“Today, we no longer approach our many machines with awe; in fact, the more personalized and individualized our machines have become, the less humility we feel in using them. Rather than awe-inspiring symbols of man’s power, they are merely extensions of ourselves. They are servants of our whims rather than objects of reverence.”
Tag: 06.14.10
Awe At The Sight Of A Mighty Machine (Remember What That Felt Like?)
“Visiting the Paris Exhibition in 1900, the American writer Henry Adams saw something so remarkable he compared its influence to that of the Virgin Mary. It was a hall filled with machines – early power generators known as dynamos.” Today we hardly ever experience that sort of wonder; we’re more prone to “machine-made helplessness.”
Marcus Aurelius, Philosopher-Emperor
“To read the Meditations, you would not imagine them to be the writings of a man encamped in barbarian lands in the midst of war, nor of a man commanding the largest army ever assembled on the frontier of the Roman empire, nor of a man whose empire and army were in the grip of a deadly plague. The Meditations’ lack of political or worldly anguish and anxiety is a mark of the philosophy they profess: Stoicism.”
The Institute For Research On Unlimited Love (Yes, There Is Such A Thing)
“Many people might think it’s odd to have an institute doing research in the fields of love, goodness, and how these can lead to a happier life. So tell us a bit about the kinds of studies you have supported.” A Q&A with the Institute’s director, Dr. Stephen Post.
An Ornithologist Looks At Swan Lake
“In act one, the corps de ballet come gliding down the stairs, moving just like a flock of swans. Even when there are hundreds of swans moving together on a lake, they still manage to make the movement look similarly effortless and graceful. The pas de deux … reminded me of a real swan courtship dance. Mating swans approach each other, nod to the left and right in perfect synchronicity, then bow their heads and press them together.”
What Makes Pleasure Pleasurable?
Peter D. Kramer (Listening to Prozac, Freud: Inventor of the Modern Mind) has a blog exchange with Paul G. Bloom, author of How Pleasure Works: The New Science of Why We Like What We Like.
Australian Ballet Dances Poolside
“The dancers had jubilantly punched the air when selected for the trip (it’s only the third time The Australian Ballet has performed in such a setting) but beware the perils of the outdoors. A gentle sea breeze threatened to topple a ballerina en pointe. Undulating waves made finding a point of balance wildly difficult.”
When Social Scientists Turn To The World Cup (Uh-Oh)
“In this week’s podcast, we look at the World Cup through the prism of spectator health, domestic violence, stadium safety, and how an international astronomy conference in South Africa offers another avenue to economic advancement for the developing world.”
American Gothic To Become French Toast?
This weekend, artists from an Indiana gallery “plan to re-create Grant Wood’s American Gothic painting using day-old bread. … [They will] create a mosaic by attaching nearly 4,000 pieces of crusty bread to a plywood grid. They are calling the event a ‘toast’ to their customers.”
Stars Draw Audiences To B’Way, But Not To Tony Broadcast
Ratings were flat. “The Tonys remain the least-watched of the major kudocasts. And this year’s 7 million viewers came on the heels of improved numbers for most other awards shows — including the Academy Awards (41.7 million), the Grammys (25.9 million) and the Golden Globes (17 million).”