Perennials

This blog, says the masthead, has set its face against 

 “offering comments on current affairs. It rather uses incidents, books (old and new), links and papers to offer musings about our social endeavours. So old posts are as good as new!” 

But these are “Manichean” days – when people expect you to favour one of two sides; and, indeed, to nail your colours to the mast. And this I refuse to do – since I belong to the generation which grew up on Bertrand Russell - whose “Sceptical Essays” opens with an essay on “The Value of Scepticism” which puts in shade a lot of current discussions about “fake news”. And it was written almost a hundred years ago……. 

Although I was very active politically for some 25 years, my values were mainstream and I readily own up to being a bit of a “mugwump” who sees several sides to any story - and is open to new ideas. Just a few weeks ago, I found myself quoting this Russian proverb – 

“Don’t fear your friends - because they can only betray you.

Don’t fear your enemies – because they can only destroy you

But fear the indifferent – because it’s they who allow your friends to betray you and your enemies to destroy you” 

But under no circumstance should we confuse the “indifferent” with the sceptical!!

-      The indifferent are simply those who don’t care - they shrug their shoulders and “pass by on the other side”.

-      The sceptics, on the other hand, care deeply – they are passionate searchers after truth and, like Voltaire, will defend your right to your hallenge to what JK Galbraith called “the conventional wisdom” 

I would like to think my posts are as much “perennial” as open-minded and sceptical. Just click a title to access a post! 

 The 2020 posts - continued

Post title	What sparked it off	Its basic message
Explaining the blog’s title	Realising that I had never given a proper explanation of the changes in the blog’s name	Quite an important personal statement about the importance of trespassing – and how long I’ve felt this
No Man’s Land	This title was too warlike	why straddling boundaries gives insights
Should I buy this book?	Applying the test I have developed for non-fiction books to a book which caught my eye.	Authors and publishers really do need to understand we are fed up with the flood of books they inflict on us
In praise of the Outsider	Wondering if straddling different worlds, however uncomfortable, doesn’t help challenge groupthink	There are some very-well written books out there about the operation of our economic system – but you have to know how to find them
We are all Pirates now!	Updating my list of journals worth reading	Ditto for journals
Writing Again	Starting with a great find from 1983 about how to write well and a 1944 book on the same topic	I confess I have a hidden folder on the art of writing
Does being an outsider help original writing?	Trying to pursue this hypothesis	It helps open one’s eyes – but then sheer discipline needed
How to write well	Summary of a marvellous essay from a man who changed into a woman a couple of decades later -	Imagine a reader – ensure paras have points – check each word – reread, reread, tighten – be concrete and plain
Reading Tips on better writing	Gathering the best references in one place	Practice, practice – and use appropriate tools like this table
Breakdown and Crises	The first of 7 well-written books dealing with a sense of humanity at the crossroads	David Runciman’s book is a stunning example of good writing
Gods and the rest of us superfluous people	Harari’s “Homo Deus – a history of tomorrow”	He may be too much the techno-optimist
Links I Liked	Starting with Coronavirus, then painting and ending with a couple of new series	As always some great hyperlinks
Facing Extinction?	A post from a survivalist	The apocalypticists may have a point!
Coronavirus - who do we believe?	The urge to select and disseminate the clearest	The most helpful advice is not from government sources
Links I Liked	A model book review; Adam Curtis; survivalist blogs	The need for straight talking
Voice in the wilderness	Discovering a German pulmonological/.political sceptic	The importance of scepticism and peripheral vision
Music from my travels	Rediscovering CDs	I need to honour tonality more than textuality
Links which appealed in Ploiesti	Appalling TV programme selection; intellectual history; accounts of lockdowns	At times such as these we need sensitivity and honesty
Thought for the Day	A good quote from William Davies	This could be a paradigm change
On Perspective	About how mundane our prior passions now look	Useful to look back and see how we were dealing with the pandemic in its early stages

 Bach Cello Concertos - I'm sure Radio Muzical said the Cello Concerto I heard an hour or so ago was the "Seventh" - but there are apparently only 6 all of which you can view here