Since the late 1990’s, Alain de BotÂton has been breakÂing down difÂfiÂcult philoÂsophÂiÂcal and litÂerÂary ideas and seeÂing how they apply to peoÂple’s everyÂday lives. He did this with his 1997 bestÂseller, How Proust Can Change Your Life. And he took things a step furÂther with his teleÂviÂsion series called PhiÂlosÂoÂphy: A Guide to HapÂpiÂness. The episode above delves into NietÂzsche’s belief that hapÂpiÂness only comes about with great effort and hardÂship. In the remainÂing five episodes, de BotÂton gets into Socrates on self conÂfiÂdence, Seneca on anger, EpiÂcuÂrus on hapÂpiÂness, MonÂtaigne on self-esteem, and SchopenÂhauer on love. Each episode runs about 25 minÂutes. You can also find all six episodes neatÂly disÂplayed on one page here.
Google EarthÂ’s hisÂtorÂiÂcal imagery feaÂture now includes aerÂiÂal footage of the afterÂmath of World War II, allowÂing users to comÂpreÂhend the extent of post-war destrucÂtion by comÂparÂing phoÂtos of cities as they are today to those of bombed out cities immeÂdiÂateÂly after the war.
For more imagery, includÂing picÂtures of Stuttgart, Naples and Lyon, see the Google Earth blog.
Wes Alwan lives in Boston, MassÂaÂchuÂsetts, where he works as a writer and researcher and attends the InstiÂtute for the Study of PsyÂchoÂanalyÂsis and CulÂture. He also parÂticÂiÂpates in The ParÂtialÂly ExamÂined Life, a podÂcast conÂsistÂing of inforÂmal disÂcusÂsions about philoÂsophÂiÂcal texts by three phiÂlosÂoÂphy gradÂuÂate school dropouts.
You stare. You get stared at. It hapÂpens countÂless times every day. But have you ever ponÂdered what’s realÂly hapÂpenÂing here? RoseÂmarie GarÂland-ThomÂson, a proÂfesÂsor at Emory UniÂverÂsiÂty, has been givÂing it some thought. You can get a quick introÂducÂtion above, and more extenÂsive thinkÂing in her new book, StarÂing: How We Look. Thanks Nicole for sendÂing this along…
The UniÂverÂsiÂty of South CarÂoliÂna hosts a few gems, includÂing F. Scott FitzgerÂald (The Great GatsÂby) readÂing lines from ShakeÂspeare’s OthÂelÂlo. Or, more specifÂiÂcalÂly, OthÂelÂlo’s oraÂtion to VenetÂian senÂaÂtors.
This comes to us via Mike. Thanks to all who startÂed sendÂing good links our way. WhenÂevÂer you see someÂthing good, please fire us a quick email. It will take one minute out of your day and make the day for many othÂers.
More than 65,000 19th-cenÂtuÂry works of ficÂtion from the British Library’s colÂlecÂtion are to be made availÂable for free downÂloads by the pubÂlic from this spring.
OwnÂers of the AmaÂzon KinÂdle, an ebook readÂer device, will be able to view well known works by writÂers such as Charles DickÂens, Jane Austen and Thomas Hardy, as well as works by thouÂsands of less famous authors.
You can read the rest about this Microsoft fundÂed iniÂtiaÂtive here. In the meanÂtime, we’ve made it relÂaÂtiveÂly easy to downÂload major clasÂsics to your KinÂdle, iPhone, smartÂphone or comÂputÂer. See our colÂlecÂtion of Free eBooks (and Audio Books).
A lighter piece for Super Bowl SunÂday. Yes, this clip isn’t exactÂly heady. And, yes, it botchÂes some facts (archers apparÂentÂly shoot from 70 meters, not 20 yards). But, nonetheÂless, it gives you the basic physics of Drew Brees’ passÂing game. Brees will be playÂing QB for the New Orleans Saints tonight, and, as you’ll see, his accuÂraÂcy is remarkÂable. Hat tip to Mike.
Our readÂer GarÂnet sets the stage for this video: “MathÂeÂmatiÂcians have long declared that geoÂmetÂriÂcal hyperÂbolÂic space could not be modÂeled in the real world. Now it’s been done, through croÂchet! Watch TED video sciÂence writer MarÂgaret Wertheim explain how the art of croÂchet emuÂlates sea slugs creÂatÂing coral strucÂtures in hyperÂbolÂic space, using art to bring attenÂtion to the disÂapÂpearÂance of coral through globÂal warmÂing.” You can get more inforÂmaÂtion about this preÂsenÂtaÂtion here. And, for more TED Talks, don’t forÂget to check out this handy online spreadÂsheet.
Great mesÂsage. Give it a minute to get going. PerÂformed by TayÂlor Mali at the BowÂery PoetÂry Club on NovemÂber 12, 2005. Thanks Thomas for sharÂing.
SomeÂwhere durÂing your day, you spot a great video, an enrichÂing audio lecÂture, or an excelÂlent free ebook. And you think, that’s perÂfect for Open CulÂture. So you shoot us a quick note, and the next thing you know, your perÂsonÂal disÂcovÂery is live on the site, being shared with thouÂsands of like-mindÂed readÂers from across the globe — readÂers from LonÂdon to New York, from Tehran to BanÂgaÂlore, from SydÂney to Sao Paulo and beyond. And our globÂal vilÂlage is hapÂpy … and betÂter off for it. Sounds good, right? We think so.
So here’s what we ask: WhenÂevÂer you see a great piece of intelÂliÂgent media, please quickÂly send it our way. (We have a nice “SugÂgest a Link” butÂton on the upper right side of the site.) And, assumÂing it fits with Open CulÂture’s genÂerÂal misÂsion, we’ll share it with your felÂlow readÂers, give you full credÂit, and thank you warmÂly. Look forÂward to your sugÂgesÂtions, and, if you haven’t already, please join us on FaceÂbook and TwitÂter.
10.) Books with graphÂics. Many books conÂtain phoÂtos, graphÂics and diaÂgrams that the KinÂdle does not hanÂdle well, if at all. When peoÂple realÂize that the iPad will do this flawÂlessÂly, they’ll head in that direcÂtion. ExamÂple: while readÂing the new CarvÂer biogÂraÂphy on my KinÂdle, an expeÂriÂence that I loved, I had to miss out on all of the picÂtures colÂlectÂed from Carver’s life. Once you take into account newsÂpaÂpers and magÂaÂzines, there’s even more weight on iPad’s side.
9.) Cost: SeriÂousÂly, AmaÂzon realÂly overÂstepped their boundÂaries when they set Kindle’s price at around $300, as they did. If they had made it $100 or less, they would have probÂaÂbly have sold 4 or 5 times the numÂber of devices, hookÂing more readÂers to their bookÂstore and their device. Look at Gillette as an examÂple: which costs more—the razor or the razor blades?
8.) “I love my KinÂdle!” – less than two milÂlion peoÂple have bought the AmaÂzon prodÂuct. By comÂparÂiÂson, over forty milÂlion iPhones and iPod TouchÂes have been sold. No one knows how many folks will rush out to buy an iPad, but if preÂviÂous iPhone sales and the buzz around the iPad are any indiÂcaÂtion, this is going to be anothÂer big win for Apple.
7.) iPad is a KinÂdle: just use that free KinÂdle app on your iPad and you’ve got the whole KinÂdle store wide open to you. You can even take your whole KinÂdle library right over to Apple’s iPad with the KinÂdle App.
6.) Cost, again: with iPad comÂing in at a low $499 for a device that’s much betÂter made and feaÂtures much more capaÂbilÂiÂty than the KinÂdle, with at least four times the memÂoÂry… well, you get the picÂture. Oh jeez… I just found out the KinÂdle DX goes for $489. Oh, Mr. Bezos… what are you thinkÂing?
5.) CapaÂbilÂiÂty. PeoÂple don’t want a dedÂiÂcatÂed readÂing device: if you can carÂry around a device the size of your e‑reader, but also use it to check email, surf the web, watch TV and movies, lisÂten to music, use office-type apps, etc. then that’s going to win in today’s econÂoÂmy.
4.) Book pricÂing. It looks like Apple, the diaÂbolÂiÂcal pricers of all songs at $.99, might wind up being the pubÂlishÂers’ darÂling in the e‑book marÂket by pricÂing their titles highÂer than AmaÂzon has been. So far it looks like ibooks will be closÂer to the $14.99 price point that pubÂlishÂers like. Right now, as evinced by this past weekend’s squabÂble between AmaÂzon and MacmilÂlan, pubÂlishÂers appear to be fed up with Amazon’s pricÂing stratÂeÂgy. Apple may just become pubÂlishÂers’ white knight. (more…)
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