatkovni bazi. Konec koncev je takšno »state of the art« - napredno iskanje – celo po časovni lestvici – na voljo tudi naročnikom sistema IUS-INFO.

Zagotovo pa še niste naleteli na takšen prav(n)i iskalnik, ki bi vaš vneseni niz znakov in besed vzel kaj drugače kot mehanično, ki bi ga tudi »razumel« v kontekstu pravne znanosti in pravnih pravil. Ki bi besedo »obtožba« povezal tudi s predsednikom republike, katerega lahko v določenih primerih obtoži državni zbor zaradi kršitve ustave… Ki bi ob iskanju pojma »versko prepričanje« opozoril tudi na besedilo »religiozni nazor«… Ki bi ob iskanju drugoinstančne odločitve takoj pogledal na višje sodišče… Ki bi župana spomnil, da je pristojen za imenovanje gasilskega poveljnika občine… Ki bi ločeval med »razvezo« pogodbe in »razvezo« zakonske zveze… Ki bi ob iskanju po evropski zakonodaji v slovenščini našel tudi ustrezne dokumente v angleščini…

Prepričan sem, da (bi) takšen PRAVI (ontološki, semantični) pravni iskalnik:
- rabimo
- pomenil ogromen korak naprej in da bi odprl povsem nove horizonte pravne informatike in pravne vede nasploh
- postal nepogrešljiv praktični pripomoček večine pravnikov
- pomagal pri kompleksnejših projektih modernizacije sodišč in javne uprave
- bil tudi komercialno uspešen zaradi zelo visoke stopnje dodane vrednosti

Pred leti bi se tudi meni (tako kot se brez dvoma večini bralcev) takšna ideja zdela le pobožna želja ali znanstvena fantastika. Ker pa poznam današnje stanje (pravne) informatike, odlične parcialne dosežke raziskovalnih inštitucij ter komercialnih ponudnikov v različnih deželah in se zavedam možne pomoči s strani umetne inteligence (AI), sem prepričan, da je nastopil čas, da se izdelave PRAV(n)EGA iskalnika kar lotimo!

Pristop bo še precej širši in zelo multidisciplinaren: kot izhodišče bomo vzeli zadnje stanje jezikovnih tehnologij, ki že omogočajo prepoznavo besedil do te mere, da jim lahko začnemo določati njihov pomen. Tukaj bo štafeto prevzela pravna stroka (teorija), ki bo morala do te mere abstrahirati (vsa) pravna pravila, da jih bodo lahko (ilustrirane v kvadratke) prevzeli programerji in strokovnjaki za umetno inteligenco (predvsem tudi za strojno učenje). Z analizo obstoječih besedil celotnih zakonodajnih sistemov (Evropske unije, Slovenije,…) se jim bo dodalo ogromno »notranjih, skritih, meta podatkov« z njihovim pomenom ter medsebojnimi povezavami. (Mimogrede: to bo lahko tudi dober pripomoček za ugotavljanje skladnosti predpisov držav članic s predpisi EU ter za prilagajanje zakonodaj držav kandidatk) Tako bo iz prejšnjega »mrtvega« in togega besedila nastala prava zakladnica pravnega ZNANJA, ki ne bo omogočala samo izvedbe pravnih iskalnikov, temveč bo dosti bolj uporabna tudi v upravnih (e-administration) in sodnih postopkih (vključno s pomočjo sodnikom pri pisanju obrazložitev njihovih odločitev).

Projekta se Slovenci seveda ne bomo lotili sami, temveč v tesni povezavi s številnimi partnerji – tako na strani izvajalcev, kot tudi investitorjev. Projekt »AI-in-Law« bo iz praktičnih razlogov precej evropsko obarvan in bo usmerjen v povečanje konkurenčne sposobnosti evropskega gospodarstva, saj bo šlo za izrazito »high-tech« področje.

Nič ne de, če bo Slovenija pri tem imela vodilno vlogo (2008!), saj bo lahko tudi to eden od načinov za dokazovanje, da s(m)o tudi majhni lahko uspešni…

Vir, 27. 5. 2006

23. marec 2008

Pravna informatika ali informacijsko pravo?

Ugotavljam, da se je pravna informatika v obdobju zadnjih 20 let precej spreminjala, ne samo po tehnološki plati, ampak tudi glede svoje vloge v pravniškem okolju.

Pravna informatika je seveda obstajala že toliko časa, kot obstaja pravo, le da je bil njen medij papir (če zanemarimo njeno kameno dobo). Pravniki (in drugi) so morali pač ustrezne pravne norme, njihove izvedbe in komentarje najti v ustreznih knjigah, pri tem pa so si gotovo pomagali tudi na kakšne takšne iznajdljive načine, o katerih se nam danes še sanja ne.

V prvih nekaj desetletjih računalništva so ti služili res samo pretežno za to: za računanje (compute) in obdelavo številčnih podatkov. Spomnim se, da sem prvič bral o tem, da je možno z računalniki obdelovati tudi besedila, ko je nek bivši ameriški predsednik (mislim, da je bil Carter) začel pisati spomine z vnašanjem v računalnik… Ta ideja se mi je zdela prav fletna, čeprav se še sploh nisem zavedal neverjetnih prednosti, ki jih ima tako napisano besedilo pred tistim iz pisalnega stroja. Če sem odkrit, si niti tega nisem predstavljal, da bi lahko sredi članka vnesel novo besedo, ki bo v nekaj sekundah (tudi če v minutah) kar odrinila vse preostale besede in se lepo »vgnezdila« na svoje mesto, ne da bi to kasneje kdo to opazil…

S(m)o se pa nekateri pravniki (posebno tisti z bolj piškavim spominom) kmalu zavedli velikih prednosti, če nam računalnik pomaga, da si »zapomnimo« in »se kasneje spomnimo«, kje je določena (pravna) informacija v okviru ogromnih »skladišč« podatkov. Rodila se je pravna informatika v ožjem (sedaj običajnem) pomenu besede!

Po mojih doživljanjih in zavedanju so bila zadnja dobra tri desetletja te nove »vede« res precej različna. V prvem obdobju (predvsem tudi v Sloveniji) so prevladovali pionirstvo, entuziazem, amaterizem, akademizem, (da ne bodo samo tujke:) izobraževanje… Pravnikom je bilo treba šele povedati, kako jim računalniki lahko pomagajo. Na številnih seminarjih in »računalniških delavnicah« jih je bilo treba najprej navdušiti in potem naučiti uporabe – najprej osnovnih modrosti (zapletenega DOS-a), nato enostavnega pisanja… in na koncu (če je ostalo še kaj časa) pravniških posebnosti.

V drugem, zrelejšem obdobju, se je pojavilo prijaznejše okolje (Windows), večji diski (tudi že do ogromnih 20 MB!), prvi (profesionalni) informacijski ponudniki, originalni viri v digitalni obliki, internet in prve javne informacije preko njega, na fakultetah prvi predmeti in učbeniki »pravne informatike«. V Sloveniji smo (to si upam trditi in tudi dokazati) ravno zaradi tako zgodnjega pojava IUS-INFA hitreje preskočili od ogromnih količin disket in CD-jev (kar še danes prevladuje v marsikaterih državah!) na 100% online informacijski sistem distribucij pravnih informacij.

V zadnjih nekaj letih pa so se pravne informacije (v elektronski obliki) neverjetno razširile, odprle tudi vsem drugim državljanom, tako kot tudi vse druge javne informacije. Internet je pravno informatiko povsem »demo(s)kratiziral«, multipliciral in medsebojno polinkal. Nove generacije se osnov računalništva naučijo že v osnovni šoli, splošne informatike v srednji, študenti prava pa se pravne informatike več (posebej) ne učijo, ampak jo vsakodnevno uporabljajo. Tako kot ne hodijo na posebne tečaje za mobilno telefonijo, tako naj bi bili tudi pravno-informacijski pripomočki dovolj enostavni in prijazni za uporabo, da jih lahko hitro »osvoji« vsak povprečno »informacijsko pismeni« uporabnik. Vsem državljanom so brezplačno dostopne vse osnovne (u)pravne informacije, kar se jim seveda zdi samo po sebi razumljivo, pravniki, ki tega rabijo več, pa imajo na voljo profesionalne storitve, ki jim prihranijo veliko časa – tako kot jim ga predvsem IUS-INFO.

Vsi trendi zadnjih let in predvsem tudi praksa iz ZDA, kjer imajo najdaljšo tradicijo »pravne informatike«, kažejo naslednje: Čim več je (bo) na internetu prostih (pravnih) informacij, večja je (bo) – za profesionalce - potreba po komercialnih informacijskih ponudnikih, ki vse to prefiltrirajo, očistijo, sortirajo, povežejo in prijazno postrežejo. In zato tudi Westlaw ter Nexis-Lexis vodita na čelu velike in (vse bolj) pomembne industrije – pravne informatike. Zdrava in prosta podjetniška iniciativa bo seveda poskrbela za tolikšno uporabniško prijaznost in enostavnost, da pač ne bo potrebe po kakšnih posebnih (splošnih) usposabljanjih in diplomah uporabe računalnika v pravu.

Za pravne fakultete pa bo kljub temu ostalo še veliko dela, tako raziskovalnega kot tudi pedagoškega: za vse bolj pomembno vedo (in tudi njene številne veje): informacijsko pravo! Tu pa gre za to, da se z razmakom informacijskih (in seveda komunikacijskih) tehnologij pojavljajo vse bolj specifična nova pravna razmerja in s tem tudi pravni problemi. Tukaj bo pravo moralo pomagati drugim področjem. Delno se to lahko rešuje v okviru obstoječih pravnih predmetov (kazensko, civilno, patentno, avtorsko, itd.), bolj ambiciozne pravne fakultete pa bodo po mojem mnenju morale imeti kakšno katedro za informacijsko pravo, ali vsaj kakšen poseben predmet kot – pravni vidiki e-poslovanja.

Vir, 22. 5. 2006

The Day Before

It really was a dream holiday. My wife Miriam and I had agreed on this over dinner on the terrace of the Great House restaurant: the pride of the Nisbet Plantation Beach Club tourist complex. This was where we were spending our eight-day holiday. I well remembered the restaurant from the year before, due to an amusing misunderstanding when I had not been able to have a look at its interior.

For many years I have been introducing some variety into my business activities by going to a conference every year. Of the several hundred possible educational events on offer I always choose one that takes place in an interesting town. In this way I can combine business with pleasure. Several professional publications and the Internet enable me to keep in touch with state-of-the-art legal informatics; however, I feel that meeting the people who are at the forefront of this field is of the utmost importance. In previous years I had attended various fairs in Hanover, Munich, London, San Diego, Seattle, Atlanta, Chicago and Honolulu. And for 2000 I chose a conference entitled Lex Cybernatoria, at which the participants would discuss the cross-disciplinary issues of legal practice and the latest in information technology – the area that interests me most. The fact that the conference was organised on Nevis, a small Caribbean island then still unknown to me, didn't make me any less keen on attending the event. On the contrary, I always like to spend the one week per year that I can dedicate to my personal development in a pleasant environment and where I can get acquainted with new places. The conference on Nevis turned out to be very small in terms of the number of participants, but one of the most fruitful and useful I have ever attended. It was attended by various professors, business people, trendsetters and venture capitalists, mainly from the USA. We exchanged information about our work from the first to the last minute of the event, not only during the formal sessions, which were held on the open terrace of the Mount Nevis Hotel, but also beside the swimming pool, during meal times, as well as on our short trips into the surrounding countryside.

One day we agreed to have supper in the Nisbet restaurant, which was recommended to us as the best you can find on Nevis. About eight of us set off in two taxis for a gourmet’s adventure. When we turned in to the Nisbet Plantation, where the slaves used to work in the sugar-cane fields, we caught sight of a beautifully arranged area and a traditional restaurant situated on a gentle rise: The Great House. We quickly noticed as we approached the door of the restaurant that most of the tables were free and our mouths began to water at the prospect of Caribbean delicacies and cold cocktails. But we were in for a disappointment: at the entrance a friendly hotel manager approached us and in a sad voice he said: “Sorry, gentlemen – no shorts allowed!” Our pleading was in vain. We tried to explain that we were a group of respectable business people and that “money was no problem”, but the manager – who I now know was a Mr Don Johnson – preferred to forego the evening’s profit in order to maintain a long, originally British tradition, according to which men were only allowed to enter a reputable restaurant in long trousers. As a result, we had to drive to a far-away place where, sitting on an unprotected terrace and being pestered by mosquitoes, we ended up chewing on some sort of pizza. The incident irritated me then, but later it stayed in my memory as something very positive: as a successful way of preserving traditional values. And maybe this particular memory prevailed in my mind when I was later choosing a destination for our family holiday.

And now Miriam and I were sitting in this beautiful restaurant, well protected by thick nets from the mosquitoes (though I hardly noticed any this time), and in the cool air under the big, rotating, colonial fans we were being treated like royalty by the friendly hotel staff. To use the expression hotel does not really do it justice: the Nisbet Plantation is a complex that sweeps down from its entrance at the top of the hill to the beach. It starts with the classical, supper-only restaurant; next to it there are clubs, a reception and a small shop; further down among the well-kept meadows, flowers and palm trees you find the beautifully located bungalows for the guests. On the coast you can make use of a fantastic breakfast bar – raised above ground level, covered with a roof, but otherwise a simple, open area – a kitchen, the “Coconut Restaurant”, which is only open during the day and also includes a small bar, a swimming pool and a wonderful sandy beach. As one would expect, the supper served in the Great House is truly a ritual, an event that you really do not attend in short trousers, on the contrary, you go there in your best suit.

For families with small children the ritual starts a few hours earlier. In case you don’t attend afternoon tea at 5 pm – which would be a great shame considering the rich assortment of teas, sandwiches and desserts on offer – a member of the restaurant staff will find you in your bungalow or even on the beach, just to ask you: “And what would your children like to eat this evening? You know how impatient hungry children can be when waiting for their treats. Our children, Toni and Mariansa, first mastered English in the area of food, and after a few days they were already able to order things for themselves: “Fish and mashed potatoes” or “Chicken and french fries.” (These English expressions also slipped out of their mouths at a Sunday lunch one week after our return to Slovenia, when we went to the pilgrimage centre in Brezje and later had our meal in the tourist resort of Lake Bled.) The chosen order was conveyed to the kitchen and when we brought the children to supper at 6 pm, they immediately got their meals, as did the other children whose parents had also decided to have such separated suppers. After the children had finished their food and drinks, a friendly hotel hostess came to collect them – Toni and Mariansa still remember the smiling Rozlyn – and took them to a playroom with lots of children’s games and a big television. (Otherwise there are no televisions in the bungalows, which is considered to be a sign of the highest category of hotel; however, the ordinary hotel rooms on Nevis do have televisions.) The children are happy to spend time in the playroom while their parents can really enjoy the slow and ceremonial supper that starts every day at 6.30 pm. It may seem a bit unusual for the parents and children not to have supper together, but in reality it is an ideal solution. After all, on holidays we spend all day together anyway, we talk to each other and play a lot, so that both sides welcome the evening’s separation. The numerous members of the hotel staff appreciate it as well, because such organisation of the evening meal makes it easier for them to keep every item of cutlery in its place, every plate positioned correctly and every glass kept full at all times.

In such moments, even after eight years of marriage, loving hands meet and Miriam and I agreed that life for us couldn’t be better. Health is always our first concern and on Nevis the children got rid of all their runny noses and the other remnants of the unpleasant European winter. The two of us, already middle-aged, occasionally have minor health problems, but, thank God, it is nothing serious. Our other concern is money: apparently we have enough of it, if we can afford a winter holiday including a three-day stay in Miami, an eight-day stay on Nevis and also three-days of fun in Orlando’s Disneyworld. Since we started our new family relatively late – we were both in middle age – we both had plenty of opportunity to get used to feelings of loneliness, with disappointments, a desire for children and the other secret longings of parents. We were lucky to find each other; our characters are very much alike; our values are very similar, especially our enthusiasm for the “happy family” (as we were defined by Mariansa) and our determination never to be separated.

Until then our holiday on Nevis had been wonderful, we still had three more days in front of us, and then we should head towards Orlando, the destination to which the children were most looking forward. For quite some time I had been thinking of climbing to the top of Nevis Peak on the following day, and at that restaurant table I even asked the service manager Dave whether there was any path on our side of the island leading to the mountain top. He firmly warned me against climbing the mountain on my own and referred to a dreadful case that occurred a few years previously when a tourist got lost there and spent three days on the mountain before he was rescued. I thanked him for his advice but I had my own ideas: surely that tourist wasn’t such an experienced climber as I am. Of course Miriam would have preferred for me not to go climbing, but, on the other hand, she wanted me to experience the additional pleasure of seeing the whole of the island from its highest point. And, above all, she knew well my passion for the mountains and knew that I had attempted similar climbs several times before, for example, on our previous summer holiday. On that occasion I had set off from our resort on the Adriatic island of Bol to climb the mountain called Vidova gora and returned home in good time. We also thought that one advantage of this particular adventure would be the fact that after my return I would still have two days to rest in our heavenly complex of Nisbet.

We were very much in love that evening. However, I also felt a tinge of bitterness: life was so good that it couldn’t get any better; it could only get worse. But I never could have guessed how dramatically our heavenly feelings would change on the following day.

From my book: Second Place of Birth: Nevis

The First Day - Tony

On a lovely morning on the 28th of February 2001 I got up early enough to leave Nisbet before dawn. My wife helped me to finish packing my rucksack, into which we put spare underwear, a digital camera, two half-litre plastic bottles filled with water, a few pieces of bread and a packet of biscuits. I didn't protest when Miriam also “planted” some mosquito repellent in my rucksack.

Although I was fully aware that such a modest rucksack would be useless in the case of an emergency, I was at the same time certain that nothing terrible could happen to me. A year before I had also set off early in the morning from the nearby hotel of Mount Nevis and climbed the wonderful Round Hill, which is about 300 metres high. I was misled by the fact that on that occasion I had found a well-worn path leading to the top of a significantly lower peak – I assumed I would also find a similar path leading towards the 970-metre-high Nevis Peak. I knew for sure that there was a path on the other side of the mountain, coming from the settlement of Golden Rock, which we had visited a few days earlier and where I had enquired about the climbing possibilities. Hence, my conclusion was the following: I will surely be able to find a path leading out of the only settlement on this side of the mountain. And where else should it go to if not towards the mountain peak – since the whole of the Nevis island is really just the slope of a dominating mountain of the same name; the only exception is the area of Round Hill, which is separated from Nevis Peak by a flat saddle. This time I will be climbing over it to the left side of the mountain, taking just the opposite direction from the one I took a year ago. Whatever happens, I will stop climbing at midday at the latest. If I don’t manage to reach the top by then, I will turn back and easily return to the hotel taking the same path. Alternatively, I can go down the other side of the mountain until I reach the road, which goes all the way round the island, and there I will hire a taxi to take me to Nisbet.

Just before leaving, my caring wife gave me a kiss and I assured her again: “Do not worry! I promise I will be back in good time, for the dinner at six, at the latest.” And then I joked: “If I’m not back by then, you can start the rescue operation.” Of course it never even crossed my mind that I could bring worry and uncertainty to my wife and children. I imagined their day in a completely different way: they will first have a lie in, then enjoy their big breakfast and later swim and sunbathe. In the afternoon they will wait impatiently for me to tell them all about my exciting experience and then we will all get ready for our daily ceremonial dinner.

Sunrise followed the daybreak at 6 am (the time interval between these two phenomena is much shorter in the Caribbean than it is in Europe), I was already happily on my way, dressed in short trousers, a tee-shirt and sports shoes. I took the gently rising Upper Round Road, leading towards the saddle between Nevis Peak and Round Hill. For a while I was still walking through the town and I smiled to myself when I heard occasional snoring coming through the glassless windows. My pace quickened once I reached the unpopulated area where a year before I had first seen some shy monkeys in the their natural environment. On this occasion, however, I didn’t see any. When I was passing through the last settlement, situated on the saddle, I noticed that almost everybody was still asleep. At this settlement, called Fountain, I turned left and optimistically went into the jungle.

Just like mountaineers and free-climbers who long for the most difficult and technically demanding climbing route, while at the same time eagerly using every foothold and every piton, I also hoped to find a path or at least a narrow track in the jungle. I soon realised that walking was going to be very difficult and progress not as quick as I had imagined. The tropical jungle is very dense, it consists of various plants – from low, thick grass and ferns to very tall trees, palms, creepers, cacti and other prickly plants. In addition to all these living plants, there are also a lot of remnants of dead plants around. This is because man doesn’t interfere with the workings of the jungle.

You make very slow progress on such terrain, and face a lot of difficulties, especially when you walk without protective clothes (long trousers and long sleeves) and without the necessary machete. Initially, I could still find a few signs of a cutout trail where I could walk much faster. I even came across some bits of an old trail-marker that was made of coloured strings tied to tree branches that were already decaying. Such marks are psychologically very encouraging because they fill you with optimism: you believe yourself to be on the right path, seeing that somebody else had walked on it before you. My plan was to follow those signs, because I thought that they would lead me towards the mountaintop and keep me safe. However, my expectations proved to be too optimistic. Readers who have ever walked on tidy, well-marked routes will recall that even there they could get lost very quickly. I used to be a mountain trail marker and whenever I drew the round, red-and-white signs, I had to be especially careful to place them at tricky turns where mountaineers could easily make a mistake and get lost. But in the jungle everything was overgrown and I found it very difficult to find those decaying strings. I gave up in the end, realising that my initial plan had come to nothing.

As the slope became steeper I began to get tired and thirsty. The first bottle of water was nearly empty. I began to suspect that I would run out of water, but I hoped that I would already be on my way back when this happened and I would be able to comfort myself with the thought of a cold beer waiting for me in the first settlement at the foot of the mountain. However, it was getting increasingly clear to me that this trip wasn’t going to be as trouble-free as the one I had made a year ago when I climbed Round Hill. My lightweight sports shoes were anything but appropriate; I could have twisted my ankle at any turn. Once I even fell into some sort of hole, which must have been a result of the decaying roots of a large tree. I grabbed hold of the ground at shoulder level, but my legs dangled into emptiness. Then I realised for the first time that a serious accident could happen and that I would find it difficult to get out of it on my own. It was already after ten o’clock and I knew that I probably wouldn’t reach the top of Nevis Peak from this side of the mountain. But I wished to climb at least to the level where the forest thinned out and where I could have some view of the coast.

The name Nevis has its origin in the Spanish word for snow: the mountain is, for most of the year surrounded by white clouds that spring up when the hot Atlantic air hits the mountain, cools down and begins to condense. These clouds often bring rain and this is the reason why the mountainous Caribbean islands are more overgrown and fertile than the flatter ones. The top of Nevis Peak is almost always covered with a white hat and photos of the mountain without its white top are very rare. I knew that what looks like a cloud from a distance turns into fog when you approach it. Hence, I never expected to have a good view from the top of the mountain.

At about 11am the wild forest began to thin out and I slowly began to get a view of the mountaintop. I found myself standing on a crest that reminded me of Little Triglav (the lowest of the three peaks of Triglav, Slovenia’s highest mountain), which meant that I was on the peak next to the main Nevis Peak. My plan now was to go down a bit and then climb the bare slope until I got to the top, which was right at the edge of the clouds. But I was mistaken in my assessment of this bare slope because I was thinking about it in a European way. My conclusion went like this: if the slope is green, but without trees or bushes, then it can only be grass. And it should be easy to climb a grassy slope. But already after a few steps I found out that a green surface can be a lot more than just grass, bushes or trees. This was some sort of “quick grass”: a very thick greenery, strongly interwoven and on average up to a metre and a half tall. I was sort of swimming on it, which was very tiring. I first had to pull my leg out of the greenery, lift it as high as possible, push it about a metre forward, throw forward my whole body and then pull the other leg towards me. I also had to supplement all these gestures with hand movements similar to swimming. The distance of a few hundred metres that separated me from the cloud and the mountaintop was also very steep, so that I was making very slow progress. To make matters worse, I also got several nasty scratches.

As the time was getting closer to midday I knew that I wouldn’t get to the top. I still thought I could do it in an hour, but that wouldn’t be keeping to my initial plan to stop climbing at 12 o’clock. I wanted to stand by what I said. So, I thought, let’s go back.

However, I didn’t like the path that I was on and because I remembered from the map that on the other side of the crest the beach was closer to the mountain, I decided to make my adventure more interesting by going down that side. In this way I was going to get further from the hotel and wouldn’t be able to walk back to it, but that shouldn’t be a problem: on every Nevis road you can find a taxi or at least a friendly local driver. I thought: Surely somebody will take me back to Nisbet and then…. First I will take a shower. No, first I will go to the beach and get into the sea to disinfect my scratches. No, first I will have a large beer, or maybe I’d rather have one of those delicious Caribbean cocktails? And then off to dinner with my family…

There is really something masochistic about mountaineering, especially Alpine climbing: we try to climb a mountain in the most difficult way possible and end up exhausting ourselves. But at the same time we are happy to find a shortcut, level ground, an easy descent and, above all, a mountain hut where we can find shelter and rest.

Hence, I found it quite normal that Nevis Peak presented me with so much hardship and inconvenience, but I really enjoyed only the first hour of my walk, that was before I entered the thick jungle – but that’s what mountaineering is all about. And now I only had one goal in mind: to return to the valley as soon as possible and be back in the luxurious hotel complex of Nisbet.

So is it strange that I soon found myself in a dry riverbed? Once per year, in the rainy season, heavy storms rush towards Nevis, as well as to the other Caribbean islands, and pour enormous amounts of rain on the ground below. The water first runs in streams; these streams later flow into the canyons and here water begins to demolish everything that is in its way. This is why the canyons are the only places without any long-lasting plants. After the rainy season, only moss, grass, tall ferns and other annual plants begin to grow among the large and small stones of the riverbed. This means that walking along such riverbeds is relatively easy: you don’t have to waste your energy in moving away the branches and creepers or avoiding fallen trees.

In the beginning I thought that the riverbed would make my descent into the valley really easy as well as saving me from a lot of effort and scratches. However, it turned out that my conclusions were wrong – and I feel I should share this knowledge with the readers of this book.

As you follow the canyons they tend to become increasingly deep and steep. Small waterfalls are replaced by big ones; small pools change into huge basins where, in times of high water, huge rocks and trunks of fallen trees are tossed about. At the beginning of the canyon I was still able to jump easily over the rocks, but later I often had to bend down and use my hands. I had to start climbing again.

I became thirsty and hungry so I had the last drink of water from my second (and last) bottle and ate a few pieces of bread. I reckoned I would reach the valley in an hour or so and could keep going without water and food until then….

But then I took a step that changed my life forever. When I noticed another hollow about five metres down from me, I realised that I was standing on a spot that is the top of a medium-sized waterfall during the rainy season. The rock below the water is always the smoothest right at the top of the waterfall, and in my case it was also covered with moss. When I tried to approach the edge of the hollow to assess how I could descend to bypass this barrier, I suddenly slipped on the moss and plummeted into the hollow. As I fell I felt several serious pains, especially in my right leg, then I found myself at the bottom, lying among big rocks and decaying trunks. The wound on my thigh was about 15-cm long and bleeding. Blood was also coming from both my elbows, and I had acquired a few more scratches.

The fall was a big shock to me. My first thought was whether my bones were broken. Hence, I immediately, though with some difficulty, got up and thanked God that my bones were still intact. However, my whole body was shaking and I understood that I was in very bad shape. Before the fall I was already very tired, thirsty and hungry – and now all of that was compounded by serious shock. The wound on my leg became very swollen and I was afraid it would become septic because my whole body was very dirty, sweaty as well as being covered with mud, bits of grass and moss. I had no water left with which to clean the wound, so I comforted myself with the thought that the bleeding would soon stop since no large vein was damaged. However, it wasn’t an innocent wound because it later took a very long time to heal; and if I touch the spot now, while writing these lines three months after the accident, it still hurts.

What could I do then? The situation definitely demanded a clear and rational analysis. Hence, I sat down again and said an Our Father, the Hail Mary and a Glory be (these three prayers also helped me on all the following days) which calmed me down a great deal. Then I reasoned like this: my Creator is apparently still kind to me because I could easily have been killed during a fall like this one, simply by hitting the hard rocks at a slightly different angle. I hope this was a warning only; maybe a warning against my further pride at having such a good life? However, I accept the warning and will, later, rethink the ways of my life. But now I need to know how to get out of this mess.

Let’s see: above me is a five-metre wall from whose top I have just fallen down and I have no intention to go back to it. So, what else is there? In spite of the pain in my leg I walked across the bottom of the hollow, the size of two sitting rooms, and to my horror I found out that at one end it continued into another hollow, at least three times deeper and completely impassable. The side walls of my hollow were in some parts thickly overgrown with plants and 20 to 30 metres high. One wall was completely vertical, the other was even sloping inwardly. My conclusion went like this: I can never get out of this place on my own. I can see I won’t be back in Nisbet by 6 pm. Poor Miriam, she will be sick with worry. I’m really ashamed because she will now have to ask the rescuers to go and find me. But this is the only solution. At least for today. It is after 5 pm now, at 6 pm it gets dark and in these tropical places the night comes very quickly. So I will have to camp here.

I didn’t need to check the contents of my rucksack because I knew how little I had taken with me. Only now I realised how careless it was of me not to take at least a knife, a torch, or a telephone. This must have been the so-called “guide’s syndrome”: guides will always tell everybody what necessary equipment to take into the mountains, but when they set off climbing themselves, they aren’t always so consistent. They believe that nothing bad will happen to them, or, in the event that an accident does happen, that they will somehow find a solution to get them out of the tricky situation.

I could guess that the night would be cold, so I immediately started preparing some sort of nest. I tore off several pieces of various plants and made my bed at the bottom of a wall, believing that it would provide me with some shelter. My underwear was very damp, so I took it off and put on my spare shorts and two spare tee shirts. I spread the damp white underwear over the dark rocks in the hope that the rescuers could see it from the air. I knew that I should try to attract their attention in some way. It is interesting to note that the underwear didn’t get dry for several days, so I left it there for the remainder of the time.

Then I focused on my biggest problem: a lack of water. I was already noticing significant signs of dehydration caused mainly by exhaustion, but also due to the wounds, pain and stress that I had just experienced. My mouth was completely dry and was getting very sticky; I could feel the pulsing of the vein in my neck and had pains in my heart. I looked around but couldn’t find anything to drink. Even though there was a centimetre-deep puddle of water at the bottom of the hollow, it was all covered with green slime and full of some sort of snails and other small creatures. My plastic bottle was empty; however, I was glad that I had kept at least one empty bottle – I had put the other one on a stick beside my previous path in order to encourage other climbers that would perhaps come this way, as I was encouraged by those coloured stings tied to the tree braches. I felt that without any liquid I wouldn’t be able to hold out for much longer. I remembered that in such cases one’s own urine could be useful. Although I wasn’t quite sure that I would really drink it, I peed into the bottle, closed it and put it away to cool down. I was able to postpone the first consumption of urine for a while because of a pleasant discovery: when I rummaged again through all the rucksack’s pockets, I found a miniature bottle of Jagermeister. Oh, how I enjoyed it! My mood improved a lot, probably also because of the alcohol in the drink.

My mood was soon to change again because, to my great horror, I discovered that I had lots of company in my hole: when I moved a decaying trunk a swarm of mosquitoes flew into the air. There were hundreds of them. The last thing I needed then was to be attacked by all those mosquitoes during the night. How grateful I was to my wife for “planting” that mosquito repellent in my rucksack during the last moment before my leaving. First I wanted to apply it on my arms, but that caused a smarting pain because my arms were already all scratched and cut. Instead, I decided to apply it only on my clothes, mainly on my brimmed hat, hoping that the smell would at least keep the mosquitoes away from my face. Later it turned out that they weren’t at all intrusive at night: they were flying around me, I could hear their buzzing, but only very rarely did one of them sting me.

As it grew dark I was forced to go “to bed” because it was becoming more difficult to find my way among the big rocks, gaps, and piled up trunks. (I wouldn’t want anybody to think that my hollow, apart from its size, had any other resemblance to a sitting room.) I also decided to sample my urine before it got too dark.

I didn’t fancy the prospect at all. On the contrary, I found it utterly repulsive and I was afraid that I would be sick immediately and unable to pour any more of the much-needed liquid into my mouth. I decided to use a psychological trick: I will try to imagine that I am in a lively pub somewhere in Scotland where beer flows like water, then quickly pour it into my mouth and imagine I am drinking the best beer on earth. This is roughly how I actually managed it. It was really good that the urine had cooled down in the mean time (and on subsequent occasions I practiced the same technique). I opened the half-litre bottle, which was almost full, focused on the fictional picture in my mind, brought the bottle to my mouth and, in one go, poured all of its content down my throat. Agghrr. Yuk. Yuk. Disgusting! But I didn’t throw up. And in just a few minutes I felt the beneficial effect of this desperately needed liquid.

I sat down in my nest, put my feet into the rucksack, covered myself as best I could with big leaves and calmed down. I felt then that I really had a lot time for thinking. I can’t say whether I had ever done so much thinking before.

To begin with, I said the whole rosary (the Hail Mary, 50 times; and Our Father, 5 times). Again, I can’t say whether I had ever before said the whole rosary on my own (saying it in church, together with other believers, is a different matter). I knew: my life is in Your hands and it is Your will how this will end. At that time I didn’t yet think of death, of not getting rescued. My main concerns were not to cause Miriam too many problems and to get enough rest when back in Nisbet, before our flight to Orlando. And I also felt that my dear family was at that moment praying for me and my safe return: My guardian angel, be always with me…

The night then dragged in the same way as all the following ones. I got very little real sleep. Soon I was shaking with cold. The pains were becoming worse. I could feel every stone beneath my body as well as the damp soil. A child of Western civilisation, I didn’t feel comfortable any longer sleeping outdoors and I was sure that the dampness would cause me long-lasting rheumatism. But there was nothing I could do about it, at that moment I had no alternatives.
The night drags on and on. I’m cold, I’m shaking…

It is very dark and my movements are very limited. I can partly turn around, but only on those parts of my body that haven’t been wounded. I have to remain in my nest where I can still partly cover myself and keep my feet in the rucksack. If I wandered away, I could very quickly step into a gap, fall in and get injured again. But my bottle with its bright top is close to me so that I can feel for it and use it for a call of the nature.

The cold bites my bones and maybe only the shaking “warms me up” a bit. I wonder whether I could sleep better if it was warmer? As it is, I now have loads of time on my hands and I can’t help but fill it with a lot of thinking. My mind keeps wandering off to various times and places, but mainly it drills deep into my self. I often switch between the dialogue with myself and a monologue with Him, who is all around me. I have never in my life philosophised so much or seen life from such a completely different perspective.

What was, until yesterday, the most important thing in my life? If I had asked myself this question before, I would probably have started listing rather complex social issues like a good marriage, wonderful children and prosperity, which allows us to have such a lovely annual holiday. Well, I would have surely also added good health to the list. We usually say that these are the most important things in life. And I still believe it’s true. Nevertheless, my list of important things has changed today, it has got closer to the values that my ancestors had centuries ago.

Food is important! Water even more so! And protection against the cold: clothes and shelter. If I try to imagine the situations of other victims (which I now find easier than ever before), I find there is something even more important than water: the air that we breathe. I could, for example, live without water for many more hours, but buried miners or people caught under the water would be faced with an even bigger problem: a lack of oxygen. They could survive for only a few minutes.

These basic needs have been the driving force of any civilisation. However, due to different conditions in various parts of the world, the pace of the progress was also different. The people who wanted to survive in continental climates of harsh winters had to provide themselves with much more than those who were never cold and didn’t even need to wear clothes. Once the basic needs were satisfied – after man had eaten, drunk and rested – then he was able to start planning other things. As the questions “why” and “how” appear early in a child’s vocabulary, philosophy and religion appeared at the dawn of mankind. No society has ever survived without them.

Usually, we perceive the details of everyday life as ordinary and uninteresting, we rush past them without paying any attention to them. However, in a different situation the same details take on a new meaning and become much more important.

Take, for example, this five-metre wall, on which I slipped today and which prevents me from going back to my family. The law of gravity functions mercilessly and still threatens me, it might drag me down even further, which could be very painful or even fatal. If the wall was a few degrees less steep, I could easily climb out of this hole, leave the place, and forget it forever. As it is, the wall threateningly stretches above me and has a hugely important role in my life. If by tomorrow I don’t manage to get out of here, or the others do not rescue me, I will really be in big trouble. Then I would surely be prepared to exchange my Volvo for twenty metres of strong climbing rope.

Can the accident I have just experienced also be beneficial in some way? Yes, it must serve a purpose. If nothing else, I am in such close contact with nature, closer than I have been for a long time, and I doubt that this year I would otherwise be experiencing any such intensity of feelings. I do sometimes go to the woods with the children (though in Slovenia this has recently become less appealing because of the ticks), but that involves only walking; and it’s not even demanding walking because we usually just follow the well-worn paths. But here I explore every inch of the rocks, the decaying trunks and, above all, the small plants that, to me, are almost like living creatures.

I am also getting acquainted with my body in a new way. I had never before suffered such wounds. Neither had I ever before experienced dehydration. And how irrelevant the food seems to me just now! By nature I am more of a bon vivant than an ascetic, and I don’t remember when I last went to bed without my supper. I will find out tomorrow how noisily my stomach will be rumbling.

However, this event will surely leave more traces on my mind than on my body. I have always been fully aware of the transient nature of our lives; I felt very strongly about it on several occasions, but those feelings were more the results of my speculation about the issue than of an experience. However, here I had just experienced a brush with death (I can’t say whether it happened yesterday or today, because I can’t check the time in the darkness), and I’m sure that many more interesting, maybe even dangerous, things will again happen to me tomorrow.

Our lives are limited by time, a dimension that I will here become more familiar with. Within our civilisation, we constantly play with time and often try to trick it. We possess numerous objects and chemicals with which we attempt either to speed up or slow down the time. But here I have no such aids; no shortcuts are available. I will have to go through every second of this night and if sleep keeps avoiding me, it will be a very long one.

Didn’t I have occasional premonitions that something bad might happen to me? Like other happy people, I have often said to myself in the past few years: How wonderful life is! Will it last? Do I have the right to such happiness when so many people are unhappy? Maybe the time has come when the long period of a happy life is over.

Questions, questions. What if something really bad is in front of me? Will I be strong enough for it? What a silly question. Of course I will do the best I can to get out of this with the fewest possible consequences. However, there are, of course, only two options: either I will manage get out of here, or I won’t.

The worst thing about the latter option is the fact that I would then lose my beloved ones, not to mention, make them unhappy. Maybe I’m wrong, but it seems to me that I would accept death much more easily if I had no children, wife and mother. I remember an incident from Parliament when I uttered some words for which I was later mocked. I didn’t plan those words; they just came out of me spontaneously, while I was standing at the lectern during one of the tense and emotional discussions on the secession of Slovenia. At that time I said: “ I would even give my life for Slovenia!” Now I know that dying isn’t a matter that could be discussed like this, not even during the important historic moments like the ones I have just referred to. Instead of talking, action is needed; and this may sometimes also include the sacrifice of one’s life. Nevertheless, I should emphasize that I didn’t say those words casually: I was prepared to give my life so that my dear Slovenia could finally, after many centuries, become a free and equal member of the international, mainly European, community (then we were still threatened by communism and the Yugoslavian Army). When I analyse the background of that event, I also have to add one crucial fact: I wasn’t married then and had no children. Today, I wouldn’t be prepared to die for my country; and I believe that most other parents feel the same way. In my heart my children come first, my country comes second.

It is important how a man dies. Lying in this hollow, I have to think about all the possible outcomes of this situation – the worst of them is surely death. I’m afraid of the form that this dying might take. Will it last very long? Will I suffer a lot of pain? Will I be delirious or will my conscious remain intact? Will death come during my sleep so that I won’t be aware of it, or will I be watching myself passing away until the last breath? So far I have been lucky in my life: apart from a sore, twisted ankle, I have never had any severe and long-lasting pains. How will I survive the whole ordeal? Another silly question, isn’t it? Either I will survive it, or I won’t. I don’t want to scream with the pain, but if it gets too much I may not be able to resist it. I will leave it to my body to set the pain-threshold, and focus my mind only on crucial matters – those that can get me out of this situation.

Irrespective of what will follow, I already know now that our trip to Nevis has brought a new dimension into my life. This is, by any measure, a big experience (I don’t want to use the expression adventure). I will try to remember as many details as possible so that I can later pass on my experience to other people and, above all, so that I will keep it all in my memory. A lot is still in front of me, and maybe one day I will have to give an account of this.

My very thought takes me back to God. I believe that my fall hasn’t been accidental: You wanted to interrupt the flow of my life as it is now and send me a message. Will I be able to understand it? Will I be able to make use of what You are trying to tell me?


From my book: Second Place of Birth: Nevis

The First Day - Tony

On a lovely morning on the 28th of February 2001 I got up early enough to leave Nisbet before dawn. My wife helped me to finish packing my rucksack, into which we put spare underwear, a digital camera, two half-litre plastic bottles filled with water, a few pieces of bread and a packet of biscuits. I didn't protest when Miriam also “planted” some mosquito repellent in my rucksack.

Although I was fully aware that such a modest rucksack would be useless in the case of an emergency, I was at the same time certain that nothing terrible could happen to me. A year before I had also set off early in the morning from the nearby hotel of Mount Nevis and climbed the wonderful Round Hill, which is about 300 metres high. I was misled by the fact that on that occasion I had found a well-worn path leading to the top of a significantly lower peak – I assumed I would also find a similar path leading towards the 970-metre-high Nevis Peak. I knew for sure that there was a path on the other side of the mountain, coming from the settlement of Golden Rock, which we had visited a few days earlier and where I had enquired about the climbing possibilities. Hence, my conclusion was the following: I will surely be able to find a path leading out of the only settlement on this side of the mountain. And where else should it go to if not towards the mountain peak – since the whole of the Nevis island is really just the slope of a dominating mountain of the same name; the only exception is the area of Round Hill, which is separated from Nevis Peak by a flat saddle. This time I will be climbing over it to the left side of the mountain, taking just the opposite direction from the one I took a year ago. Whatever happens, I will stop climbing at midday at the latest. If I don’t manage to reach the top by then, I will turn back and easily return to the hotel taking the same path. Alternatively, I can go down the other side of the mountain until I reach the road, which goes all the way round the island, and there I will hire a taxi to take me to Nisbet.

Just before leaving, my caring wife gave me a kiss and I assured her again: “Do not worry! I promise I will be back in good time, for the dinner at six, at the latest.” And then I joked: “If I’m not back by then, you can start the rescue operation.” Of course it never even crossed my mind that I could bring worry and uncertainty to my wife and children. I imagined their day in a completely different way: they will first have a lie in, then enjoy their big breakfast and later swim and sunbathe. In the afternoon they will wait impatiently for me to tell them all about my exciting experience and then we will all get ready for our daily ceremonial dinner.

Sunrise followed the daybreak at 6 am (the time interval between these two phenomena is much shorter in the Caribbean than it is in Europe), I was already happily on my way, dressed in short trousers, a tee-shirt and sports shoes. I took the gently rising Upper Round Road, leading towards the saddle between Nevis Peak and Round Hill. For a while I was still walking through the town and I smiled to myself when I heard occasional snoring coming through the glassless windows. My pace quickened once I reached the unpopulated area where a year before I had first seen some shy monkeys in the their natural environment. On this occasion, however, I didn’t see any. When I was passing through the last settlement, situated on the saddle, I noticed that almost everybody was still asleep. At this settlement, called Fountain, I turned left and optimistically went into the jungle.

Just like mountaineers and free-climbers who long for the most difficult and technically demanding climbing route, while at the same time eagerly using every foothold and every piton, I also hoped to find a path or at least a narrow track in the jungle. I soon realised that walking was going to be very difficult and progress not as quick as I had imagined. The tropical jungle is very dense, it consists of various plants – from low, thick grass and ferns to very tall trees, palms, creepers, cacti and other prickly plants. In addition to all these living plants, there are also a lot of remnants of dead plants around. This is because man doesn’t interfere with the workings of the jungle.

You make very slow progress on such terrain, and face a lot of difficulties, especially when you walk without protective clothes (long trousers and long sleeves) and without the necessary machete. Initially, I could still find a few signs of a cutout trail where I could walk much faster. I even came across some bits of an old trail-marker that was made of coloured strings tied to tree branches that were already decaying. Such marks are psychologically very encouraging because they fill you with optimism: you believe yourself to be on the right path, seeing that somebody else had walked on it before you. My plan was to follow those signs, because I thought that they would lead me towards the mountaintop and keep me safe. However, my expectations proved to be too optimistic. Readers who have ever walked on tidy, well-marked routes will recall that even there they could get lost very quickly. I used to be a mountain trail marker and whenever I drew the round, red-and-white signs, I had to be especially careful to place them at tricky turns where mountaineers could easily make a mistake and get lost. But in the jungle everything was overgrown and I found it very difficult to find those decaying strings. I gave up in the end, realising that my initial plan had come to nothing.

As the slope became steeper I began to get tired and thirsty. The first bottle of water was nearly empty. I began to suspect that I would run out of water, but I hoped that I would already be on my way back when this happened and I would be able to comfort myself with the thought of a cold beer waiting for me in the first settlement at the foot of the mountain. However, it was getting increasingly clear to me that this trip wasn’t going to be as trouble-free as the one I had made a year ago when I climbed Round Hill. My lightweight sports shoes were anything but appropriate; I could have twisted my ankle at any turn. Once I even fell into some sort of hole, which must have been a result of the decaying roots of a large tree. I grabbed hold of the ground at shoulder level, but my legs dangled into emptiness. Then I realised for the first time that a serious accident could happen and that I would find it difficult to get out of it on my own. It was already after ten o’clock and I knew that I probably wouldn’t reach the top of Nevis Peak from this side of the mountain. But I wished to climb at least to the level where the forest thinned out and where I could have some view of the coast.

The name Nevis has its origin in the Spanish word for snow: the mountain is, for most of the year surrounded by white clouds that spring up when the hot Atlantic air hits the mountain, cools down and begins to condense. These clouds often bring rain and this is the reason why the mountainous Caribbean islands are more overgrown and fertile than the flatter ones. The top of Nevis Peak is almost always covered with a white hat and photos of the mountain without its white top are very rare. I knew that what looks like a cloud from a distance turns into fog when you approach it. Hence, I never expected to have a good view from the top of the mountain.

At about 11am the wild forest began to thin out and I slowly began to get a view of the mountaintop. I found myself standing on a crest that reminded me of Little Triglav (the lowest of the three peaks of Triglav, Slovenia’s highest mountain), which meant that I was on the peak next to the main Nevis Peak. My plan now was to go down a bit and then climb the bare slope until I got to the top, which was right at the edge of the clouds. But I was mistaken in my assessment of this bare slope because I was thinking about it in a European way. My conclusion went like this: if the slope is green, but without trees or bushes, then it can only be grass. And it should be easy to climb a grassy slope. But already after a few steps I found out that a green surface can be a lot more than just grass, bushes or trees. This was some sort of “quick grass”: a very thick greenery, strongly interwoven and on average up to a metre and a half tall. I was sort of swimming on it, which was very tiring. I first had to pull my leg out of the greenery, lift it as high as possible, push it about a metre forward, throw forward my whole body and then pull the other leg towards me. I also had to supplement all these gestures with hand movements similar to swimming. The distance of a few hundred metres that separated me from the cloud and the mountaintop was also very steep, so that I was making very slow progress. To make matters worse, I also got several nasty scratches.

As the time was getting closer to midday I knew that I wouldn’t get to the top. I still thought I could do it in an hour, but that wouldn’t be keeping to my initial plan to stop climbing at 12 o’clock. I wanted to stand by what I said. So, I thought, let’s go back.

However, I didn’t like the path that I was on and because I remembered from the map that on the other side of the crest the beach was closer to the mountain, I decided to make my adventure more interesting by going down that side. In this way I was going to get further from the hotel and wouldn’t be able to walk back to it, but that shouldn’t be a problem: on every Nevis road you can find a taxi or at least a friendly local driver. I thought: Surely somebody will take me back to Nisbet and then…. First I will take a shower. No, first I will go to the beach and get into the sea to disinfect my scratches. No, first I will have a large beer, or maybe I’d rather have one of those delicious Caribbean cocktails? And then off to dinner with my family…

There is really something masochistic about mountaineering, especially Alpine climbing: we try to climb a mountain in the most difficult way possible and end up exhausting ourselves. But at the same time we are happy to find a shortcut, level ground, an easy descent and, above all, a mountain hut where we can find shelter and rest.

Hence, I found it quite normal that Nevis Peak presented me with so much hardship and inconvenience, but I really enjoyed only the first hour of my walk, that was before I entered the thick jungle – but that’s what mountaineering is all about. And now I only had one goal in mind: to return to the valley as soon as possible and be back in the luxurious hotel complex of Nisbet.

So is it strange that I soon found myself in a dry riverbed? Once per year, in the rainy season, heavy storms rush towards Nevis, as well as to the other Caribbean islands, and pour enormous amounts of rain on the ground below. The water first runs in streams; these streams later flow into the canyons and here water begins to demolish everything that is in its way. This is why the canyons are the only places without any long-lasting plants. After the rainy season, only moss, grass, tall ferns and other annual plants begin to grow among the large and small stones of the riverbed. This means that walking along such riverbeds is relatively easy: you don’t have to waste your energy in moving away the branches and creepers or avoiding fallen trees.

In the beginning I thought that the riverbed would make my descent into the valley really easy as well as saving me from a lot of effort and scratches. However, it turned out that my conclusions were wrong – and I feel I should share this knowledge with the readers of this book.

As you follow the canyons they tend to become increasingly deep and steep. Small waterfalls are replaced by big ones; small pools change into huge basins where, in times of high water, huge rocks and trunks of fallen trees are tossed about. At the beginning of the canyon I was still able to jump easily over the rocks, but later I often had to bend down and use my hands. I had to start climbing again.

I became thirsty and hungry so I had the last drink of water from my second (and last) bottle and ate a few pieces of bread. I reckoned I would reach the valley in an hour or so and could keep going without water and food until then….

But then I took a step that changed my life forever. When I noticed another hollow about five metres down from me, I realised that I was standing on a spot that is the top of a medium-sized waterfall during the rainy season. The rock below the water is always the smoothest right at the top of the waterfall, and in my case it was also covered with moss. When I tried to approach the edge of the hollow to assess how I could descend to bypass this barrier, I suddenly slipped on the moss and plummeted into the hollow. As I fell I felt several serious pains, especially in my right leg, then I found myself at the bottom, lying among big rocks and decaying trunks. The wound on my thigh was about 15-cm long and bleeding. Blood was also coming from both my elbows, and I had acquired a few more scratches.

The fall was a big shock to me. My first thought was whether my bones were broken. Hence, I immediately, though with some difficulty, got up and thanked God that my bones were still intact. However, my whole body was shaking and I understood that I was in very bad shape. Before the fall I was already very tired, thirsty and hungry – and now all of that was compounded by serious shock. The wound on my leg became very swollen and I was afraid it would become septic because my whole body was very dirty, sweaty as well as being covered with mud, bits of grass and moss. I had no water left with which to clean the wound, so I comforted myself with the thought that the bleeding would soon stop since no large vein was damaged. However, it wasn’t an innocent wound because it later took a very long time to heal; and if I touch the spot now, while writing these lines three months after the accident, it still hurts.

What could I do then? The situation definitely demanded a clear and rational analysis. Hence, I sat down again and said an Our Father, the Hail Mary and a Glory be (these three prayers also helped me on all the following days) which calmed me down a great deal. Then I reasoned like this: my Creator is apparently still kind to me because I could easily have been killed during a fall like this one, simply by hitting the hard rocks at a slightly different angle. I hope this was a warning only; maybe a warning against my further pride at having such a good life? However, I accept the warning and will, later, rethink the ways of my life. But now I need to know how to get out of this mess.

Let’s see: above me is a five-metre wall from whose top I have just fallen down and I have no intention to go back to it. So, what else is there? In spite of the pain in my leg I walked across the bottom of the hollow, the size of two sitting rooms, and to my horror I found out that at one end it continued into another hollow, at least three times deeper and completely impassable. The side walls of my hollow were in some parts thickly overgrown with plants and 20 to 30 metres high. One wall was completely vertical, the other was even sloping inwardly. My conclusion went like this: I can never get out of this place on my own. I can see I won’t be back in Nisbet by 6 pm. Poor Miriam, she will be sick with worry. I’m really ashamed because she will now have to ask the rescuers to go and find me. But this is the only solution. At least for today. It is after 5 pm now, at 6 pm it gets dark and in these tropical places the night comes very quickly. So I will have to camp here.

I didn’t need to check the contents of my rucksack because I knew how little I had taken with me. Only now I realised how careless it was of me not to take at least a knife, a torch, or a telephone. This must have been the so-called “guide’s syndrome”: guides will always tell everybody what necessary equipment to take into the mountains, but when they set off climbing themselves, they aren’t always so consistent. They believe that nothing bad will happen to them, or, in the event that an accident does happen, that they will somehow find a solution to get them out of the tricky situation.

I could guess that the night would be cold, so I immediately started preparing some sort of nest. I tore off several pieces of various plants and made my bed at the bottom of a wall, believing that it would provide me with some shelter. My underwear was very damp, so I took it off and put on my spare shorts and two spare tee shirts. I spread the damp white underwear over the dark rocks in the hope that the rescuers could see it from the air. I knew that I should try to attract their attention in some way. It is interesting to note that the underwear didn’t get dry for several days, so I left it there for the remainder of the time.

Then I focused on my biggest problem: a lack of water. I was already noticing significant signs of dehydration caused mainly by exhaustion, but also due to the wounds, pain and stress that I had just experienced. My mouth was completely dry and was getting very sticky; I could feel the pulsing of the vein in my neck and had pains in my heart. I looked around but couldn’t find anything to drink. Even though there was a centimetre-deep puddle of water at the bottom of the hollow, it was all covered with green slime and full of some sort of snails and other small creatures. My plastic bottle was empty; however, I was glad that I had kept at least one empty bottle – I had put the other one on a stick beside my previous path in order to encourage other climbers that would perhaps come this way, as I was encouraged by those coloured stings tied to the tree braches. I felt that without any liquid I wouldn’t be able to hold out for much longer. I remembered that in such cases one’s own urine could be useful. Although I wasn’t quite sure that I would really drink it, I peed into the bottle, closed it and put it away to cool down. I was able to postpone the first consumption of urine for a while because of a pleasant discovery: when I rummaged again through all the rucksack’s pockets, I found a miniature bottle of Jagermeister. Oh, how I enjoyed it! My mood improved a lot, probably also because of the alcohol in the drink.

My mood was soon to change again because, to my great horror, I discovered that I had lots of company in my hole: when I moved a decaying trunk a swarm of mosquitoes flew into the air. There were hundreds of them. The last thing I needed then was to be attacked by all those mosquitoes during the night. How grateful I was to my wife for “planting” that mosquito repellent in my rucksack during the last moment before my leaving. First I wanted to apply it on my arms, but that caused a smarting pain because my arms were already all scratched and cut. Instead, I decided to apply it only on my clothes, mainly on my brimmed hat, hoping that the smell would at least keep the mosquitoes away from my face. Later it turned out that they weren’t at all intrusive at night: they were flying around me, I could hear their buzzing, but only very rarely did one of them sting me.

As it grew dark I was forced to go “to bed” because it was becoming more difficult to find my way among the big rocks, gaps, and piled up trunks. (I wouldn’t want anybody to think that my hollow, apart from its size, had any other resemblance to a sitting room.) I also decided to sample my urine before it got too dark.

I didn’t fancy the prospect at all. On the contrary, I found it utterly repulsive and I was afraid that I would be sick immediately and unable to pour any more of the much-needed liquid into my mouth. I decided to use a psychological trick: I will try to imagine that I am in a lively pub somewhere in Scotland where beer flows like water, then quickly pour it into my mouth and imagine I am drinking the best beer on earth. This is roughly how I actually managed it. It was really good that the urine had cooled down in the mean time (and on subsequent occasions I practiced the same technique). I opened the half-litre bottle, which was almost full, focused on the fictional picture in my mind, brought the bottle to my mouth and, in one go, poured all of its content down my throat. Agghrr. Yuk. Yuk. Disgusting! But I didn’t throw up. And in just a few minutes I felt the beneficial effect of this desperately needed liquid.

I sat down in my nest, put my feet into the rucksack, covered myself as best I could with big leaves and calmed down. I felt then that I really had a lot time for thinking. I can’t say whether I had ever done so much thinking before.

To begin with, I said the whole rosary (the Hail Mary, 50 times; and Our Father, 5 times). Again, I can’t say whether I had ever before said the whole rosary on my own (saying it in church, together with other believers, is a different matter). I knew: my life is in Your hands and it is Your will how this will end. At that time I didn’t yet think of death, of not getting rescued. My main concerns were not to cause Miriam too many problems and to get enough rest when back in Nisbet, before our flight to Orlando. And I also felt that my dear family was at that moment praying for me and my safe return: My guardian angel, be always with me…

The night then dragged in the same way as all the following ones. I got very little real sleep. Soon I was shaking with cold. The pains were becoming worse. I could feel every stone beneath my body as well as the damp soil. A child of Western civilisation, I didn’t feel comfortable any longer sleeping outdoors and I was sure that the dampness would cause me long-lasting rheumatism. But there was nothing I could do about it, at that moment I had no alternatives.
The night drags on and on. I’m cold, I’m shaking…

It is very dark and my movements are very limited. I can partly turn around, but only on those parts of my body that haven’t been wounded. I have to remain in my nest where I can still partly cover myself and keep my feet in the rucksack. If I wandered away, I could very quickly step into a gap, fall in and get injured again. But my bottle with its bright top is close to me so that I can feel for it and use it for a call of the nature.

The cold bites my bones and maybe only the shaking “warms me up” a bit. I wonder whether I could sleep better if it was warmer? As it is, I now have loads of time on my hands and I can’t help but fill it with a lot of thinking. My mind keeps wandering off to various times and places, but mainly it drills deep into my self. I often switch between the dialogue with myself and a monologue with Him, who is all around me. I have never in my life philosophised so much or seen life from such a completely different perspective.

What was, until yesterday, the most important thing in my life? If I had asked myself this question before, I would probably have started listing rather complex social issues like a good marriage, wonderful children and prosperity, which allows us to have such a lovely annual holiday. Well, I would have surely also added good health to the list. We usually say that these are the most important things in life. And I still believe it’s true. Nevertheless, my list of important things has changed today, it has got closer to the values that my ancestors had centuries ago.

Food is important! Water even more so! And protection against the cold: clothes and shelter. If I try to imagine the situations of other victims (which I now find easier than ever before), I find there is something even more important than water: the air that we breathe. I could, for example, live without water for many more hours, but buried miners or people caught under the water would be faced with an even bigger problem: a lack of oxygen. They could survive for only a few minutes.

These basic needs have been the driving force of any civilisation. However, due to different conditions in various parts of the world, the pace of the progress was also different. The people who wanted to survive in continental climates of harsh winters had to provide themselves with much more than those who were never cold and didn’t even need to wear clothes. Once the basic needs were satisfied – after man had eaten, drunk and rested – then he was able to start planning other things. As the questions “why” and “how” appear early in a child’s vocabulary, philosophy and religion appeared at the dawn of mankind. No society has ever survived without them.

Usually, we perceive the details of everyday life as ordinary and uninteresting, we rush past them without paying any attention to them. However, in a different situation the same details take on a new meaning and become much more important.

Take, for example, this five-metre wall, on which I slipped today and which prevents me from going back to my family. The law of gravity functions mercilessly and still threatens me, it might drag me down even further, which could be very painful or even fatal. If the wall was a few degrees less steep, I could easily climb out of this hole, leave the place, and forget it forever. As it is, the wall threateningly stretches above me and has a hugely important role in my life. If by tomorrow I don’t manage to get out of here, or the others do not rescue me, I will really be in big trouble. Then I would surely be prepared to exchange my Volvo for twenty metres of strong climbing rope.

Can the accident I have just experienced also be beneficial in some way? Yes, it must serve a purpose. If nothing else, I am in such close contact with nature, closer than I have been for a long time, and I doubt that this year I would otherwise be experiencing any such intensity of feelings. I do sometimes go to the woods with the children (though in Slovenia this has recently become less appealing because of the ticks), but that involves only walking; and it’s not even demanding walking because we usually just follow the well-worn paths. But here I explore every inch of the rocks, the decaying trunks and, above all, the small plants that, to me, are almost like living creatures.

I am also getting acquainted with my body in a new way. I had never before suffered such wounds. Neither had I ever before experienced dehydration. And how irrelevant the food seems to me just now! By nature I am more of a bon vivant than an ascetic, and I don’t remember when I last went to bed without my supper. I will find out tomorrow how noisily my stomach will be rumbling.

However, this event will surely leave more traces on my mind than on my body. I have always been fully aware of the transient nature of our lives; I felt very strongly about it on several occasions, but those feelings were more the results of my speculation about the issue than of an experience. However, here I had just experienced a brush with death (I can’t say whether it happened yesterday or today, because I can’t check the time in the darkness), and I’m sure that many more interesting, maybe even dangerous, things will again happen to me tomorrow.

Our lives are limited by time, a dimension that I will here become more familiar with. Within our civilisation, we constantly play with time and often try to trick it. We possess numerous objects and chemicals with which we attempt either to speed up or slow down the time. But here I have no such aids; no shortcuts are available. I will have to go through every second of this night and if sleep keeps avoiding me, it will be a very long one.

Didn’t I have occasional premonitions that something bad might happen to me? Like other happy people, I have often said to myself in the past few years: How wonderful life is! Will it last? Do I have the right to such happiness when so many people are unhappy? Maybe the time has come when the long period of a happy life is over.

Questions, questions. What if something really bad is in front of me? Will I be strong enough for it? What a silly question. Of course I will do the best I can to get out of this with the fewest possible consequences. However, there are, of course, only two options: either I will manage get out of here, or I won’t.

The worst thing about the latter option is the fact that I would then lose my beloved ones, not to mention, make them unhappy. Maybe I’m wrong, but it seems to me that I would accept death much more easily if I had no children, wife and mother. I remember an incident from Parliament when I uttered some words for which I was later mocked. I didn’t plan those words; they just came out of me spontaneously, while I was standing at the lectern during one of the tense and emotional discussions on the secession of Slovenia. At that time I said: “ I would even give my life for Slovenia!” Now I know that dying isn’t a matter that could be discussed like this, not even during the important historic moments like the ones I have just referred to. Instead of talking, action is needed; and this may sometimes also include the sacrifice of one’s life. Nevertheless, I should emphasize that I didn’t say those words casually: I was prepared to give my life so that my dear Slovenia could finally, after many centuries, become a free and equal member of the international, mainly European, community (then we were still threatened by communism and the Yugoslavian Army). When I analyse the background of that event, I also have to add one crucial fact: I wasn’t married then and had no children. Today, I wouldn’t be prepared to die for my country; and I believe that most other parents feel the same way. In my heart my children come first, my country comes second.

It is important how a man dies. Lying in this hollow, I have to think about all the possible outcomes of this situation – the worst of them is surely death. I’m afraid of the form that this dying might take. Will it last very long? Will I suffer a lot of pain? Will I be delirious or will my conscious remain intact? Will death come during my sleep so that I won’t be aware of it, or will I be watching myself passing away until the last breath? So far I have been lucky in my life: apart from a sore, twisted ankle, I have never had any severe and long-lasting pains. How will I survive the whole ordeal? Another silly question, isn’t it? Either I will survive it, or I won’t. I don’t want to scream with the pain, but if it gets too much I may not be able to resist it. I will leave it to my body to set the pain-threshold, and focus my mind only on crucial matters – those that can get me out of this situation.

Irrespective of what will follow, I already know now that our trip to Nevis has brought a new dimension into my life. This is, by any measure, a big experience (I don’t want to use the expression adventure). I will try to remember as many details as possible so that I can later pass on my experience to other people and, above all, so that I will keep it all in my memory. A lot is still in front of me, and maybe one day I will have to give an account of this.

My very thought takes me back to God. I believe that my fall hasn’t been accidental: You wanted to interrupt the flow of my life as it is now and send me a message. Will I be able to understand it? Will I be able to make use of what You are trying to tell me?


From my book: Second Place of Birth: Nevis