THE MACHINE STOPS ... E.M. Forster
Imagine, if you can, a small room, hexagonal in shape, like the cell of a bee. It is lighted neither by window nor by lamp, yet it is filled with a soft radiance. There are no apertures for ventilation, yet the air is fresh. There are no musical instruments, and yet, at the moment that my meditation opens, this room is throbbing with melodious sounds. An armchair is in the centre, by its side a reading-desk-that is all the furniture. And in the armchair there sits a swaddled lump of flesh-a woman, about five feet high, with a face as white as a fungus.
Hedgehog's dilemma
Both Arthur Schopenhauer and Sigmund Freud have used this situation to describe what they feel is the state of individual in relation to others in society. The hedgehog's dilemma suggests that despite goodwill, human intimacy cannot occur without substantial mutual harm, and what results is cautious behavior and weak relationships. With the hedgehog's dilemma, one is recommended to use moderation in affairs with others both because of self-interest, as well as out of consideration for others. The hedgehog's dilemma is used to explain introversion and isolationism. Schopenhauer[edit] The concept originates in the following parable from the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer's Parerga und Paralipomena, Volume II, Chapter XXXI, Section 396:[1]
How to Read a Book
(With Apologies to Mortimer Adler) Susan Wise BauerDo not reproduce without permission. Please give appropriate credit for quotes and ideas. All civilization comes through literature now, especially in our country.
Postmodernism and Truth
Explanations > Critical Theory > Concepts > Postmodernism and Truth Pre-modernist truth | Modernist truth | Post-modernist truth | See also Postmodernism can be a confusing concept that gets dropped into intellectual conversation and presentations, typically to make a complexifying point that prevents easy conclusions being made. But what is postmodernism?
How To Treat Others: 5 Lessons From an Unknown Author
Five Lessons About How To Treat People -- Author Unknown 1. First Important Lesson - "Know The Cleaning Lady" During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz.
50 Tips for College Students
I did the "extended tour" of college. From about 1991-2002. I did get 4 degrees, so at least I have an excuse. :) I've also been an adjunct professor, so I've also been at the other side of the classroom. 1) The Freshman Fifteen does exist. So does the Freshman Twenty.
Values
Explanations > Values About values | Historical values | Research on values | So what? Values is a confusing word that often gets confused with 'value' as in the value you get from buying a cheap, but well-built house. Values are, in fact powerful drivers of how we think and behave. About values Value categories: different spheres into which we place values.
How the Brain Stops Time
One of the strangest side-effects of intense fear is time dilation, the apparent slowing-down of time. It's a common trope in movies and TV shows, like the memorable scene from The Matrix in which time slows down so dramatically that bullets fired at the hero seem to move at a walking pace. In real life, our perceptions aren't keyed up quite that dramatically, but survivors of life-and-death situations often report that things seem to take longer to happen, objects fall more slowly, and they're capable of complex thoughts in what would normally be the blink of an eye. Now a research team from Israel reports that not only does time slow down, but that it slows down more for some than for others.
100 Amazing How-To Sites to Teach Yourself Anything
Posted by Site Administrator in Online Learning May 7th, 2009 Learning new skills and expanding your knowledge doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg. There are loads of free resources on the Web that can help you find instructional videos, tutorials and classes to learn a wide variety of skills from fixing basic car problems to speaking another language. With 100 sites to choose from, you’re bound to find something here that will help you learn just about anything you could want.
