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Bertrand Russell, the great British philosopher and social critic, appeared on the BBC program Face-to-Face in 1959 and was asked a closing question: What would you tell a generation living 1,000 years from now about the life you’ve lived and the lessons you’ve learned? His answer is short, but pithy. You can read a transcript […]
6 months ago

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More from Open Culture

Igor Stravinsky’s “Illegal” Arrangement of “The Star Spangled Banner” (1944)

In 1939, Igor Stravinsky emigrated to the United States, first arriving in New York City, before settling in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he delivered the Charles Eliot Norton lectures at Harvard during the 1939–40 academic year. While living in Boston, the composer conducted the Boston Symphony and, on one famous occasion, he decided to conduct his […]

3 days ago 5 votes
How Four Masters—Michelangelo, Donatello, Verrocchio & Bernini—Sculpted David

More than a few visitors to Florence make a beeline to the Galleria dell’Accademia, and once inside, to Michelangelo’s David, the most famous sculpture in the world. But how many of them, one wonders, then take the time to view the three other Davids in that city alone? At the Bargello, just ten minutes’ walk […]

3 days ago 4 votes
Neil deGrasse Tyson Lists 8 (Free) Books Every Intelligent Person Should Read

Image via Wikimedia Commons A number of years ago, a Reddit user posed the question to Neil deGrasse Tyson: “Which books should be read by every single intelligent person on the planet?” Below, you will find the book list offered up by the astrophysicist, director of the Hayden Planetarium, and popularizer of science. Where possible, we […]

4 days ago 5 votes
The Only Painting van Gogh Ever Sold: Discover The Red Vineyard (1888)

It may have crossed your mind, while beholding paintings of Vincent van Gogh, that you’d like to own one yourself someday. If so, you’ll have to get in line with more than a few billionaires, and even they may never see one go up on the auction block. This would probably come as a surprise […]

5 days ago 6 votes
How 16th-Century Artist Joris Hoefnagel Made Insects Beautiful—and Changed Science Forever

In English, most of the words we’d use to refer to insects sound off-putting at best and fearsome at worst, at least to those without an entomological bent. Dutch, close a linguistic relation though it may be, offers a more endearing alternative in beestjes, which refers to all these “little beasts” in which the artists […]

5 days ago 6 votes

More in history

Joseph Rous Paget-Fredericks’ Fabulous Dance Sketches

Joseph Rous Paget-Fredericks (1905-1963) inherited his parents love for collecting theatre memorabilia. His family had close ties to the leading ballet companies and he was appointed Artistic Director for Anna Pavlova’s world tours in the early 1930s. Paget-Fredericks went on to become the first lecturer in dance in the United States, at the University … Continue reading "Joseph Rous Paget-Fredericks’ Fabulous Dance Sketches" The post Joseph Rous Paget-Fredericks’ Fabulous Dance Sketches appeared first on Flashbak.

14 hours ago 2 votes
Ibn Battuta’s Epic 30-Year Journey Across the Medieval World

In the mid-14th century, Moroccan judge and scholar Ibn Battuta embarked on an epic 24-year-long journey worldwide. He was received by kings and queens, robbed and kidnapped by rebels, and even ended up marrying into the royal family of Omar I, Sultan of the Maldives.   Battuta’s Context: The Islamic World in the 14th […]

2 days ago 2 votes
Weekly Wisdom Quiz

Ancient Volcanoes, the Founding Fathers and more...

2 days ago 3 votes
Medieval Japan vs Medieval Europe: How Different Were They?

In modern-day society, it is easy to see how Japan differs from Europe. Cultural ideals in Japan are just about as far away from European (or “Western”) culture as you can get—but how far back do these differences go? In this article, we will explore just how different these two cultures were, or whether […]

2 days ago 2 votes
Pensioners for war

Many years ago when I lived in Belgrade, just before the beginning of the “Yugoslav Wars of Succession”, I noticed an interesting phenomenon.

2 days ago 5 votes