history ← the digital glebe

Chess Break

May

2013

Yugoslav chessmen, simply the best. “You sit at the board and suddenly your heart leaps. Your hand trembles to pick up the piece and move it. But what chess teaches you is that you must sit there calmly and think about whether it’s really a good idea and whether there are other, better ideas.” Stanley ...

Myth of the Flat Earth 7

Apr

2013

Wikipedia is finally catching up at last. Myth of the Flat Earth. “Since the early 20th century, a number of books and articles have documented the flat earth error as one of a number of widespread misconceptions in popular views of the Middle Ages. The misconception has had no currency in historical scholarship since at ...

Origins of the Royal Society 3

Apr

2013

The Royal Society’s motto ‘Nullius in verba’ might roughly translate as ‘take nobody’s word for it’, or ‘on the word of no one’, and yet the Royal Society appears to have become increasingly involved in interfacing science with political policy-making. As a result, the Royal Society seems to be tainted, politicised & increasingly involved in ...

Know Thy Enemy 3

Apr

2013

“When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?” John Maynard Keynes Almost to a man, the four main parties in UK politics -Lib Lab Con SNP- all repeat the following mantra with little deviation: “Climate change is the greatest threat faced by humanity and the most important political issue of ...

Margaret Thatcher R.I.P 3

Apr

2013

Whether you Liked her or loathed her, it would be hard to deny that she was a rare breed of politician. Ever since her political demise we’ve seen little more than a parade of spineless wonders, spun narratives, and self-serving career politicians with little to offer but wind and smoke. “Watch your thoughts, for they ...

A European Asterix? 3

Feb

2013

“The idea of Europe is dying, yet the sense of identity is strong -at least in intellectual elites. Perhaps it is less so among the common people, used to celebrating as heroes people who killed citizens of neighboring countries.” Umberto Eco l’Espresso Feb 2013 ‘Bad times for those who believe in the European Union courtesy ...

A Machiavelli Quincentennial 4

Jan

2013

2013 marks the 500th anniversary of Niccolò Machiavelli’s most famous work, The Prince. The first fruit of his enforced retirement from politics after the fall of the Republic of Florence, it was dedicated in 1513 to the newly restored Giuliano de‘ Medici, offering him ‘knowledge of the actions of great men’, and Niccolò‘s name has ...

2013: The Tipping Point 4

Dec

2012

Production values are certainly up, but I do wonder where the EU people are going to go with this in 2013? Mixing plasma cosmology with comparative mythology was always going to be a risky strategy: “This brief video clip is a quick-draft giving first glimpses of a major project for 2013. The project will be ...

A Moment in Time 1

Dec

2012

by Motm As I watch a small fighter plane flies low overhead, I think it is a spitfire, and as it passes it dips its wings both ways, perhaps in salute for a safe return, or perhaps to record a successful ‘hit’, but most probably both. Now I hear a dull thud of an explosion, ...

Product Entropy 8

Dec

2012

Red diesel isn’t what it was, anyone working farm machinery these days will tell you so. A loaf of real bread -as opposed to the standard supermarket muck- will cost you almost double. Over the course of this year, I’ve noticed a marked reduction in the quality of rolling tobacco, scotch whiskey, car tyres, coal, ...