Ci vuole tutta la vita per imparare a vivere.
07 December 2020
Imparare a vivere
Ci vuole tutta la vita per imparare a vivere.
10 November 2013
Film review: Sliding Doors (1998), by Peter Howitt, *****
Having been fired from her job at a PR company, Helen (Gwyneth Paltrow) runs to catch an underground train. Two storylines then unfold: in the first, Helen catches her train, meeting the charming James (John Hannah). Upon arriving home, Helen discovers her boyfriend Gerry (John Lynch) having an affair. She leaves Gerry and begins seeing James. Their relationship is placed in jeopardy, however, when Helen realizes that she is pregnant. In the second storyline, having missed her train Helen does not meet James and arrives home too late to catch Gerry. Gerry continues his affair with former girlfriend Lydia (Jeanne Tripplehorn), even when Helen becomes pregnant with his child.
Review
Historians, economists and many others keep asking this question. Most of the time no one really has an answer. A good degree of serendipity in life is unavoidable. And yet in this film, in the end, man reaps what man saws. This seems to be the moral of the story here. So when something goes wrong don't whine about "what if" and try and build a future instead! It is a fun story, unpredictable and a very original debut behind the camera for the director. Acting is great. This is as good as a rom-com can get.
10 July 2013
Viaggio o vacanza?
Un viaggio invece è una trasformazione, un impegno. Tornando da un viaggio si è diversi da come si era alla partenza. Viaggio (dal latino viaticum, provvista per un lungo tragitto) indica un percorso, una trasformazione. In inglese, travel ha la stessa origine etimologica di travaglio, lavoro appunto. Io viaggio per compiere percorsi, per cambiare me stesso.
15 February 2013
Film Review: Confucius (2010) by Hu Mei, ****
From the acclaimed producer of John Woos Red Cliff and Jet Lis Warlords, comes this powerhouse biopic of the legendary Chinese philosopher, Confucius.
In 500 B.C., during China's Spring and Autumn Period, Kong Ze (Confucius), a commoner reverred for his outstanding wisdom, is made Minister of Law in the ancient Kingdom of Lu. Under his inspired leadership, Lu ascends to new heights but becomes a target of conquest for the warlike nation of Qi. Threatened with annihilation by their powerful neighbour, a desperate people turn to their greatest teacher to lead their most powerful army. When Confucius delivers a stunning victory against all odds, a jealous aristocracy sets out to destroy him, but they under-estimated a remarkable man whose wisdom is more powerful than the sword.
With breathtaking cinematography from Oscar-winning director of photography, Peter Pau (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), Confucius is a compelling invitation to discover the remarkable story of one of history's greatest heroes.
Review
An impressive big budget movie that will teach you a lot about Confucius and China in the VI-V centuries B.C. Huge sets have been build to replicate imperial palaces and other scenery. Acting is excellent, with Chow Yun-fat at his best.
The script is a bit confusing however, maybe it needs to be watched a few times. Too many intrigues and intertwined stories make it hard to follow.
For travelers, the most famous of innumerable quotes by Confucius is «A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.»
You can watch the theatrical trailer here.
You can see a selection of movies on China I have reviewed on this blog here.
06 February 2013
Film Review: September (1987), by Woody Allen, ***
It is late summer, and Lane (Mia Farrow), still fragile after a nervous breakdown, is staying at her childhood home in Vermont. She has been having an affair with Peter (Sam Waterston), a writer who lives nearby, but now relations between them seem to have inexplicably cooled. When Lane's mother (Elaine Stritch) arrives with unexpected news, and the fate of her relationship with Peter becomes clear, Lane's emotional world is thrown into turmoil once again. Written and directed by Woody Allen.
Review
Another Allen movie about the volatility and relative meaninglessness of it all, September is not as rich of dry humor and effective punch lines as some of his other films. He investigates jealousy, bitterness, betrayal, love, but it is all not as deep as seen elsewhere in Allen's prolific filmography.
My favorite quote: "Universe is haphazard, morally neutral and unimaginably violent." I tend to agree. Watch the clip below.
I got this movie in this box set
08 September 2012
Book review: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle maintenance (1974), by Robert Pirsig *****
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She does not look zen (Sorong, Indonesia) |
A narration of a summer motorcycle trip undertaken by a father and his son, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance becomes a personal and philosophical odyssey into fundamental questions on how to live. The narrator's relationship with his son leads to a powerful self-reckoning; the craft of motorcycle maintenance leads to an austerely beautiful process for reconciling science, religion, and humanism. Resonant with the confusions of existence, this classic is a touching and transcendent book of life.
You can find a lot about the author here.
Review
This book tells the story of a few people riding their bikes across the West of the United States, but it is not really a book about travel. But then again it is. Travel toward the center of our own self. It is a complex book. To be read in sequence with Zen and the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel.The main point of the book is that happiness (or "quality") can be achieved by focussing on and finding beauty in whatever one is doing at any one moment while keeping a cool head on the way forward. Even listening to the unusual noise of a defective motorbike and looking for a fix can yield unexpected satisfaction. At the same time, fixing the broken bike requires scientific, rational knowledge, thinking.
The challenge is to focus on the moment (zen) through a sort of meditative practice of detachment and at the same time never lose sight of where one is going, with (rational) planning for the future.
"Quality" and "truth" were the same thing for the ancient Greeks, and perhaps they should be for us too. Here East Zen meets Western rationalism, the two are complementary. A great read, but a difficult one and I admit I was only able to understand more of it by reading secondary literature about this book.
22 July 2012
Film review: Chaplin blu-ray box set, *****
The Kid (1921) silent
A moving story of poverty and generosity.
The Gold Rush (1925) silent
Irony about greed. Poor man against poor man, in the hope of striking gold and turning the page.
The Circus (1928) silent
Love and desperation intertwined in a moving story.
Modern Times (1936) last silent film by Chaplin
A timeless classic about the dehumanization of man by machines.
The Great Dictator (1940)
Filmed as WW II was getting underway, it is a totally unveiled veiled satirical attack on Hitler and Mussolini. A movie about the need to speak up for freedom, then as now.
These are among the best masterpiecess made by Charlie Chaplin. They are timeless works, and each evokes as much emotion and humor today as it did almost a century ago.
The BD rendering is very good, even though I am not sure it justifies the expensive price tag. Perhaps a DVD set would be enough. Yet, I would still recommend this set, considering one is likely to view them again and again with undiminished pleasure.
14 February 2012
Book Review: Buddhism Without Beliefs, by Stephen Batchelor, ****
The author points out that Buddha was not a mystic and his awakening was not a shattering revelation that revealed the mysteries of God or the universe. What the Buddha taught was not something to believe in, but something to do. Buddha challenged people to understand the nature of anguish, let go of its origins, realize its cessation and create a certain way of life and awakening. This awakening is available to all of us, and Batchelor examines how to work realistically towards it, and how to practise and live it every day.
Review
This book immediately rang a bell with me. I have long felt close to Buddhism, among other reasons, because it does not require believing in any dogma. As someone who has been educated in science, I always felt uneasy with beliefs. I prefer to know, or to accept I don't know. I am an agnostic. This book spells out very clearly how Buddhism traces the path to inner peace without requiring anyone to "believe" in anything.
For example, we have no real answers to metaphysical questions (the origins of the universe and such unanswerable eternal open issues) so Buddha stopped asking them. On the ethical plane, the dharma is the logical conclusions one reaches by reasoning on what is good, not some kind of given commandment. The closest thing I can find in Western philosophy is the categorical imperative of Immanuel Kant, whom I regard as the greatest thinker of Western civilization.
You can find more books by the same author by clicking on this link.
14 October 2011
Book Review: A Little Book of Zen, *****
30 June 2010
File review: Whatever works (2009), by Woody Allen, *****
Boris Yellnikoff (Larry David, Curb Your Enthusiasm) is angry, opinionated and happy to live a reclusive life. All that changes when he begrudgingly allows naive Mississippi runaway Melodie (Evan Rachel Wood) to live in his apartment. When her simple optimism proves resistant to his bitter sarcasm, an unlikely friendship begins. A comedy from the inspired partnership of Larry David and writer/director Woody Allen.
01 December 2006
Book Review: Identity and Violence, by Amartya Sen, *****
In this penetrating book, Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen argues that we are becoming increasingly divided along lines of religion and culture, ignoring the many other ways in which people see themselves, from class and profession to morals and politics. When we are put into narrow categories the importance of human life becomes lost.
Through his lucid exploration of such subjects as multiculturalism, fundamentalism, terrorism and globalization, he brings out the need for a clear-headed understanding of human freedom and a constructive public voice in Global civil society. The hope of harmony in today's world lies in a clearer understanding of our sheer diversity.
Review
This book makes one supremely important argument very well: to identify ourselves with an identity, no matter which, is both incorrect and dangerous. Most of us don't have ONE identity, but many. If one of them takes excessive precedence over the others, and we therefore identify ourselves mainly with it, we start down a slippery slope of exclusion of those who do not belong to it, even though we may share several of our other identities with them. The step from this process of exclusion to conflict and war is a short one to take.
Recensione: Identità e Violenza, di Amartya Sen, *****
Io sono un uomo, che durante la sua vita è stato o è ancora cittadino italiano, agnostico secolare, studente per molti anni negli USA, filosoficamente scettico, politicamente cinico, economista dilettante, burocrate internazionale, analista di questioni strategiche e militari, subacqueo, fotografo, consulente, eterossessuale, difensore delle libertà civili individuali, oppositore della pena di morte, credente in valori universali, esistenzialista, attratto fortemente dal buddismo, amante della musica classica e del jazz freddo, detestatore della musica heavy metal e che guarda la TV (tranne la coppa del mondo di calcio!), a favore della scelta della donna in materia di aborto, a favore del controllo delle nascite libero ma non imposto come in Cina, che odia le sigarette ma ama le sue pipe, e ho ancora tanti altri aspetti della mia identità che sarebbe troppo lungo citare qui.
Quindi posso identificarmi con tante categorie di essere umani, sono tutti come cerchi parzialmente sovrapposti. Nel loro insieme, essi creano la mia personale identità, per cui mi viene facile essere tollerante, perché posso condividere una o più di queste categorie con la maggior parte della gente a questo mondo!
Se, tuttavia, uno dovesse scegliere, o essere manipolato a scegliere, una singola identità come l'unica, o la principale, per definire se stesso, diventerebbe difficile capire quelli che non condividono quella scelta, che sono fuori da quel cerchio, che non sono "identici" a noi, e questo porterebbe inevitabilmente al conflitto.
Gli uomini si ammazzano per la religione, per il calcio, per la legislazione sull'aborto, per la lingua, l'origine etnica e altre ragioni meno importanti quando una di queste ragioni diventa l'unica o la principale definizione della propria identità.
Quando ho finito di leggere questo libro sono arrivato alla conclusione che non ho proprio una mia identità precisa, o forse ho una sorta di "metaidentità", il risultato del mio specifico cocktail di identità parziali. Questo mi rende unico ed allo stesso tempo compatibile con altre metadentità del mondo. Posso essere a casa mia in qualunqu luogo perche il mio "io" è costituito di idee, abitudini e retaggi culturali che vengono da tante parti del mondo. Forse ho perso le mie radici, ma non me ne duole perché ho acquisito forti ali!
L'edizione italiana si può comprare qui
01 December 2005
Una corrispondenza formativa
1 dicembre 2005
Dopo il nostro viaggio sono andata in Etiopia fatta in settembre-ottobre alla faccia della fama delle carestie che la piegano, è inaspettatamente veeerdeee, praterie immense piene di bestiame montagne panorami..e una marea di gente per strada che cammina, molto povera. Di contro Addis Abeba è abbastanza moderna più di altre capitali africane che ho visto. A Settembre-ottobre lì è inverno si è sempre in altitudine e fa freddino, lo dico perchè uno, parte per l'Africa in braghini e canottiera figurati che caldo fa poi si ritrova a gelare, questo nel nord, a sud fa caldo. Non è una novità che l'Etiopia è uno dei paesi africani più interessanti da vedere.
Io di te, ho detto, e non l'avrei detto (mi sarei fatta i cxxxx miei) se non perché spero che ciò che ho detto a xxxx sia andato a raddrizzare l'impressione (che è solo un'impressione riconoscono essere quindi cangiante), da sapientino di destra che hai lasciato. Io ho detto che puoi averla lasciata quell'impressione, a volte fighetto appari, ma c'è magari dietro lo studio o un'opinione non fanatica come urlano in tanti e per quanto, com'è lecito, ognuno la pensi come diavolo vuole non sei così fighetto da non avere cura, disponibilità, tolleranza e modestia di confrontare le tue opinioni con chiunque, anche con chi non sembrerebbe capace di dire nulla. Tutti hanno qualcosa da dire e che è interessante da ascoltare, ed ascoltare è conoscenza e intelligenza. Tu questo lo sai e lo sei.
Non l'ho introdotto io il discorso con XXXXXX ma ho detto la mia da semplice e schietta quale sono. Nemmeno XXXXX è un'impicciona caciarona anzi è un ottima persona e capogruppo ed è un'amica con la quale posso parlare anche magari non facendomi i cXXX miei perché ho piena fiducia nella sua intelligenza, di come prende/capisce le cose che le ho detto. E la cosa è vicendevole se no non mi avrebbe parlato di te. E sai giù ad avventure ne sentono di tutti i colori; c'è gente che fa il capogruppo ma è incapace o stronzo e quello per loro è lavoro alla fine, per non perdere gente che non viaggia più con avventure solo perché ha avuto delle beghe. Soldi. Per lavoro non per altro, non certo per simpatie politiche, cercano di riuscire a valutare se chi si lamenta è un rompicxxxx che è indifferente perdere ...o se è il capogruppo che è meglio perdere. E sai, con tutta la tolleranza di cui sono capace, ce ne sono!
Magari proprio per qualcuno è ora di andare in pensione anche come capogruppo e nemmeno il premio del viaggio gratis riesce a fare di alcuni dei buoni viaggiatori. Non parliamo degli stronzi E io in genere in ferie cerco per principio di pace, nonché per salute, d'andare d'accordo con tutti e almeno in ferie di essere 'in pausa', di non giudicare nessuno. Chi se ne frega, basta vedere il mondo, mi basta quello. Se poi trovo amici, meglio così. Ma se uno è stronzo e non sveglio a un certo punto viaggi per conto suo. Non volevo che qualcuno potesse anche solo lontanamente mischiarti con questi e quando ci si conosce poco può capitare sulla base di impressioni. Il detto la prima impressione è quella giusta è una benemerita cazzata. Basta ho finito. Hai qualcosa da rimproverarmi? Se è così dimmelo ti prego e questa è l'ultima volta che presuntuosamente mi metto a psicoanalizzare o filosofeggiare su come sei o non sei come chi crede di capire tutto di tutti..lo spirito non è quello; io mi farei promotrice attiva di un solo partito: il partito di chi si sa fare i cavoli suoi.
4 dicembre 2005
La seconda è che oggi la destra, intesa come la conservazione, è rappresentata, in Europa continentale (a Londra è diverso) da quelli che si autodefiniscono di sinistra; nel senso che, non potendo più sognare ad occhi aperti aspettando il sol dell'avvenire, le sinistre cercano di conservare con le unghie e con i denti un sistema sociale ormai consunto, decrepito e screditato, oltre che insostenibile finanziariamente, quello dello statalismo assistenziale creato negli anni sessanta e settanta.
Per far questo si attaccano a tutto, alle cause più disparate, persino alla Chiesa, una volta nemica, con Rutelli radicale abortista che si converte al cattolicesimo, Veltroni che scopre di essere sempre stato religioso e persino Bertinotti che appena può invoca il Papa. Gli altri non son da meno, basta vedere il Presidente del Senato Pera, che era pure liberale ed ora si preoccupa solo di adulare i vescovi, Berlusconi divorziato che va a messa, ecc ecc... tutti in cerca dei voti dei cattolici!
Devo dire mi fanno un po' pena. Molti di loro pensano che il socialismo sia una bella cosa, solo è stata realizzata male dai regimi del socialismo reale finora, nei quali paesi infatti di comunisti se ne vedono pochi (gli unici comunisti che ho incontrato a Cuba erano un paio del mio gruppo, nessun cubano!); mah, sarà pure, ma cosa caspita può far pensare che Bertinotti sarebbe più bravo di Gorbachev, Mao, Kim il Sung, Ho Chi Minh, Castro, ecc ecc ecc ecc? Io ne dubito! Ma rispetto comunque chi vuol ancora sognare; mi fa incazzare invece chi manipola questi sognatori. Questi si rendono conto che la loro strada, quella per seguir la quale hanno speso la loro gioventù, si sia rivelata un vicolo cieco, ma non hanno le palle per riconoscerlo e cambiarla. Ma neanche possono tanto insistere perché ormai, soprattutto tra i giovani, non li segue quasi più nessuno -- e meno male. Ed allora sono generalmente incazzati con il mondo che li circonda, ma non ne riescono ad immaginare, e tanto meno ne possono proporre, uno che sia migliore ed allo stesso tempo realizzabile.
Infatti il resto del mondo vuole imitarci, e lo fa dappertutto, senza distinzione di razza, religione, cultura, se non glielo impediscono dittatori e tirannelli vari; e quelli che scrivono dei mali dello sviluppo (disuguaglianza, inquinamento, snaturamento delle culture) cosa propongono? Nulla... solo cazzate di come sono carini i villaggi di fango con i bambini in Africa, tanto belli belli belli... di come una volta si stava bene, "ai miei tempi"... Di questi i gruppi di AM sono pieni. Poi mi fanno ridere quelli che quando gli racconti di un viaggio ti dicono di come il posto tale o talaltro era tanto meglio prima quando ci sono stati loro e non c'era la corrente elettrica, le strade, l'acqua potabile... però mica ci vanno a vivere loro senza acqua corrente, luce, auto, ospedali ecc ecc.
Pure il 68 degli ex sessantottini non è mica nato dal socialismo, ma in California. Hanno le migliori università infatti in USA, e non solo perché hanno i soldi, ma perché sono meritocratiche e libere dai baroni politicizzati che soffocano quelle europee. Infatti spesso nelle università americane sono gli scienziati stranieri, europei e asiatici, che brillano, ma è in America che trovano un sistema paese che funziona ed in cui si possono esprimere. Un sistema che sbaglia ma ha la capacità di auto-correggersi.
In parte anche in estremo oriente hanno imparato a farlo, mentre in Europa siamo fermi, stagnanti, abbarbicati su posizioni nostalgiche quanto sterili, con lo stato che entra dappertutto come una piovra e quasi sempre fa guai, e perdiamo tempo a bearci del nostro glorioso passato invece di pensare a costruire il futuro. Che cosa ha partorito l'Europa di buono per il mondo negli ultimi 50 anni? Non molto, mi pare, e me ne dispiace. E poi degli Americani ammiro lo spirito di identità, il grande rispetto reciproco, la disponibilità, anche l'ingenuità se vuoi. Io per questo sono molto pro-americano, il che non vuol dire essere pro-Bush (personaggio che detesto) ma uno può ben essere pro-italiano senza amare Berlusconi o Prodi, o pro-europeo senza amare Solana e Barroso, o no?
Invece certuni sono comunque, ideologicamente, aprioristicamente anti-americani, magari senza esserci mai neanche stati -- poi magari bevono Coca Cola e ascoltano jazz, vestono jeans, mangiano hamburger, fumano Marlboro, usano Windows, masticano la gomma "americana", ecc ecc ma per carità, gridano morte all'America ad ogni occasione! Ti parla uno che comunque l'America dopo 10 anni l'ha lasciata per certa incompatibilità, ma la conosce bene.
Comunque è vero dentro AM si respira un'aria rossa, una mia partecipante un po' meno sofisticata di pensiero di te mi ha persino chiesto una volta come potevo viaggiare con AM dato che non votavo per la sinistra (le ho detto che da oltre 10 anni non voto proprio per nessuno)... vedi un po' che ti capita a fare il coordinatore... In effetti la maggioranza dei miei partecipanti di solito è di sinistra (cioè di destra, conservatori) mentre molti coordinatori che ho conosciuto sono più liberali, ...mah! non è certo un sondaggio statisticamente significativo...
5 dicembre 2005
Sai all'ultimo non te la volevo mandare quella mail, avresti potuto leggerla in negativo e trarne insofferenza per una che alla fine se le tenga le sue considerazioni..ma di nuovo mi hai dato prova del tuo saper 'ascoltare' malgrado il mio pessimo modo di scrivere. Dev'essere il tuo metodo del sottolineare ciò che leggi. E ti chiedo scusa per l'esitazione che ho avuto. Non amo scrivere, non ne sono capace e nemmeno me ne frega più di tanto..lo lascio fare a chi lo sa fare. Quanto alla tua mail per niente noiosa per ora ti rispondo senza averla riletta con attenzione, e te la scrivo tra un utente e l'altro per cui sarà come sarà.
Non sopporto una caterva di idioti bastardi. Arrivo a considerarli tali dopo averli osservati e cercato di capirli, non per vocazione a comprendere anche loro quanto piuttosto al fine di capire se sono bastardi dentro così come mi sono sembrati, se poi mi stupiscono e mi sono sbagliata..è un sollievo. Per quanto riguarda la politica ci lavoro in mezzo agli affarucci beceri di piccoli politicanti di poca qualità e molta 'gonfiezza', c'è poca differenza a livello locale o nazionale. Però so senza incertezze che le cose da fare sono lapalissiane.
Se qualcuno cominciasse con onestà a risolverle ed a fare qualcosa per il bene di tutti verdi, bianchi, rossi e azzurri che siano e chi sta all'opposizione una volta eletto non si limitasse a disprezzare ma raddrizzasse il tiro..eccetera eccetera a seguire con il discorso utopico che conoscono tutti, non scopro neanch'io l'acqua calda. Ora non ho voglia di seriosità già è Lunedì e sono d'umore storto, consumo giornate e occhi ad occuparmi di cavolate sul metano che più noiose e più lontane dal mondo vero non si può, questo perchè due bastardi m'hanno mobbizzato perchè ho detto loro cosa pensavo.
31 January 2005
01 October 2002
Why travel: country collectors, eternal romantics and modernizers
I believe that a journey, like a work of art, should ideally be either enjoyable or interesting – and preferably both. But if traveling is neither enjoyable nor interesting, why bother? Better stay home, unless one is forced to travel unwillingly by some sort of force majeure, like business, natural calamities or war.
If a work of art neither appeals to aesthetic taste, nor conveys any message, the viewer probably will not remember it for long, and will not make an effort to go see it again. On the other hand, if a work of art is considered by a viewer to be beautiful, he or she might wish to buy it if that is an option, or to see it again in a museum, even if it does not carry any particular message with it. Likewise, if a work of art is not really beautiful, but does convey a philosophical, religious, political or any other type of message, it will be worthwhile to study it, maybe buy it, and anyway retain it in our memory and go back to it for future reference.
Much in the same way, travel makes sense if it gives pleasure to the traveler (or explorer, or tourist, I will not get into what is the difference between them here) even if one does not learn much – say a trip to Disneyland. However, travel might be just as worthwhile, and arguably more so, if one learns from it, even if it means going to places which are not especially beautiful or enjoyable to visit – say a tour of a war zone.
In an ideal journey, in my view, one would both enjoy beauty and find interest. My journey to Cambodia and Laos, which constitutes the object of this book, definitely falls into this third category of travel. These countries host absolute natural splendors and sophisticated cultural and artistic traditions. But they also reveal many patterns and problems of modern development, some of which are unique, while others might be applicable to other developing countries around the world.
There are three categories of people who choose to travel to distant, exotic, and often poor places like Cambodia and Laos. Each has perfectly legitimate reasons to travel and it is not my intention to criticize any of them. It might be useful, however, to describe these different approaches.
The first group I would call the country collectors. Though they may not admit it, they go to these countries with the same mental attitude they have when visiting an exhibit, a zoo, or Disneyland. The are curious, but not really interested. They hear the sounds of a country, but do not listen; the see the sights, but do not really look carefully at much.They like ticking countries off their checklist, one year in Laos, the next in Guatemala, then on to in Central Africa. They enjoy travelling but have no real drive to even begin to understand. At most, they will go on some shopping spree, to bring home the modern equivalent of the trophies of old, such as some fine cloth or funny clothes, a cute artifact or possibly some piece of antiquity which is often all the more exciting as it is usually forbidden to take it out of the country.
There is nothing wrong per se with this group. However, people belonging to it are unlikely to be interested in this book, and while as the author I hope some will buy it anyway I think there is little hope they would get much out of it. I would love nothing more, of course, than to be proven wrong here! Well, perhaps they can pass it on to some of their friends who belong to one of the two other groups!
The second group is made up of what I would call the eternal romantics. They like distant, mysterious places almost by definition, before even setting foot on their soil. This is especially true of poor countries where subsistence agriculture is a major component of the economy. When they get there, they fall in love with almost everything they see, and tend to blame any obvious problem they witness (poverty, illiteracy, disease, etc.) either on past colonial rule or on current World Bank driven and inevitably ill-conceived development projects, ruthless Western big-business greed, male-dominated globalizing influences – or on all of the above.
Ah! if only these people had been left alone to mind their own business and live life at their own pace, they way they had always done it, how much better off they would be, the romantics think. When they see an illiterate child playing in the mud, or an open sewer in a malaria infested jungle village, they think it is sooooo beautiful, take a picture, perhaps dispense a pen or a candy here and there, try to establish some sort of communication to prove the happiness of their interlocutors and move on. When they see an ox-driven plow their eyes brighten, it is something they instinctively think is good, genuine, authentic, traditional and that should be preserved. By contrast, when they see a tractor, their shoulders drop in resignation, this is the local culture and civilization being spoilt by careless Western interference, and being lost forever.
The eternal romantics tend to see the glass always half empty, and fear that, as history keeps drinking at it, it will soon be completely empty. They are at heart conservatives (though few would accept to characterize themselves as such, except perhaps in the strictly environmental sense of conserving nature), their main desire being to slow down the pace of change, to preserve tous cours what is old and traditional. They would rather see a developing country sealed off to foreign trade, investment, advise and tourism than being influenced – they would say "spoiled" – by any of them. They always regret that after opening to the outside world the country in question will never be the same again. In this, of course, they are right, it won’t. The question is: will it be better off or worse off? The eternal romantics assume the latter, but they do not always have a strong case.
In reality, idealizing the past and hoping it will come back is just not good enough, especially in developing countries. In the history of western civilizations, romantics have produced great literature and art, but rarely useful policy-oriented ideas, and I fear the same applies when present day romantic travelers. Again, there is nothing wrong with romantics except for the fact that they are much better at nostalgically regretting or recriminating than they can ever be at proposing better alternatives to the reality they do not approve of. Because of this attitude, eternal romantics are often unable to enjoy travel, as they more often than not suffer at seeing the places they visit losing their old “true” nature and acquiring new, foreign traits.
I would call the third group of travelers the modernizers. They see the glass as half full and think history is always pouring more water to fill it up but are never satisfied that it does so fast enough. Modernizers are usually critical of the status quo they witness in the countries they visit – as well as what they leave behind in their own. They see international contacs, be they scientific, economic, political, or at the personal level, as a way to exchange experiences and improve everyone's lot. They see international tourism playing an important role in these exchanges as one of several ways in which countries can benefit from knowing each other a bit better.
The problem with the modernizers is that, as they work for their ultimate goal of open international communication, they often pay too little attention to where each individual countries is starting from and what specific circumstances might require their balanced development not to emulate the experience of others but to acquire tailor-made approaches of their own. Like the eternal romantics, but for opposite reasons, the modernizers are rarely pleased with the half-full glass, and as a result suffer during their travel at what they perceive to be an endless string of missed opportunities for improvement.
The aim of this book is to tell the story of that journey through my eyes of eclectic traveller, critical political scientist and avid photographer. I will try to convey both what was beautiful and what was interesting.
I hope this book will appeal to the eternal romantics as well as to the modernizers. Both groups might find stimulus for further developing their own thoughts. I do not expect these readers to agree with all of my impressions and assessments. Indeed, I would be worried to hear that anyone does. I will have been successful if during this virtual trip through to the last page the reader is stimulated to share some of my enjoyment, to think through some of the issues I raise, to do some additional reading and, most importantly, to travel to Cambodia and Laos.
As a political scientist, I have learned to beware of situations in which everyone agrees. Free thinking, the basis for democracy (which Winston Churchill brilliantly characterized as the worst political system except all the others) needs civilized polemical confrontation like fish need water. Just so the reader knows where I am coming from – it is only fair – I tend to fall among the modernizers myself, though on occasion I find myself in agreement with the eternal romantics. I do not think I really fit the profile of the country collector, though I must concede that sometimes they seem to be the ones who seem to have the best time traveling, and that is also a lesson to be learned.
26 July 2000
Book review: Zero, the Biography of a Dangerous Idea (2000) by Charles Seife, *****
The Babylonians invented it, the Greeks banned it, the Hindus worshiped it, and the Church used it to fend off heretics. Now it threatens the foundations of modern physics. For centuries the power of zero savored of the demonic; once harnessed, it became the most important tool in mathematics. For zero, infinity's twin, is not like other numbers. It is both nothing and everything.
In Zero, Science Journalist Charles Seife follows this innocent-looking number from its birth as an Eastern philosophical concept to its struggle for acceptance in Europe, its rise and transcendence in the West, and its ever-present threat to modern physics. Here are the legendary thinkers—from Pythagoras to Newton to Heisenberg, from the Kabalists to today's astrophysicists—who have tried to understand it and whose clashes shook the foundations of philosophy, science, mathematics, and religion. Zero has pitted East against West and faith against reason, and its intransigence persists in the dark core of a black hole and the brilliant flash of the Big Bang. Today, zero lies at the heart of one of the biggest scientific controversies of all time: the quest for a theory of everything.
Review
A fascinating book for the non-mathematical minds like mine. I was mostly struck by the philosophical implications of the concept of zero. I would never have thought that a number could have had such impact on religion, politics and indeed our way of life. The main concept I came away with is that zero, the twin brother of infinity, was not recognized as suchin antiquity. In fact it was expressely rejected by most ancient civilizations, and remarkably so by Aristotle: his theory of a "prime mover" of a finite universe (God) was taken up for two millennia by priests of various religions and catholic popes. To reject Aristotle and accept Giordano Bruno (there may be, indeed, there probably are other worlds and the universe is not finite) was heretical: there was no need for a prime mover any more and, ...might there be other popes besides the one on earth? Giordano Bruno paid with his life for defending infinity and, therefore, zero.
We have obviously and luckily moved beyond that by now, but zero has not yet become a familiar concept for most of us. Most people, if asked, will start counting from 1, though 0 is the first number. Most celebrated the new millennium one year early, on 31 December 1999, because they were unaware that there was no year 0, but the 3rd millennium began on 1 january 2001. And 0 is placed after 9 in the keyboard of my computer, and not before 1, where it should be.
This is not a heavy math book, but a pleasure to read for the scientifically minded, especially if you have a propensity to look for the root causes of philosophy and politics.