For readers and thinkers on whom nothing is lost
For readers and thinkers on whom nothing is lost
I recently saw Richard Dawkins on his final public speaking tour. And while I was not able to ask him a question then, one still burns brightly in my mind – concerning memes, and the rise of AI in culture. In lieu of the professor himself, I explore my question here, in hopes of finding a satisfactory answer.
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George Gissing’s ‘New Grub Street’ is a fascinating work about the life of several writers in the cut-throat journalism industry of Victorian England. Here, I take a look at the startling heroics of one character, whose admirable moment of fearlessness questions everything he had stood for up to that point.
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It has always been a marvel to me how certain authors are capable of putting aside their own selves and portraying the fictional mind of their characters in such vivid and believable detail. Here, I consider whether an explanation for this ability can be found in the shamanic traditions and processes at the root of our human culture.
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In the censorious grip of Soviet Russia, writing a satire of Stalin’s leadership was asking for trouble. On the other hand, an innocuous fairy tale about witchery, devilish occurrences and mysterious disappearances in Moscow would’ve been entirely harmless, right?
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