“Except for a few outliers at the top and bottom, the behavior of almost everyone is driven by two opposing motivations. On the one hand, we want to benefit from cheating and get as much money and glory as possible; on the other hand, we want to view ourselves as honest, honorable people.”
Month: May 2012
Why Some Of Us Choke At The Big Moment
“In theory, big rewards ought to spur people to great performances, but that often doesn’t happen. A recent study drew on neuroscience to explore why so many people choke.”
Scholars Realize That The Modern British Monarchy Is Worth Taking Seriously
While it’s true that Queen Victoria and her successors have reigned but not ruled, “[the] modern monarchy is not just a subject for biography,” says one historian. “It has so much more use as a window onto broader cultural trends, attitudes and the way people imagine themselves as citizens.”
In Praise Of The Internet’s Longest Tubes
“If the Internet is a global phenomenon, it’s because there are tubes at the bottom of the ocean. A look at the undersea cables that connect us.”
Rereading Kurt Vonnegut As A Grown-Up
“[The] syllabus of adolescent male samizdat … used to go like this: Mad magazine at 13, Vonnegut at 15, Salinger at 17, Hunter Thompson at 18, Kerouac at 20. (When you got real big, you read Kundera.)” William Deresiewicz returned to Vonnegut’s novels at age 48. “Some of them are worse than I remembered, but some of them are even better.”
The Killer App: Designing The First Fly Swatter
In 1900, Robert R. Montgomery of Illinois “was issued Patent No. 640,790 for the Fly-Killer, a ‘cheap device of unusual elasticity and durability’ made of wire netting, ‘preferably oblong,’ attached to a handle. The material of the handle remained unspecified, but the netting was crucial: it reduced wind drag, giving the swatter a ‘whiplike swing’.”
French Ballet Is Different – And Here’s How
“Showy individualism is typically rejected in favor of tradition. Almost every dancer studies at the Paris Opera Ballet School, leading to consistent training that must be maintained throughout a career.”
Human Creativity Is Way Older Than We Think
New discoveries in German caves say early modern humans – that is, those around between 40,000 and 45,000 years ago – played the flutes and perhaps sang around their campfires at night.
How Will The Arts Fare In Britain? It Looks Bleak, Says Head Of Actors’ Union
Malcolm Sinclair: “The almost lethal combination of the economic crisis, our industry’s globalisation, rapid developments in new media and the consequent shrinkage of earnings and opportunities for work, are forcing us to make some extremely difficult decisions.”
Art And Earthquakes – A Terrible Mix Heading For Disaster In Italy
“The terrifying thing is not just how much art was lost in this earthquake. No – the scary thing is that world culture got off lightly. The epicentre of the quake is close to so many irreplaceable treasures of such importance to humanity that it could have been almost infinitely worse.”