Arthur Koestler

ARTHUR KOESTLER:

Humanitarian, historian and scientist are just a few of the labels associated with this most excellent man of letters. Here is a quote from his book The Act of Creation.

"The oldest and most fundamental of all tricks is to disguise people in costumes and to put them on a stage with masks or paint on their faces; the audience is thereby given the impression that the events represented are happening here and now, regardless of how distant they really are in space and time. The effect of this procedure is to induce a lively bisociated condition in the minds of the audience. The spectator knows, in one compartment of his mind, that the people on the stage are actors, whose names are familiar to him; and he knows that they are "acting" for the express purpose of creating an illusion in him, the spectator. Yet in another compartment of his mind he experiences fear, hope, pity, accompanied by palpitations, arrested breathing, or tears -- all induced by events which he knows to be pure make-believe. It is indeed a remarkable phenomenon that a grown-up person, knowing all the time that he faces a screen onto which shadows are projected by a machine, and knowing furthermore quite well what is going to happen at the end--for instance, that the police will arrive just in the nick of time to save the hero-- should nevertheless go through agonies of suspense, and display the corresponding bodily symptoms. It is even more remarkable that this capacity for living in two universes at once, one real, one imaginary, should be accepted without wonder as a commonplace." (3)

Author who hopes he will be regarded alongside Koestler someday.

How Adjunct-ing Helps--and Harms--the Humanities Profs
Chronicle of Higher Education (subscription) - Sep 6, 2008
Maybe it’s naive to talk, as I did in the previous post, about a concerted effort by humanities faculty to reverse the trend toward adjuncting. ...

Humanities, Language Arts and Social Sciences department at Laney ...
Laney Tower, CA - Sep 5, 2008
Research in the Laney College catalog tells us that of the 33 teachers in the Humanities Division, about half of them got their advanced degrees from either ...

"Historical Epitaphs, Voices from the Past" Returns to Union Cemetery
Kansas City infoZine, MO - 9 hours ago
... Missouri Parks and Recreation Department and funded in part by a grant from the Missouri Humanities Council with support by the National Endowment for ...
Tour of Missouri pro cycling race has fervent backers, but what ... Kansas City Star
all 2 news articles

Science competition for students
The Press Association - 6 hours ago
... students to demonstrate their passion and interest in everything from music to mathematics, sports. social behaviour, climate change and the humanities. ...

'The Dallas Myth' by Harvey J. Graff: Author explores a city in ...
Dallas Morning News, TX - 12 hours ago
By CLAY REYNOLDS / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News books@dallasnews.com Clay Reynolds is professor of artsand humanities at the University of ...

Saginaw Valley State University Humanities Series launches 28th ...
The Saginaw News - MLive.com, MI - Sep 5, 2008
by Sue White | The Saginaw News Already the longest running program of its kind in the country, the Saginaw Valley State University Humanities Series ...

Carnegie Mellon Stiffs the Humanities
Chronicle of Higher Education (subscription) - Sep 5, 2008
Evidently the “quality� wizards at CMU are happy to throw cash at administrators, facilities and gimmicks like the Data Truck, but the humanities? ...

Sunday Observer
Improve quality in undergraduate education
Sunday Observer, Sri Lanka - 15 hours ago
A brief discussion of the historical evolution of the University, particularly in respect of developments within the Faculties of Arts and Humanities, ...

BSC hosts arts and humanities summit
Reiten Television KXMB Bismarck, ND - Sep 5, 2008
BISMARCK, ND - Bismarck State College fills with events Oct. 9-10 for the biennial North Dakota Arts and Humanities Summit, a creative showcase of work ...

Humanities 'key to innovation': minister
ABC Science Online, Australia - Sep 2, 2008
The humanities must be put on an equal footing with the physical and life sciences if Australia is to boost its ability to innovate, says the federal ...

Wind Chimes and more...

Windchimes for great gifts!

Native American Life After Prophetstown