Sunday - November 06, 2005You've been Googled!One of the interesting things about having your
own web site (even one that you don't update very often—sorry about that!)
is that at some point, it will get indexed by the major search engines, such as
Google, Yahoo, and so on. This means that you get all kinds of people visiting
your site looking for all kinds of content (and very welcome they are too), but
it never ceases to amaze me both what people search for, and how they manage to
end up here of all places…
For example, the most common searches that lead
people to my site currently involve either Bertrand Russell (whom I have entries
containing a picture
of and essay
regarding, respectively), Plato (particularly on the subject of happiness
and the structure
of the soul, both of which posted essays about) and—somewhat
more bizarrely—‘wicky
woo’, which was a term coined by my friend George Wright to
describe the sensation of loss that you feel when, having decided to have a cup
of tea, you inexplicably change your mind and turn the kettle off. It turns out
that Wicky Woo is also the title of a popular arcade game, and I can only assume that people
searching for the game either end up here by mistake or are intrigued by the
concept of the Blogtionary.
When I started compiling the Blogtionary (which, in the style of The Meaning of Liff or Douglas Coupland's Generation X, contains humorous definitions for things that don't otherwise appear to have a name) I didn't expect it to generate a great number of hits, mainly because most of the words were made up, such as kafloop or lubbocks. I was, however, pleasantly surprised to discover just how many people search for terms like absentism, dessertification and shoulder nipples, some of which I believed myself—wrongly, as it turns out—to have made up (although in the former cases, these could be attributed to misspellings of absenteeism and desertification, which are both real words). I get quite a few people searching for beard-related content, and even received one comment from a complete stranger that I should grow mine back because there aren't enough red beards in the world—thanks S Otlowski! However, I don't know whether to be shocked, flattered or just plain embarrassed, both by people searching for "Keith Wilson masturbation" and the fact that they ended up on my site as a result! I mean, it's not like I claim to have invented some special technique or anything (although God knows I've tried. ;-) As you might expect, referrals tend to vary according to the content I've most recently posted to the site, and articles on iPods, Apple's Mac OS X Tiger and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy film have all been popular at one time or another. The level of traffic is also incredibly sensitive to Google's search rankings, which at one point seemed to have decided that I was an authoritative sources of information on the political composition of the British Isles due to a semi-humorous rant that I posted about people saying England when they mean Britain, and vice versa. I suspect that the recent increase in traffic (from around 10 to over 40 visitors per day) is due to the public beta of Google's blog search facility, which seems to have given a welcome boost to my viewing figures. In any case, I just wanted to reflect in a vague, waffly sort of way (as my university philosophy supervisor would say) on the marvellousness of the internet, modern search engines, and the power of information as it becomes more connected and available to individuals around the planet. Hello to you all, and thanks for dropping by to check out my web site. I hope you find something to amuse, interest or otherwise arouse your intellectual faculties—vive la différence! (And if you'd like to check out who else has been visiting my web site lately, click on the little planet icon on the right hand side of this page…) Sunday - September 11, 2005Arrakis, Dune, Desert planet…After re-watching one of my favourite sci-fi
films,
Dune,
for probably the fifth time (I first saw it in the cinema when it was originally
released in 1984), I was struck by the unmistakable—some might say
glaringly obvious—parallel to the ongoing situation in the Middle East
over the manipulation of nation states and the supply of oil.
The film depicts two warring factions (House
Atreides and House Harkonnen) fighting against a backdrop of political plotting
and contrivances designed to ensure that the supply of the spice 'melange', upon
which the whole of civilisation depends for interstellar transport, remains
stable. Thinking about it now, the parallel seems fairly obvious. The warring
factions are most likely Iran and Iraq (a country whose name bears considerable
resemblance to 'Arrakis', which is what got me started on this line of thinking
in the first place, and also consists mostly of arid desert). The arrogant and
manipulative Emperor—curiously named Shadam IV—represents the
titular head of the Western world, i.e. the President of the USA. The spice is
an obvious reference to oil, which underpins our current system of transport,
and with it the global economy. Professor Kynes, the imperial ecologist, may be
a thinly veiled reference to modern, now sadly deceased economic guru, John
Maynard Keynes (although I must confess, I don't really know enough about his
political views to know if the parallel stands up). And the moral of the story?
Don't mess with other people's countries or you may find that you've bitten off
more that you can chew…
OK, not everything quite fits into this contemporary reading, but I'm sure Frank Herbert, the original author of the Dune books was more than a little influenced by the political goings on in the Middle East while he was writing them, and the text is littered with references to religion, holy war ('jihad'), as well as the more mind-bending properties of the mysterious spice (which may be a reference to something altogether less political!). However, even if the premise of the story is based on actual events, I'm less convinced that it is pure allegory because, as with Lord of the Rings before it, there are too many layers and levels to the writing to read it as a direct and literal translation of what's going on in the real world. (For example, who are the Fremen? Is Frank Herbert trying to say that the indiginous people of the Middle East will find a mysterious saviour, rebel and take over the region? Well, maybe…) In any case, it's a blindingly good film, and one that I think stands up well after over 20 years, despite having received a panning from the critics (notably Barry Norman, who I think said it was one of the worst films he had ever seen). It's a great pity that David Lynch's original 3-hour cut of the film was never released (and possibly doesn't even survive), and indeed Lynch himself seems to have had nothing to do with or say about the film since it was released. He's reportedly still quite pissed off about the whole thing—and who wouldn't be? But it's a great piece of work all the same, and perhaps has some lessons to teach today's world leaders, who still seem to think that messing around with other people's countries is a good way to get what you want in the world arena. No doubt history will be the judge of that old chestnut. Wednesday - June 15, 2005Words, sounds and picturesA quick rundown of what I've been reading,
watching and listening to recently…
Words
1. Consciousness: How Matter Becomes Imagination, Gerard M Edelman and Giulio Tononi 2. Brainstorms: Philosophical Essays on Mind and Psychology, Daniel C Dennett 3. The Consolations of Philosophy, Boethius 3. On Seeing and Noticing, Alain de Botton Sounds 1. X&Y, Coldplay 2. Danny The Dog, Massive Attack 3. The Understanding, Röyksopp (any day now...) 4. The Tired Sounds Of…, Stars Of The Lid (thanks George!) Pictures 1. Star Wars Episode III: The Revenge Of The Sith (of course!) 2. Pi (brilliant and disturbing, check it out if you can) 3. Mock The Week (Sunday, 10pm, BBC 2) 4. Sex And The City (Weekdays, 10pm, E4) Sunday - June 05, 2005Star Wars Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith ReviewBrilliant, brilliant, brilliant. If you haven't
seen it already, go and see it, and if you have, well, go and see it
again—it really is that good!
To elaborate upon the above synopsis in slightly
greater detail, The Revenge of the
Sith is a highly entertaining, enjoyable, and
downright epic conclusion to the Star
Wars saga (if conclusion is the right word,
given that it's actually the middle part that links the existing Episodes II and
IV). Overall, the film has a much darker and more foreboding atmosphere than the
previous two episodes, documenting as it does the transition from the democratic
Republic to the Galactic Empire, along with Anakin Skywalker's personal journey
to the Dark Side. As such, it provides an excellent segué between the
colourful innocence of the former chapters with the oppressive, monochrome feel
of the original Star
Wars trilogy, both in terms of its plot and
visual style.
Yes, I could complain about the clunky dialogue, the worst of which has to be “Not if anything to do with it I have!” by guess which pointy-eared little green Jedi Master—you would think that the most powerful, wise and learned Jedi in the galaxy would have mastered the rudiments of English grammar by now, but apparently not!—the unconvincing love interest, and occasional lacklustre performance, such as those by Natalie Portman (Senator Padmé) and, more surprisingly, Christopher Lee, who only has a bit part in Episode III, but overall, the film is a masterstroke by writer and director George Lucas, recapturing as it does (now I'm doing it!) the magic, charm and humour of the original trilogy. Die hard fans will not be disappointed as the final film bristles with breathtaking action sequences, compelling heroes and villians, and awesome light-saber duals, of which there are many. In fact, all the dodgy aspects of Episode III, such as the distinctive 'wipes' between scenes, are in fact features of the entire Star Wars sequence, and add more to the charm and general quirkiness of the films than they take away—the difference being that we have learned to live with them in the earlier Episodes, whereas perhaps today's post-Star Wars audience is a little less forgiving. Perhaps the only genuinely disappointing aspect of the film is Anakin's final conversion to the Dark Side of the Force, which despite an excellent build-up, happens a little too quickly and completely to be convincing, although his stilted speech and actions suggest that some kind of Jedi mind control or psychosis may also be playing a part. Hayden Christenson actually turns in an excellent performance as he is slowly consumed by anger and aggression in his journey to the Dark Side, and despite the fact that his only facial expression for a large part of the film is a kind of malevolent glower. Similarly, Ewan McGregor finally manages to hit the right spot with his portrayal of Jedi Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, who has grown in stature and experience since the previous episodes, and the relation to Alec Guinness's superb characterisation in Episodes IV to VI finally rings true. Ian McDiarmud who plays the corrupt Senator Palpatine and the evil Sith, Lord Sidious, is similarly convincing, and some of the scenes between him and Christenson, as well as Master Yoda, are amongst the most memorable in the film. Yoda is of course as brilliant as always, and has some of the best one-liners in the film, as well as a few of the worst (see above). One of the most satisfying aspects of Episode III is the way that the film manages to tie up all of the loose ends from Episodes I and II in order set things up for the subsequent 'sequels' in a way that adds great depth and pathos to the original characters and storyline. Towards the end of the film you can almost hear Lucas's pen ticking off each of the unresolved questions about how Anakin became Darth Vader, the fate of the Jedi Knights, the Republic, and the origins of the Empire, why Master Yoda went into self-enforced exile, how young Luke and Leia came to be on their respective planets, and at times the pace seems a little rushed in order to cram it all in. However, this is entirely forgivable, as the net effect is one of transforming Lord Vader from a purely evil arch villain into a kind of tragic anti-hero. As we all know, he does ultimately achieve the prophesied rebalancing of the Force at the end of Episode VI, but only after great personal—not to mention pan-galactic—suffering and destruction. After Episode III, you can look at Darth Vader and many of the characters in a different light as we now know what they went through in order to arrive at what they did, adding a poignancy to the later episodes that only enhances the enjoyment of all six films. All in all, The Revenge of the Sith is a worthy and impressive conclusion to the Star Wars franchise. Having waited over twenty years to see this finale-of-the-prequels, I must admit to having walked out of the cinema with a big grin on my face that took several hours to wear off, and Darth Vader's theme tune thundering in my ears. Unlike the previous two parts, which were a bit patchy in many respects—although I did very much enjoy Episode II—on seeing Episode III you can't help thinking “Yup, they really nailed that one!” The six parts now sit together as one film, which is truly epic in scope, and yet manages to tap into the universal (sorry) themes of love, honour and betrayal that affect us all. Whatever you might think of him, and the sci-fi fantasy genre in general, George Lucas has achieved something truly spectacular with the Star Wars films that will be enjoyed by generations of filmgoers to come, not to mention the effect that they have had on revolutionising the film industry and our expectations of what feature films can be. On a personal level, Episodes I to III gave me an enjoyable trip back to my childhood and a renewed sense of enthusiasm for all things Star Wars—“Use the Force Luke!”, “I have a bad feeling about this…”, and so on. I wholeheartedly recommend going to see Revenge of the Sith, although I doubt it will make much sense unless you have seen the previous two episodes. It will be an interesting experience to watch all six films in the intended sequence, but I think that will have to wait until the DVD comes out—for which I (along with many thousands of others) will be one of the first in line. Sadly, it looks like the originally intended Episodes VII to IX will never be made—at least not by George Lucas anyway—as the plot draws to a natural close at the end of Episode VI, but those of you who wish to indulge your imagination further may do so at supershadow.com where a possible (although most likely completely bogus) outline of the final chapters may be found. The verdict? A satisfying and inspiring conclusion to the story that began a long time ago in galaxy far, far away… Don't expect a happy ending, but do expect to be blown away by this final chapter in the Star Wars saga. It won't disappoint! Rating: 4½ out of 5 Tuesday - May 03, 2005The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ReviewThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the
Galaxy is a wholly remarkable book, radio
series, television programme, computer game, commemorative towel, and most
recently, a major film release by Touchstone Pictures. I'm a big
Hitchhiker's
fan and so I rushed out to see the film on the day it was released, which was a
Thursday, a day that—like Arthur Dent, the film's unlikely
protagonist—I never really could get the hang of. The film has enjoyed
mixed reviews, but I have to say that it failed to live up to my (admittedly
very high) expectations, despite its redeeming qualities.
Amongst these were the superb performance of
Stephen Fry as the voice of the Guide (a sort of electronic book that tells you
everything you need to know about the universe) and narrator, Zooey Deschanel's
excellent Trillian (that's Trisha MacMillan to her Earth friends), who is the
only believable character in the film, Marvin the paranoid android, whose
cutting one-liners (“I know, wretched isn't it?”) all but steal the
show, Mos Def's unexpectedly good performance as the hip and yet slightly geeky
Ford Prefect, plus a few moments of comedy genius from Martin Freeman, who plays
the generally bemused and occasionally apoplectic Earthman, Arthur Dent
(contrasting with the rather more indignant Arthur played by Simon Jones in the
original BBC radio and TV series, who incidentally makes a cameo appearance in
the film as the Magrathean announcer). Despite these performances, the cast
never quite gels and lacks the chemistry—and in some cases the
talent—to pull off much of the trickier quick-fire dialogue for which
Douglas Adams (the original author, who sadly passed away a few years ago) is
justly renowned. Indeed, some of the lines are barely even
intelligible.
The film is let down further by a meandering plot, poor direction and a low budget. More attention seems to have gone into setting things up for the sequel that in actually making the script work, and the end result plays more like a series of sketches than a complete feature film. In some ways, this is in keeping with the spirit of the original, but without a unifying theme to keep the whole thing ticking along, despite the ongoing love interest between Arthur and Trillian, the film lurches from one random plot line to the next without any real sense of meaning or purpose. Think of Monty Python set in space and you won't be far wrong, although as many of the jokes have been either removed or edited down to the point of virtual non-existence, it's not as funny. All too often, the audience is left feeling lost and confused by the headlong rush to cram in as many ideas as possible into too little time, which is a pity because there is so much that could have been enjoyed in full had the filmmakers thought to remove some the less relevant digressions, such as the trips to the planet Vogsphere to rescue Trillian, and Viltvodle VI where they meet Zaphod's arch enemy, Humma Kavula (played by John Malkovich), as well as the Questular character (Anna Chancellor), who seems to have no purpose whatsoever. The animated sequences of the Guide are also disappointing, especially given that even the original BBC 2 television series managed to include what were at the time state-of-the-art computer graphics, and this is one of the areas where the film's rather limited budget shows. However, here the quality of Douglas Adams' writing does shine through, unlike in other sections, where the dialogue has obviously been heavily edited due to time constraints, losing much of its originality and charm in the process. Zaphod's second head, on the other hand (of which, incidentally, he has three), is infinitely better than the BBC 2 version (although it could hardly have been worse), but the reason he has it makes his character rather more irritating than interesting, which only serves to further trivialise the already tangled plot. It's not all bad news, however. The film does manage to capture the peculiarly British quirkiness of the original, as evidenced by the demise of several unfortunate crab-like creatures at various points in the film, and the sequences of the Magrathean factory floor are just stunning (although obviously took up a notable slice of the budget, as they only appear shortly before the end which, incidentally, is also a bit of a let down). Although the film has obviously been made with a great deal of care and attention, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is ultimately a disappointing interpretation of a superbly funny, intelligent and occasionally profound piece of science fiction. I understand that the directors, TV advertising company Hammer and Tongs, have never directed a feature film before, and unfortunately this shows, although no doubt myself and many other die-hard Hitchhiker's fans will still go out and buy the DVD in a few months' time anyway. Perhaps it will grow on me with repeated viewings, and although it's great to see Douglas Adams' vision finally realised in celluloid, the result really isn't a patch on what it could—or should—have been. Although I would recommend that you go and see the film and make up your own mind, it's probably better to regard it as a introductory romp through the Adams universe, rather than an all-time sci-fi classic, which despite the film's inevitable cult following, it is not. And please ignore the singing dolphins throughout the opening title credits—I mean, what the hell were they thinking?! Rating: 3 out of 5 Sunday - April 24, 2005The Meaning of LiffIn 1983, Douglas Adams and John Lloyd wrote a
fantastically witty, laugh-out-loud hilarious, but nevertheless surprisingly
little known book called The Meaning of
Liff. It attempts to restore the
mismatch between the inadequacy of the English language to define many well
known but otherwise untitled experiences and things with the vast number of
otherwise meaningless place names that are to be found loafing about on road
signs, maps and the like. The book is basically a dictionary of place names that
have been given some very amusing definitions, of which a few of my favourites
are given below.
Dibble
(v): To try to remove a sticky something from one hand with the other, thus
causing it to get stuck to the other hand and eventually to anything else you
try to remove it
with.
Huby (n): A half-erection large enough to be a publicly embarrassing bulge in the trousers, but not large enough to be of use to anybody. Glossop (n): A rogue blob of food. Glossops, which are generally streaming hot and highly adhesive, invariably fall off your spoon and on to the surface of your host's highly polished antique-rosewood dining table. Liff (n): A book, the contents of which are totally belied by its cover. For instance, any book the dust jacket of which bears the words: ‘This book will change your life’. [Needless to say, The Meaning of Liff has these very words emblazoned on its cover.] Shoeburyness (abs. n): The vague uncomfortable feeling you get when sitting on a seat which is still warm from somebody else's bottom. Throcking (participal v) The action of continually pushing down the lever on a pop-up toaster in the hope that you will thereby get it to understand that you want it to toast something. Thrupp (v.) To hold a ruler on one end on a desk and make the other end go bbddbbddbbrrbrrrrddrr. Wetwang (n): A moist penis. [Yes, there really is a place called Wetwang!] …And so on. You can have chuckle at some of the other definitions, which are available online—most likely in total defiance of international copyright laws—here. Or better still, go and buy the book. In honour of this worthy tradition and the superbly zeitgeisty neologisms that appear in the book Generation X by Douglas Coupland (strange how they are both called Douglas)—‘McJob’, ‘bambification’ and ‘occupational slumming’ being just three examples—I have decided to start a new blog category, or blogtionary, if you will, to hold any new terms (amusing or otherwise) that I can come up with. Eager though I am to disprove Ludwig Wittgenstein's theory that there is no such thing as a private language, it's much more fun to share, and I would welcome any additions, feedback or suggestions that anyone else would like to contribute. Friday - March 04, 2005DON'T PANIC!I have to admit, I'm getting quite excited about
the impending release of the Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy film at the end of
the next month. After getting over my initial uncertainty about some of the
casting (Martin
Freeman as Arthur Dent, and Mos Def as Ford Prefect), as well as the
unexpectedly diminutive Marvin ("Here I am, brain the size of a
planet..."), I actually think the film is going to be pretty damn good. The
trailers that I've seen so far look very promising, and contain some great new
characters and ideas that were developed specifically for the film by Douglas
Adams.
The choice of Stephen Fry as the voice of the
book is particularly inspired. Although it's hard to imagine the Guide as anyone
except David Jones (he of the Orange and Tesco adverts, who also appeared in the
original radio and TV series), if the web trailer is anything to go by, Fry
pulls it off brilliantly. It also looks as if they've really developed the
Magrathea / Deep Thought plot line, and I'm sure this will look stunning on the
big screen. I do hope they have kept in the characters of Majikthise and
Vroomfondel (sic), the two philosophers who speculate endlessly about the answer
that Deep Thought is eventually going to come up with — it's about time we
had some philosophers immortalised on celluloid, even if they are fictional
ones! The romance between Arthur and Trillian (the last surviving humans) and
ensuing love triangle with Zaphod reputedly play a bigger role in the film
version too, and Zooey Deschanel, who plays the role of Trillian
(aka Trisha MacMillan) is infinitely more suited to the part than the
irritatingly squeaky Sandra Dickinson, who hammed up the part in the original
BBC television series. Deschanel convincingly captures the character portrayed
in the books, as well as being rather attractive to boot (but don't tell Heike I
said that!).
One character invented specially for the film is Humma Kavula, a cult leader, possibly relating to the Deep Thought scenario (or possibly the mastermind behind the destruction of the planet Earth, which as we all know is a gigantic computer designed to calculate the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything, to which the answer is forty-two?), played by the excellent John Malkovich. You'll have to watch the trailer to see the special effects of his disembodied torso walking along a table on a load of spindly mechanical legs... It's pure Douglas Adams, and the expressions on Arthur and Trillian's faces are priceless! There are also cameo appearances from Steve Pemberton (of League of Gentlemen fame) as Mr Prosser, and Bill Bailey who plays the voice of the innocent sperm whale, which plunges to its death after being unceremoniously materialising into existence several miles above the surface of an alien planet along with a bowl of petunias (whose last and only thought was, somewhat curiously, "Oh no, not again"). In fact, the only thing I'm not sure about is the casting of Alan Rickman (Professor Snape from the Harry Potter series) as the voice of Marvin the Paranoid Android. Again, it's hard to imagine other than Stephen Moore, who appeared in the original radio series along with special effects from the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, playing the terminally depressed robot. Despite originally being cast in the role, for some reason Moore didn't make it to the final cut, which is a pity as the resulting character doesn't sound half as funny, but maybe it will be better in the final thing. All in all, it seems like the cast and crew have gone to great lengths to stay faithful to the original spirit of the books, and to produce a fitting tribute to their late author, who sadly passed away nearly four years ago. If you want to check out the trailers, both are available online at the official web site. I can't wait to see the film, which is released in the UK on the 29th of April (almost in time for my birthday), and I am already looking forward to the sequel... Please tell me there's going to be a sequel! If the anticipation gets too much, you may also want to check out h2g2, the BBC's online version of the Guide, and also the 20th anniversary edition of the Hitchhikers adventure game, which has been re-released, and recently won an award. "Share and enjoy", as the marketing department of the Sirian Cybernetics Corporation would say (or, alternatively, "go stick your head in a pig", it's your choice). Tuesday - February 01, 2005Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the MediaLast night I went to see a screening of the film
Manufacturing
Consent and was deeply impressed both by the
views and personal integrity of its subject: Noam Chomsky. His basic thesis is
that the media plays a central and active role in propagating and justifying the
interests of the ruling faction, as represented by politicians and big business.
Whilst this might not seem completely unexpected or new, it is Chomsky's
systemic analysis of the nature of the problem that fascinated me, and also
reminded me why I started studying philosophy in the first
place.
The film is both an exploration of Chomsky's
views about the media, and his treatment by it. Although now several years out
of date, the discussion of the woefully underreported and American supported
genocide in East Timor and various military conflicts pursued by the Bush
(senior) administration could just as easily have applied to Rwanda, Sudan and
George Bush (junior) in Iraq, making the documentary as relevant today as it was
when it was first released. In many respects, the film resembles a high-brow
remake (premake?) of Fahrenheit 9/11, with many of Chomsky's arguments lending
intellectual muscle to Michael Moore's more slapstick antics. (Compare Chomsky's
lecture tours around the world with Moore's driving an ice-cream van around
Washington DC and you get the idea.)
As well as being a leading intellectual, specialising in the field of linguistics, Professor Chomsky is also a political activist and has been arrested many times for demonstrating in favour of free speech and against the terrible atrocities and military interventions conducted by the United States around the world, of which the Iraq war is just the latest example. This seems to me to be a perfectly right and proper thing for a man of Chomsky's standing and intellect to be doing, and his courage and conviction are laudable by anybody's standards. It is particularly amusing to watch him being taken to task in an interview and then proceeding to run rings around the interviewer, who is often left without a leg to stand on, completely outflanked by Chomsky's command of the relevant facts and subtlety of the English language. However, far from appearing clever or devious, as many intellectuals often do, his manner is one of complete, almost brutal honesty, courage and integrity. Whilst it is obvious that he regrets that the world should be the way that he describes it to be, he is fully committed to doing whatever is in his power to encourage individuals to take responsibility for their own actions, and the actions of their governments, by increasing awareness of the global media system and the way that power and influence is exercised. I personally find this approach very inspiring and only wish that there were more academics and intellectuals willing to take a stand in this way against what they see as the injustices of the system, rather than simply trying to eke out a comfortable existence within it (although one could argue that we all bear equal responsibility in this respect). The thing that really me excited me about the film, however, was the way that Chomsky applies what I would call a systems thinking approach to contemporary sociological issues. Media bias, he argues, is not simply a product of political conspiracy or bullying, but a natural consequence of our structures (and therefore our ideas) of government and economic enterprise. My own interest in the behaviour and design of complex systems led me to study philosophy because without a clear understanding of how our ideas function and interact with each other, it is impossible to understand anything as complex as a mind, a society or a system of government that arise from them. Their behaviour is the result of the way in which their parts both dictate and are affected by the structure of the whole, making it difficult to study individual aspects in isolation from one another, as they lose much of their significance and meaning when removed from the whole. This way of thinking opposes materialism or reductionism and is typified by the use of patterns, frameworks and contextual analysis in order to explain complex emergent properties such as conscious awareness, media bias, and perhaps even some important truths about the universe itself (never wishing to knowingly undersell a theory!). Chomsky's use of such techniques to explain a range of sociological issues draws extensively on his work in linguistics to trace the origins and connections between apparently diverse causes and effects. Similar ideas are central to structuralist, deconstructionist and post-modernist ways of thinking, all of which I would like to learn more about during my studies as I am convinced that this is the way towards a better understanding of issues that have eluded scientists and philosophers for millennia. Coming back down to Earth, I would highly recommend this film to anyone who is interested in politics, modern life and/or the media (although you may want to look for the edited version as the original is a full 4.5 hours long with intermission!). Chomsky is well known for never managing to say anything in a single sentence, although this is more due to the inherent complexity of the subject matter, rather than any lack of concision on his part. If you enjoyed Fahrenheit 9/11 and were left thinking "Yes, but how did the world get to be like this?" then this is the film for you. Watching it was like somebody had just turned on the light, and I will certainly be seeking out more of his work in the next few weeks and months. I'll keep you posted... Rating: 4 out of 5 Monday - August 11, 2003Life of PiLife of Pi is
a book that works on many levels. On the surface, it is a highly implausible,
yet ultimately compelling story of a boy who survives the sinking of a large
cargo ship containing a zooful of animals by sharing a lifeboat with a 200 pound
Bengal tiger, aka Richard Parker. Along the way, Yann Martel deftly weaves in
entertaining diversions on subjects as diverse as the ethics of zookeeping, the
nature and hypocrisy of religion and the culinary possibilities of green sea
turtles. The interplay between the two main characters, animal and child, is
brilliantly developed, and the author plays on our very human ability and need
to believe in a way that is simultaneously lighthearted and
profound.
A ripping yarn by any standards, the book is
immensely readable and entertaining with a deeper subtext that only comes
together in the final section with a characteristic tongue-in-cheek twist.
Although whether reading it will make you believe in God (as is claimed in the
introduction) is debatable, Life of
Pi will certainly make you think twice about
the nature of his literary output (the Bible, Koran, etc). If you are interested
in the philosophical questions of life, death and human consciousness, or simply
enjoy a good story that stretches the imagination a little further than the
average work of fiction, buy this book. It's a modern fable for grown-ups that
does not fail to deliver, and might just lead you to question your own beliefs
and prejudices as to the nature of God and belief
itself.
Rating: 4 out of 5 Tuesday - July 01, 2003More mind foodIf you're looking for some thought provoking
reading over the summer months, check out the following. They are all
non-fiction books on a variety of topics, and each one has had a dramatic effect
on me in one way or another (for the better, I hasten to add!). Hope you enjoy
them as much as I did.
1. The
Power Of Now, Eckharte
Tolle
Writing in an accessible question and answer style, Eckharte Tolle reveals the insanity of time, the ego and resisting reality as it exists in the present moment. Inspiring, profound and relatively free of pseudo-scientific mumbo jumbo. Highly recommended! 2. Games People Play, Eric Berne A scary and fascinating insight into what makes us all tick. They really should teach this stuff to kids at school as it explains much of the odd behaviour that we all take for granted, and will undoubtedly contain some of your own favourite 'games' that you never realised you had. 3. The Elegant Universe, Brian Greene This book goes one step further than quantum theory and explains the cutting edge physics behind string theory and it successor, M-theory, which describes the fundamental nature of everything. A bit technical in parts, this book will convince you that the universe is stranger than you ever thought possible... 4. Small Is Beautiful, E F Shumacher Subtitled Economics as if people mattered, this book contains a collection of lectures and articles covering subjects from Buddhist economics to the structure of large scale organisations. As relevant today as when it was published in 1973 and much more interesting than it sounds! 5. How Brains Think, William H Calvin Read alongside Games People Play, this books explains why we think as we do and reveals the evolutionary processes at work inside the human brain using analogies as diverse as musical chords and democracy. 6. Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert M Pirsig A bizarre mixture of fiction, philosophy and travel writing, this book is a kind of Sophie's World on acid. Entertaining and profound, I especially liked the parts about Quality, an idea that is highly underrated in today's materialistic culture. 7. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey The classic book on time and life management. I have since gone off this kind of goal-directed approach, but it's well worth a read if you're interested organising your life to better reflect your own priorities. 8. The Happiness Purpose, Edward De Bono Written by the man who coined the phrase 'lateral thinking'. If you haven't read any of his books before, The Happiness Purpose is probably the best introduction to De Bono's unique view on life (and don't be put off by the references to religion - he doesn't mean it really). 9. The Selfish Gene, Richard Dawkins Think you understand evolution and survival of the fittest? Not until you've read this book you haven't! Explains how individual gene's compete for survival and introduces the idea of a meme, a gene of information that propogates through a population (e.g. wearing baseball caps backwards). 10. I Ching, Traditional Chinese And just to show that I'm not a complete sceptic, the I Ching (Book of Changes) is a highly unscientific method of telling the future that is over 4000 years old. I don't know why it works but it does, and I have used it many times to help in making difficult decisions. Quicker than tarot cards and more plausible than astrology. Give it a try! I leave you with the following words of Carl Jung: "You can take away a man's gods, but only to give him others in return." Choose your gods carefully! Sunday - June 01, 2003Food, music and books (in the style of The Fast Show)This month I will mostly be
eating:
1. Brazil nuts 2. Salads 3. Yoghurt ...as well as continuing my abstinence from caffeine and sweets (for reasons I will explain if provoked). I will mostly be
reading:
1. Practising The Power Of Now (Eckharte Tolle) Follow up to the brilliant Power Of Now, which I would recommend to anyone interested in different ways of living. 2. The World We're In (Will Hutton) Excellent if not terribly exciting analysis of American conservatism versus European social democracy, and where Britain's future lies. 3. Why Men Don't Listen and Women Can't Read Maps (Allan and Barbara Pease) A horribly accurate portrayal of the differences between the male and female brain that explains why I can never find the butter when the fridge is more than half full! 4. The Bhagavad-Gítá (commentary by Mahatma Gandhi) A classic Hindu text whose title means 'The Song of God'. Heavy. 5. Problems of Philosophy (Bertrand Russell) Haven't started this one yet, but it's supposed to be a good general intro to the subject. I will mostly be listening to: 1. Hail to The Thief (Radiohead) Oooo, I'm getting all tingly with anticipation... 2. O (Damien Rice) What a great album... Cheers Colm! 3. Semble (Semble) Semble albums are like buses, you wait ages for one to arrive and then two come along at the same time! 4. Melody A.M. (Röyksopp) I got into this one after everyone else, but it's a damn fine album. 5. Black Cherry (Goldfrapp) Not a patch on their first album, Felt Mountain, but still worth a listen. and I will mostly be watching... 1. Powaquaatsi Follow up to the equally strangely titled Koyanisquaatsi with music by Phillip Glass. The name means 'life in transformation' and is about the traditional ways of the Southern hemisphere being subsumed by the technologically obsessed North. 2. The Matrix Reloaded Extremely entertaining with a surprisingly profound (?) subtext about meaning and purpose.. (or have I been reading too much philosophy? ;-) 3. Six Feet Under Channel 4, 10pm on Sundays. Pure brilliance from the writer of American Beauty. 4. The Life Of Brian "He's not the messiah, he's a very naughty boy!!" 5. The West Wing OK, it's cheesy American crap, but somehow I like it. Maybe it's the idea that someone other than George W Bush is running the world... |
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Published On: Sep 07, 2007 08:01 AM 
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