Whose Dhansak? Food and Authenticity
While there is a shared understanding [about what constitutes a particular dish], that isn’t absolute compliance. If we had to argue that there is only… Read More »Whose Dhansak? Food and Authenticity
culture
Heresy; Bambi
Paul Graham on Heresy and Truth In his excellent biography of Newton, Richard Westfall writes about the moment when he was elected a fellow of… Read More »Heresy; Bambi
Blood, Bones and Building; or, Love’s Labours
Aux armes, citoyens,To arms, citizens, Formez vos bataillons,Form your battalions, Marchons, marchons !March, march! Qu’un sang impurAbreuve nos sillons !Let an impure bloodWater our furrows!… Read More »Blood, Bones and Building; or, Love’s Labours
New Wave: the Hybrid Hokusai
This image we know and love – the classic ukiyo-e woodblock print, as Japanese as Tsunamis and Mount Fuji, one of the launchpads of Japonisme,… Read More »New Wave: the Hybrid Hokusai
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
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
Writing and Reading as Technology (11): Writing Rules
The technology of writing isn’t simply the infrastructure of thought: it’s the enabling infrastructure of most of the complex activities we think of as government.… Read More »Writing and Reading as Technology (11): Writing Rules
Get Back: Thoughts on Watching The Beatles
For those who came in late… So did I. Get Back (released in November 2021) is a 7 hour documentary in three parts, made almost… Read More »Get Back: Thoughts on Watching The Beatles
Writing and Reading as Technology (10): Elizabeth Eisenstein on the Printing Press and the End of the Information Famine
Here’s the great Elizabeth Eisenstein on the impact of the printing press on a lost world of information underload, and an interesting lens for viewing… Read More »Writing and Reading as Technology (10): Elizabeth Eisenstein on the Printing Press and the End of the Information Famine