Number in Time
The quadrivium followed the preparatory work of the trivium, consisting of grammar, logic, and rhetoric. In turn, the quadrivium was considered the foundation for the… Read More »Number in Time
Technology (23): Elizabeth Eisenstein on how the printing press created new networks and sparked further innovation
Here’s Eisenstein again. There’s a lot at work: The combinatorial innovation that was the printing press created further opportunities for cross-pollination by breaking down old… Read More »Technology (23): Elizabeth Eisenstein on how the printing press created new networks and sparked further innovation
Tomáš Halík on Modernity, Optimism and Naked Hope
Traditional notions of hell paled in comparison with the inventions of 20th-century totalitarian regimes: Hitler’s and Stalin’s concentration camps. And compared to technological miracles and… Read More »Tomáš Halík on Modernity, Optimism and Naked Hope
Recommendation: Two Conversations
The Ezra Klein Show: Timothy Snyder on Ukraine Good on history and the context for what’s going on in Ukraine. Great on language and the… Read More »Recommendation: Two Conversations
Boardroom: Lessons from Surfing (4) – Tao, Timing, Vectors
The way of the thing “Tao” refers to the inner nature or natural tendency of things. For example, water tends to flow downhill: that is… Read More »Boardroom: Lessons from Surfing (4) – Tao, Timing, Vectors
Writing and Reading as Technology (12): Elizabeth Eisenstein on How the Printing Press Changed Books
I’m working my way through Elizabeth Eisenstein’s excellent The Printing Revolution in Early Modern Europe, an abridged version of her two-volume The Printing Press as… Read More »Writing and Reading as Technology (12): Elizabeth Eisenstein on How the Printing Press Changed Books
Kurt Vonnegut on the Shapes of Stories
Less then five minutes long. Entertaining and true. (His Slaughtehouse-Five is the only successful anti-war novel I’ve read).
Technology (22): Francis Bacon on Combinatorial Innovation, the Big Three Technologies of the Renaissance, and Pure Science
CX. There are, moreover, some inventions which render it probable that men may pass and hurry over the most noble discoveries which lie immediately before… Read More »Technology (22): Francis Bacon on Combinatorial Innovation, the Big Three Technologies of the Renaissance, and Pure Science
George Saunders: A Hill of One’s Own
I’ve been really enjoying George Saunders’ fantastic A Swim in a Pond in the Rain. As well as showcasing some great Russian short stories it’s… Read More »George Saunders: A Hill of One’s Own
Boardroom: Lessons from Surfing (3) – Dings and Scars
The answer [to avoiding dings] is easy: don’t surf. Degree33 Surfboards Equipment will get damaged and (eventually) break. You get tired and scared and hurt… Read More »Boardroom: Lessons from Surfing (3) – Dings and Scars