Smoke Means Pope

--- By JLS
----- for the GC

KRAMER is right, in "McCafferty" that if a Vatican functionary decided to drive a flashy car "to mean that a Pope has been elected" he would possibly have to drive a drab one -- or non-flashy if you must, to signal "that that was not the case".

From wiki one learns that smoke does not always means 'smoked salmon':

--

"The colour of the smoke signals
the results to the people assembled
in St Peter's Square."

And to people who don't know Italian
but see the thing on the telly.

----

"Dark smoke signals that the ballot
did not result in an election."

Is there a less clumsy way to refer to this significatum that does NOT feature that pretty vacuous word, 'not'?

----

"White smoke signals that
a new Pope was chosen."

Since the idea is that there IS an antecedent here, the recipient (or addressee) will infer that something HAS BEEN BURNED (The votes). This to distinguish the semiotic system from "zero realization" (neither dark nor white smoke) to NOT mean.

----

The wiki expands:

"Originally, damp straw was
added to the fire to
create dark smoke;
beginning in 1963 coloring
chemicals have been added,
and beginning in 2005 bells
ring after a successful election,
to augment the white smoke"

Isn't this redundant? And how can a sound augment a vision?

"and especially if the white smoke
is not unambiguously white.
(Voting rituals, from the BBC series "Choosing a Pope")".

White smoke is NOT steam, though.

"Prior to 1945 (the year Pius XII changed
the form of ballot to use anonymous oaths,
first carried out in 1958),
when the ballots were of a more
complex type, the sealing wax which
was used in those ballots had
an effect in making the smoke
from burning the ballots either
black or white,
depending on whether damp
straw was added or not.
This explains the confusion over
the color of the smoke in
the conclave of 1958, with
coloring chemicals added
beginning in 1963."

For you see, the implicature WAS cancellable.

"That's white!"

"It's Not! It's pretty dark, if you ask me"

"I'm NOT asking you".

Etc.

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Aunt Beebe, who'd rather see all Popes dead TODAY, adds in her typical patronising tone to indicate how behind the times them continentals are, adds:

"After the numbers have been checked,
all the ballot papers are burned –
giving off the smoke visible to
onlookers outside which traditionally
turns from black to white once a
new pope has been chosen."

This poses a problem with gradualism. It's not a digital moment, but a set of moments that analogusly indicate, "The new pope is BECOMING". Gott-im-Werden at its best.

Aunt Beebe adds:

"Damp straw was once added
to the stove to turn the
smoke black, but over the
years there has often been
confusion over the colour of the smoke."

You see what I mean by Vatican education having gone to the dogs? It's not like they have to distinguish between turquoise and mauve. This is very basic colouring, and they are still doubting.

"At the two conclaves in 1978,
harmless chemicals were added - but
there were still complaints about
"grey" smoke."

And in Italian!

Etc.



If a second vote is to take place immediately, the ballots from the first vote are put on one side and then burned together with those from the second vote. The process continues until one candidate has achieved the required majority.