Sunday 17 October 2010

10 non-work-related items that I found fun or interesting

via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Emerging from deep prehistory, humans muscled their way up the food chain, with everything on the menu - including ourselves... more

via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
In the 17th century, handfuls of men using small boats, scaling ladders, and sheer nerve made piracy a profitable line of work. Not unlike the 21st century... more

via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Acronyms are less innocent than they look: fluid, prone to lurches in meaning, they are weapons, in fact looser cannons than most... part 1 ... part 2

via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
There is an exhilaration and joy to secure direct observational proof of a scientific theory. The history of astronomy is full of such moments... more

via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
"Learning styles", they call it. Some students are visual learners, others auditory, or kinesthetic. The idea is, alas, largely bunkum... more

via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Albert Camus ought to be buried in the Panthéon, with other great minds of France. But it looks like it is not going to happen... more

via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
"You know people have tried to put me off as being crazy." Thelonious Monk was only too willing to use the notion to his advantage... more

On the Civility of Children’s Conduct by Erasmus (1530)
The great classical scholar of the Northern Renaissance, Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus, also had some thoughts about proper behavior. Teach manners early, Erasmus believed. To that end, he produced a small book addressed to children. It admirably commanded the attention of his young audience and remained popular for three centuries. “To lick greasy fingers or to wipe them on your coat is impolite. It is better to use the table cloth, ” he counsels. Also: “It is not seemly, after wiping your nose, to spread out your handkerchief and peer into it as if pearls and rubies might have fallen out of your head.” He returns repeatedly to the era’'s apparently vexing problem of the gaseous bellows: “Retain your wind by compressing the belly” and “Do not move back and forth on your chair. Whoever does that gives the impression of constantly breaking or trying to break wind.” If attempts at restraint fail, he advises, then do what you must but “cough loudly” to cover the sound.
Having picked this up from I can’t remember where I tried to acknowledge the source – found a 16-page article reprinted by UNESCO here. Hazel

via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Lew Wallace, General in the Civil War, a man Billy the Kid wanted to kill, wrote a favourite 19th-century novel, made into a 20th-century movie: Ben-Hur... more

via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
"Earth is the cradle of mankind, but one does not stay in the cradle forever." Space pioneer Konstantin Tsiolkovskii had a vision... more


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