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Where the Heart Beats: John Cage, Zen Buddhism, and the Inner Life of Artists

On love, liberty, and the pursuit of silence. “Good music can act as a guide to good living,” John Cage (1912-1992) once said. But what, exactly, is good music, or good living, or, for that matter,…
PUBLISHED: July 5, 2012
LENGTH: 16 minutes (4235 words)

The Role of Intuition and Imagination in Scientific Discovery and Creativity: A 1957 Guide

“Those who do not know the torment of the unknown cannot have the joy of discovery.” Last week, we took in some timeless vintage wisdom on the role of serendipity and chance-opportunism in creativity…
PUBLISHED: June 1, 2012
LENGTH: 8 minutes (2129 words)

The Art of Scientific Investigation (1957), Part I: The Role of Chance-Opportunism and Openness in Creativity and Discovery

“To be perfectly original one should think much and read little, and this is impossible, for one must have read before one has learnt to think.” What a magical Rube Goldberg machine of discovery…
PUBLISHED: May 25, 2012
LENGTH: 6 minutes (1742 words)

What Science and Philosophy Can Teach Us About the Holy Grail of Existence

“When fishing for happiness, catch and release.” The secret of happiness is arguably humanity’s longest-standing fixation, and its mechanisms are among the most consuming…
PUBLISHED: March 26, 2012
LENGTH: 6 minutes (1619 words)
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What Does It Mean To Be Human? A Historical Perspective 1800-2011

09 DECEMBER, 2011 by Maria Popova What Aristotle has to do with the women’s suffrage movement, Darwin, and M. C. Escher. Last year, we explored what it means to be human from the perspectives…
PUBLISHED: Dec. 9, 2011
LENGTH: 5 minutes (1485 words)
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