I have of late – not really sure why – lost a bit of my cheerfulness, regarding the endeavours and achievements of that finest of beasts, called ‘man’. Whether it’s just the foul and pestilent weather that comes with shorter days, or a certain heaviness of my disposition, I don’t know – but all the mountainous accomplishments of humanity right now appear to me as nothing more but barren foothills. I’ve grown weary of people, and everybody just seems like a real piece of work to me.
So, delight me, fellow men (or women, either)! Show me mankind’s limitless potential, it’s near-deific understanding! Some piece of art, literature, music poetry; an elegant theory, a miracle of science; human actions that transcend mere humanity; moving expressions of all forms of art to admire.
Anything that makes you think, ‘well, we may be the quintessential dust in the wind, but in the end… we managed to create/do/achieve this, so it’s not all bad’!
I need a bit more beauty in my world. Make me believe, just for a moment, that it’s found within other people!
Please, no Shakespeare, though; I’ve grown a bit soured towards him, since he gets mangled more than is dreamt of in your philosophy these days.
I think that your best hope is not to look at great acheivements of mankind, but the mundane everyday lives of people you know. Realize that for the most part, people are not evil, or lazy, or greedy. Almost everyone is just trying to do the best they know how. And we all want to feel connected. Seek out positive people and talk about positive things, and try your best to appreciate who they are.
Oh dear! Thanks, but no – I’m not having a life-crisis or anything, and I’m not in need of any positively life-affirming messages or anything of that kind. No, I just want works of art, and science, something to wow me, something to look at, listen to, or read; I just want to be awed by the creative power of us poor little brain-apes once again.
5.) If it’s not easy being green, how does Gonzo cope with being blue?
Gonzo likes being blue, although he occasionally visits an ice cream stand in Bombay and has himself dipped in rainbow sprinkles and curry just to spice things up.
Because I mean really - if the Muppets don’t cure misanthropy, nothing else will.
I totally failed to mention that part 1 breaks in a just terrible place and you have to listen to part 2 to take in the rest.
It is well worth it. I am of the opinion that if you hear only one piece of music in your entire life, this could be that piece and you would still die happy.
Misanthropy is not something to be alleviated, but embraced. Would you lobotomize the last sane man? The best thing about mankind is we’ll eventually become extinct.
but if I must…
I, personally, donated blood today. At lunch. And there were a lot of people there before me and lot of people waiting when I left.
Well, this video always makes me feel really proud of us - it’s a video that’s a little out of date these days by Bell Labs in a “We Didn’t Start the Fire” sort of format that’s all about the innovations Bell Labs has brought to us. It’s kind of inspiring, like going to the Air and Space Museum. We really invented all that stuff out of thin air!
Yes, that’s what I’m after, thanks! I sometimes forget how much I love fine arts (is there a better term for, well, paintings essentially, distinct from just art, which to me is more encompassing?), this’ll serve as a great reminder.
Oh, thanks so much! Those links will serve me well for quite some time. I look forward to delving into them.
Brilliant. Thank you. This is exactly it. I couldn’t think of a way to better end this day. In fact, I think I’m going to make this the long-sought-for jumping off point to get into classical music a little, so any pointers in that general direction are more than welcome.
Ah yes, that’s a direction I’d hoped would show up. We’ve come a long way from chipping flintstones, to be sure! There’s no way to even guess where we’ve yet to go.
This year, Bell Labs work won ANOTHER Nobel Prize in Physics. That makes 7.
ETA - I do not in any way, shape, or form understand what the last two of those prizes are for, but I have faith that they are very important and maybe when I am old I will know what they’re talking about.