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Study: Power Doesn’t Just Corrupt, It Takes A Toll On Your Brain

The historian Henry Adams was being metaphorical, not medical, when he described power as “a sort of tumor that ends by killing the victim’s sympathies.” But that’s not far from where Dacher Keltner, a psychology professor at UC Berkeley, ended up after years of lab and field experiments. Subjects under the influence of power, he found in studies spanning two decades, acted as if they had suffered a traumatic brain injury—becoming more impulsive, less risk-aware, and, crucially, less adept at seeing things from other people’s point of view. – The Atlantic

The Great Indian Novel Was Written By A Woman And Published In Pakistan In 1959

Qurratulain Hyder’s River of Fire, written in Urdu and translated by the author into English in 1998, “tells a completist and syncretistic version of 2,500 years of history in modern-day India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh — beginning with the Nanda Dynasty on the brink of defeat by the founder of the Mauryan Empire (323 to 185 BCE), and ending in post-Partition despair. But the novel, barreling through the ages, leads up to 1947 with great purpose, the deep past used to understand the suddenness and chaos of Partition.” – The Nation

The Pianist’s Ultimate Nightmare: Onstage, Conductor Begins Different Concerto Than The Soloist Is There To Play

Tianxu An, the Curtis Institute of Music student, just 20, was ready to play the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in June. When conductor Vasily Petrenko brought in the orchestra for its brief introduction, the sound that came at An was that of Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. – Philadelphia Inquirer

How ‘The Most Complex Archaeological Rescue Mission Of All Time’ Saved The 3,200-Year-Old Temples Of Abu Simbel

Egyptian President Nasser’s Aswan Dam project involved flooding an area full of ancient monuments, including Ramses II’s famous temple complex at Abu Simbel. So, in 1960, UNESCO and the Egyptian government organized a massive international project to move the monuments beyond the reach of the floodwaters. – National Geographic History

Dance Is Underfunded Because It’s Undervalued. Here’s How To Convince The People With Funds Of Dance’s Value

David Dorfman: “Dancemakers: Talk about money with the same knowledge and passion with which we talk about our mentors, our dances and the art form’s history. Research the roots of our current capitalist value system and know it intimately. … Sit down with people who have resources and believe you have something to offer them. Tell them what you need in order to make your art and how their investment will elevate our country’s cultural fabric.” – Dance Magazine

Can Protesting The Donors And Board Members Of Museums Really Right The World’s Wrongs?

Sebastian Smee: “Let’s be clear: the idea of moral purity in the arts is a fantasy. We are not going to return to innocence by hanging out with like-minded people at the Whitney as we contemplate a biennial where some of the works are poignantly missing. … I hope the drama at the Whitney has positive outcomes. But it is not a revolution. It is a spectacle.” – The Washington Post