fieldus

Edward Carr on the dwindling of the polymath:

In an age of specialists, does it matter that generalists no longer thrive? The world is hardly short of knowledge. Countless books are written, canvases painted and songs recorded. A torrent of research is pouring out. A new orthodoxy, popularised by Malcolm Gladwell, sees obsessive focus as the [...]

David Ulin - the LA Times book editor writes about information overload:
Contemplation is not only possible but necessary, especially in light of all the overload. In her recent essay collection “The Winter Sun” (Graywolf: 196 pp., $15 paper), Fanny Howe quotes Simone Weil: “One must believe in the reality of time. Otherwise one is just [...]

From The American Spectator
Having shaken off their shackles and discovered that they have not obtained contentment, human beings have a lamentable tendency to believe that they are victims of some alien force, be it aristocracy, the bourgeoisie, capitalism, the priesthood, or simply the belief in God. And the feeling arises that they need only destroy [...]

Nextbook: Soldier of Misfortune
It is the tendency of financial institutions, during stable periods, to discount the inherent uncertainty of future profits. This eventually—indeed, inevitably—leads to big trouble. As the sense of risk and uncertainty diminishes, financial actors lend and borrow more in order to maximize the future profits that seem assured.
In other words, a sense [...]

David Blaine: death-dealer - Telegraph

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Andy Gill: ‘Why I hate Coldplay’ - Features, Music - The Independent
In the event, the album is almost exactly as I expected, if a tad shorter on Big Anthems than the previous three. The rhythms are a bit busier, and a bit more ethnic, and Chris Martin’s little falsetto catch – one of modern music’s [...]

iD: The Quest for Identity in the 21st Century by Susan Greenfield review | Non-fiction book reviews - Times Online
Lady Greenfield posits three types of identity. Those who are “Someone” locate themselves in relation to others, changing and responding as they gain experience. Those who are “Anyone” are characterised by action, not reflection, and have [...]

iD: The Quest for Identity in the 21st Century by Susan Greenfield review | Non-fiction book reviews - Times Online
The best exemplars are the Japanese hikikomori - young men, predominantly, who have withdrawn from society and spend their time locked away in their rooms in symbiosis with a screen. There are said to be a [...]

10 Things I Learned from Mental Detox Week | iain tait | crackunit.com

The thing that’ll work for me is to set periods of time where it’s just not allowed.
Amen.

Smile and kiss your right to privacy goodbye (according to David Byrne)
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