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Early days of a better nation
“Work as if you live in the early days of a better nation” – Scottish Parliament Cannongate wall inscription. Paraphrased from Canadian Dennis Lee: “Best of all is finding a place to be in the early days of a better civilisation” in poem berating a complicit, colonised Canada.
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Chivalry
Need to justify military power in context of Christianity! So Just War eg Pope Urban calling for crusade to recover Jerusalem. Expected to show same qualities of self discipline, sacrifice as other pious people, but other things crept in eg largesse, courtesy and eventually courtly love. Anglo-saxon warfare usually involved killing your enemies, in France…
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Disgust
Disgust starts early with bitter, sour tastes. Protects us against toxins – but emotional component. Bodily fluids, diseased appearance, unusual sexual practices are pretty universal. The fear of contamination is often part of disgust, and unpleasant textures/smells are often associated with minority social groups. Propensity to disgust associated with political conservatism, even when controlled for other…
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Creativity
Not just originality – needs to be task appropriate. 4 levels – mini C is interpretive, the first stage of working something out for yourself, little C is everyday, introducing your own spin on it, Pro C is expert, the work of someone who is skilled and practiced, Big C is legendary, where a radical new idea is produced. You…
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Enigma
Jerry Roberts (Latymer school)and other cryptographers at bletchley park, decoded Enigma but also Tunny, used to pass messages from German high command. Used Colossus, first large electronic computer. Contributed to D-day (confirmed that Hitler thought attack would be at Pas de Calais) and Battle of Kursk (warned Russians ahead of attack, possibly turning point of WW2).
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Left handed piano pieces
No equivalent right handed pieces! Not just because Paul Wittgenstein lost his right hand, but because strongest fingers are thumb and index, so better for playing melodic line. Use of pedal becomes much more skilful too. Stephen Johnson, Radio 3
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Metallic smells
It has often irked me that metals eg coins, old kitchen knife can have such a strong smell, when they surely can’t actually be vapourizing at room or body temperature? Dietrich and Glindemann at Virginia Tech explain that the odour results from a metal induced oxidation of lipids eg on the skin. The compounds people…
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Irenaeus
2nd century Bishop of Lyon, then in Gaul. At that time, a multitude of different Christianities, with Gnosticism an important force. In his work, “Against Heresies”, he emphasized the unbroken chain from the apostles through the bishops, eg the Roman church, and the 4 Gospels as being the core scripture of Christianity, in addition to…
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The Battle for Adam Smith
Statue on the Royal Mile, commissioned by Adam Smith Institute, unveiled 2008. But the ASI, established in 1976, is a think tank promoting neoliberalism. Others eg Margaret Thatcher also claim Adam Smith as a father of free enterprise economics. Gordon Brown has said that Adam Smith would be happier in the John Smith Institute rather…
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Hamlet and adolescent brooding
Hamlet is one of the few adolescents in Western art treated with sympathy by his creator. Shakespeare sees in Hamlet’s youth more than just immaturity and idiocy – he connects it with sincerity and philosophical depth. To joke about one’s absurd adolescence is at the same time to boast about one’s current maturity. To…