20 MAR 2018 by ideonexus
The Bible of Civilization
But to begin with perhaps I may meet an objection that is likely to arise. I have called this hypothetical book of ours the Bible of Civilization, and it may be that someone will say: Yes, but you have a sufficient book of that sort already; you have the Bible itself and that is all you need. Well, I am taking the Bible as my model. I am taking it because twice in history—first as the Old Testament and then again as the Old and New Testament together—it has formed a culture, and unified a...Folksonomies: civilization idealism
Folksonomies: civilization idealism
1 
notes
notesAn example of Wells idealism. He envisions a single, unifying book, but his bible is the sum of human literature, and the true story is constantly under revision, but written authoritatively in nature for us to read. He sees a book describing ethical conduct, but again our laws are such a book and we are constantly debating them in the courts and revising them in our legislatures.
25 OCT 2017 by ideonexus
Canons and Fugues
The idea of a canon is that one single theme is played against itself. This is done by having "copies" of the theme played by the various participating voices. But there are means' ways to do this. The most straightforward of all canons is the round, such as "Three Blind Mice", "Row, Row, Row Your Boat", or " Frere Jacques". Here, the theme enters in the first voice and, after a fixed time-delay, a "copy" of it enters, in precisely the same key. After the same fixed time-delay in the second v... 1 notes
notesBach left his Musical Offering unfinished as puzzles for King Frederick to figure out.
31 MAY 2015 by ideonexus
How Do Flatlanders Move?
None of this actually explains how Flatlanders move. We
know various things about their locomotion; that
travelling somewhere involves some form of effort, that
it is harder to travel North than in other directions,
especially for women, and that femails "undulate" as they
travel, although this is more of a safety measure
than a necessity.
A mundane explanation, but one that causes a few
problems, is the use of very short cilia-like mobile hairs
for propulsion. This assumes that Flatland ai... 1 notes
notes11 OCT 2013 by ideonexus
Confucianism's Lack of "Magic" Made it Endure
Confucius (B.C. 551-479) must be reckoned, as regards his social influence, with the founders of religions. His effect on institutions and on men's thoughts has been of the same kind of magnitude as that of Buddha, Christ, or Mahomet, but curiously different in its nature. Unlike Buddha and Christ, he is a completely historical character, about whose life a great deal is known, and with whom legend and myth have been less busy than with most men of his kind. What most distinguishes him from o...
1 It was a code of morals by human beings for human beings, with no supernatural elements to make them unrealistic. As a result, it made life in China more pleasant for thousands of years.
