Hi Unknown Friends!
Here is another blast from the past: a short piece I wrote in 1999 at the request of my old school magazine. I was preoccupied to the point of obsession with the role of the humanities in the new millennium. As it turns out, none of these projects came off. The group concerned fell apart, as groups often do, and "some things that should not have been forgotten, were lost".
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Currently, my main project is a production of Euripides' Bacchae for which I'm writing original music, as well as collaborating on a new verse translation. At the same time, I'm beginning a book on the Chishti Sufis, who are to my knowledge the only spiritual order specifically devoted to music. Anyone interested in supporting either of these two projects is more than welcome to contact me.
For the past two years, I've been closely involved with a group of young musicians, poets, actors and computer geniuses. Currently residing under the name 12mindsun, we have our periodical, The I Opener, a website www.complexity.org/12mindsun currently being expanded, and regular events.
As well as any unorthodox creators, we are particularly interested in working with businesses run on ethical principles by people who understand that the life of the mind should not be a mere function of economics or politics. With our pool of scientific‑technical expertise, we can be regarded as a rather unusual 21st century think‑tank.
One of our events was my course in philosophy and mythology at the Penny Black pub in Farringdon. This was seminal for me, proving that people of widely differing backgrounds, many without formal higher education, could learn real humanities together in a relaxed, salon‑like atmosphere, drinking and smoking encouraged, with no pseudo‑academic pretension or jargon.
Great geniuses such as Leonardo, Goethe and Einstein had what I call synthetic thinking ‑ their powers of imagination perfectly complemented their intellects. What they possessed in unusually large measure can and should be had by everyone. That is the real meaning of a humanities' education ‑ not merely that it fits you for the diplomatic service or is some kind of endurance test if done at Oxford.
I have discovered in practice that synthetic thinking is real, teachable and essential both for scientists and artists. The lack of this quality is what creates ivory‑tower academe, exploitative technology and shallow art as mere diversion. That is Britain today ‑ unless people wish to change it.
Here is another blast from the past: a short piece I wrote in 1999 at the request of my old school magazine. I was preoccupied to the point of obsession with the role of the humanities in the new millennium. As it turns out, none of these projects came off. The group concerned fell apart, as groups often do, and "some things that should not have been forgotten, were lost".
---
Currently, my main project is a production of Euripides' Bacchae for which I'm writing original music, as well as collaborating on a new verse translation. At the same time, I'm beginning a book on the Chishti Sufis, who are to my knowledge the only spiritual order specifically devoted to music. Anyone interested in supporting either of these two projects is more than welcome to contact me.
For the past two years, I've been closely involved with a group of young musicians, poets, actors and computer geniuses. Currently residing under the name 12mindsun, we have our periodical, The I Opener, a website www.complexity.org/12mindsun currently being expanded, and regular events.
As well as any unorthodox creators, we are particularly interested in working with businesses run on ethical principles by people who understand that the life of the mind should not be a mere function of economics or politics. With our pool of scientific‑technical expertise, we can be regarded as a rather unusual 21st century think‑tank.
One of our events was my course in philosophy and mythology at the Penny Black pub in Farringdon. This was seminal for me, proving that people of widely differing backgrounds, many without formal higher education, could learn real humanities together in a relaxed, salon‑like atmosphere, drinking and smoking encouraged, with no pseudo‑academic pretension or jargon.
Great geniuses such as Leonardo, Goethe and Einstein had what I call synthetic thinking ‑ their powers of imagination perfectly complemented their intellects. What they possessed in unusually large measure can and should be had by everyone. That is the real meaning of a humanities' education ‑ not merely that it fits you for the diplomatic service or is some kind of endurance test if done at Oxford.
I have discovered in practice that synthetic thinking is real, teachable and essential both for scientists and artists. The lack of this quality is what creates ivory‑tower academe, exploitative technology and shallow art as mere diversion. That is Britain today ‑ unless people wish to change it.