What Goes Around Comes Around: Our Faith in Karma
July 12, 2016
Sam van Schaik— …The logic of the text is causation: If you do x, then y will happen. This is, of course, karma. Every event comes about because of previous events…. READ MORE
Category: Humanities
The Demanding Friend and Other Author-Reader Relationships
June 30, 2016
Tim Parks— Critics talk a great deal of the contents of books, their style, scope, plot, rhythm, characters, descriptions, and so on, but rarely turn their attention to our reactions… READ MORE
The Differences between “Priest” and “Bishop”
June 28, 2016
Bryn Geffert and Theofanis G. Stavrou— Although the New Testament uses the terms “priest” and “bishop” interchangeably, the early church quickly distinguished between the two. Priests acted as advisers and… READ MORE
On Observation
June 13, 2016
Jessica Helfand— Not long ago, at an elegant garden party, I was introduced to an equally elegant British woman who, after the usual pro forma pleasantries that precede normal conversation,… READ MORE
How to Love Your Enemy
June 9, 2016
Robert Miner— Beyond his status as a musical innovator—guitarist extraordinaire, master architect of King Crimson, collaborator with David Bowie and Brian Eno—Robert Fripp is a serious man. He dresses impeccably;… READ MORE
Are Hungarians Melancholic?
June 8, 2016
László F. Földényi— This past April, the American edition of my book Melancholy was presented at the Rubin Museum in New York. While spending a week in the city, meeting… READ MORE
Gay Culture Is Gay Politics
June 1, 2016
Gregory Woods— There is a tendency to think the culture and politics of homosexuality belong, and should belong, to separate spheres of activity. The one, the cultural, is thought of… READ MORE
Why Was Victorian London So Dirty?
May 23, 2016
Lee Jackson— In 1899, the Chinese ambassador was asked his opinion of Victorian London at the zenith of its imperial grandeur. He replied, laconically, ‘too dirty’. He was only stating… READ MORE
Math, Fractals, and Maybe Some Art
May 11, 2016
Math and art have had an active relationship for centuries. Think of perspective geometry and Renaissance art, higher-dimensional geometry and cubism, how the Alhambra walls and Klemscott press margins use… READ MORE
Myths That Make History
April 27, 2016
Graham Seal— Ancient though their origins may be, the world’s many myths and legends have played an important role in history. Frightening fables of unknown southern lands, tales of lost… READ MORE
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