This summer, I was infected by an interest in semantics. Before then, I might use the term as dismissive, to state that a certain discussion does not matter too much – “that it’s just semantics”. Reading S. I. Hayakawa’s “Language in Action” completely changed my perspective. Now I think nothing can be more important than the impact of words.
Goodreads challenge
Through the goodreads reading challenge, you can commit to reading a number of books within a year. The web app then supports you by tracking your progress on your reading journey for that year.
What is History? (E H Carr)
E. H. Carr’s book from 1961 helps us to understand the limitations of history and the questions with which historians (should) struggle. Unwittingly, it provides a reading guide to historical works. It may even encourage you to revisit and reassess your historical perspective – it certainly did for mine.
Vegan Black Metal Chef
My nephew shared a youtube video that shows a recipe how to make vegan lasagna. What makes it unusual is that it comes packaged as a black metal song. Don’t be dismissive of the recipe because of its packaging. It is a chef’s recipe that is very well presented with humour. Combining vegan cooking with black metal reveals a kind of creativity that can only come from personal drive and passion.
The reason for this post is a reflection on niche versus general interests (and finding your niche). We live in a highly specialised society. Tribes do not have vegan black metal chefs.
Amusing Ourselves to Death
Having recently covered Praise of Folly, Neil Postman’s book on the media provides the perfect antithesis. Postman laments the decline of literacy in America in an era of instant electronic communication. Written in 1985, what book could be more topical today?
Media are not neutral – they shape the way we communicate. A society that only has smoke signals at its disposal can only communicate very simple messages. Media are metaphors (a word used a lot by Postman). Over the past millennia, mankind experienced only 3 major media revolutions, from the spoken to the written word, from the written to the printed word, and from print to electronic communications (telegraph, telephone, then TV and currently internet). Each time, the impact has been dramatic – for example without print, there could be no reformation or enlightenment. The electronic media revolution made communication instantaneous over long distances – eventually at zero marginal cost.
The Musician Says (Benedetta LoBalbo)
This charming little compilation is something to have on the table in a waiting room. It consists of ~ 150 carefully selected quotes from a variety of musicians. You could read it in about an hour but to do it justice, don’t consume it in a single session. Spread it out over 3-5 readings. It could provide most refreshing reading between two Russians.
The initial quotes represent the musician’s critic on society. Today’s musicians are the equivalent of ancient bards, troubadours or jestors. They hold us a mirror of society. They can provide critique with impunity which may well be music’s major role today. These quotes allow us to use the experience from musicians in everyday life.
Praise of Folly
Erasmus’ Praise of Folly is about four centuries old. The small booklet of less than a hundred pages can be divided in three parts. In an introduction, Erasmus sets the scene and introduces Folly, a female jestor that is going to mock society. In an era where one could easily lose freedom or worse as an author, this section appears to be Erasmus’ main insurance. The second part tries to convince us that Folly is the spice of life – it’s the origin of love, of friendships, of education – in short, of all human endeavour. In the third and largest part, Erasmus has a bit too much fun describing 16th century society through identifying foolish behaviours for basically every profession he can think of (without ever getting personal, which is part of the elegance of the Folly).
Erasmus described his Folly as a trifle, distancing himself from it but at the same time regularly revising it. This betrays a much more endearing relation between the author and this work than he would care to admit. Erasmus’ prudence on the Folly appears justified considering that the book was added to the Index shortly after his death. Hence the impression that Erasmus during his life was too grand a figure and the Folly not enough of an insult for the authorities to take action. Or it may just be that it took the clergy a few decades to take notice.
Why read?
Hello, I’m Hans, a 53-year old, slightly overweight, self-deprecating, happily married family man with a touch of insomnia and a great fan of anything culture and literature. I know that I should exercise a little more, but that idea is as agreeable to me as reading is to many a more sportive person. For a while, I’ve been resisting to start a blog about my reading journey. Today let’s give it a try.
When preparing for this blog, my good friend Dusan suggested to write a few paragraphs on the question why we should read? I found this a difficult question. When asking the why-question about sports, food or travel, responses come naturally: health, fun, relations, experiences, etc. Why are these harder to identify for reading?
Brussels Circle for General Semantics 