November 2012
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Haruki Murakami On Repetition
Haruki Murakami, master novelist and enthusiast of long distance running, makes this observation about the repetition of writing, and the experience of repetition itself as a perceptual tool for tweaking the senses: “The repetition itself becomes the important thing; it’s a form of mesmerism. I mesmerize myself to reach a deeper state of mind.” Continue reading
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On The Universal Sense: How Hearing Shapes The Mind
Seth Horowitz’s The Universal Sense is an exhaustive, lucid, and entertaining neuroscientific foray into the many ways hearing, listening, and sound shape the mind–how sound affects the way we think, feel, and act. Horowitz is a professor of neuroscience at Brown University who specializes in studies of comparative and human hearing. He’s also an enthusiastic… Continue reading
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Microthought: A Santoor And Tabla Duet
Tensioned melody over rhythmic cycled drum– Pandit strings motives. Continue reading
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On Listening With Sympathy
Sitting at the kitchen table listening to a mix playing from the other room– excited sounds flying around corners and down the hallway, partly muffled, half exaggerated, out of proportion, out of breath, and weakened upon their diminished arrival at my ear –a thought appears: listening with sympathy makes the music doubly resonant by giving… Continue reading
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On Microthoughts
Autumn by airport, hearing sounds of flight and roar, far away pleasure. Continue reading
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Headphones As Fashion Fetish: A Beats By Dre Exhibit In Times Square
It was here and gone in a day, but I couldn’t quite figure it out: a promotional tent for Beats By Dre headphones for which people were lining up to get inside. What was inside? As far as I could tell, an opportunity to try on headphones in different colors and have your photograph taken… Continue reading
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On Modular Grid Structures: Thinking Through Sol LeWitt’s Cubes
I recently saw a striking cube-based structure by Sol LeWitt (1928-2007) at the MoMa. When you stand in front of it and take it in, the work works on multiple perceptual levels. Here are few things that I noticed: one large (about 5 by 5 foot) and shallow three-dimensional square; twenty-five smaller (1 by 1… Continue reading
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On Flavors, Tastes, Sound And Perception: Thinking Through Ruhlman’s Twenty
“Clear your way. Always be thinking.” – Michael Ruhlman, Ruhlman’s Twenty First, let me say the obvious: if you like to cook and want to know more about the science and craft of cooking, you’ll probably enjoy Michael Ruhlman’s Ruhlman’s Twenty. The book provides much to think about by explaining fundamental techniques and ingredients in a sensible… Continue reading
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