On Renaissance Men (with Bonus Anti-Trivia)
I'm surprised...
(I love, love, love this song. It totally takes me over so I cannot type. I must sing! But it's sooo high; I have to hit falsetto constantly -- even I. Beautiful harmony. Can't keep eyes open. *sigh* Sorry. This really belongs in a raw thoughts entry.... shadewright, have you heard these guys?
Sorry, 'bout that. Returning to the real world....)
...by how many entries I can pull out of one documentary. It's ok, though, it gives me more time to read more of Phantoms in the Brain. Interesting (I think) entries to follow regarding Drs. Ramachandran and Sacks (the real Dr. Sayers from the Robin Williams/ Robert DeNiro movie "Awakenings") for sure....
(I am in a crazy mood, but what is one to expect? I'm in a laboratory at midnight alone....)
Anyhow, the film was describing TJ as a Renaissance man. It was saying how being a Renaissance man was a common thing back then. (Ben Franklin was another of the bunch.) The commentators were saying how it was possible to do everything back then but isn't really today. Everyone specializes nowadays.
I really bemoan that. (I don't think I've ever used that word before....) I want to do everything under the sun. I don't really care whether I am good at it or not, but my interest is in almost everything.
Oooh, it can be time for another anti-trivia poll for those who know me or think they do:
Poll Anti-Trivia About Me #8: Fields of Study
Why can I not be a Renaissance man? Is there something wrong with that. I mean, as long as I pick one career to bring in an income, why can I not keep delving into other fields?
And it's not like Jefferson was any good at it. He was known as a politician, though he considered himself a scientist and a gardener. And he died in debt -- complete debt. He would have been evicted, except that people felt too bad for him.
Ben was far more successful at the mix of things. He truly is remembered for numerous things in differing fields.
I know of scientists who have at least jumped fields within science -- physicists who later became biologists, etc., and we have men like Hawking, Sagan, Ramachandran, and Sacks, who become decent authors, but they write about what they do for the most part. Hawking isn't writing best-selling mystery novels. And none of them are translating ancient Hittite texts.
But I want to (well, not necessarily Hittite)! I would love to be known as a chemist, linguist, author,... heck, while I'm at it, lead singer for a decent band, Christian philosopher. (And of course, man of God and -- some day -- father.)
But alas, I am a dreamer....Edit: Anti-Trivia answer:
It looks like most are guessing the 2nd-closest answer, which is a very good guess. This was a harder question than usual. Actually, I would study political science before economics. I mention oftentimes about disliking politics, but the trick is that I dislike modern politics and politicians and political methods, where I am mildly interested in political theory as an abstract thing. But economics... blah.
So then: marine biology (with a cognitive science bias; that is, pretty much dolphin intelligence only) > archeology = English lit. > poli. sci. > econ.
If I could not study dolphin intelligence: arch. = Eng. lit. > marine bio. > poli. sci. > econ.
(I love, love, love this song. It totally takes me over so I cannot type. I must sing! But it's sooo high; I have to hit falsetto constantly -- even I. Beautiful harmony. Can't keep eyes open. *sigh* Sorry. This really belongs in a raw thoughts entry.... shadewright, have you heard these guys?
Sorry, 'bout that. Returning to the real world....)
...by how many entries I can pull out of one documentary. It's ok, though, it gives me more time to read more of Phantoms in the Brain. Interesting (I think) entries to follow regarding Drs. Ramachandran and Sacks (the real Dr. Sayers from the Robin Williams/ Robert DeNiro movie "Awakenings") for sure....
(I am in a crazy mood, but what is one to expect? I'm in a laboratory at midnight alone....)
Anyhow, the film was describing TJ as a Renaissance man. It was saying how being a Renaissance man was a common thing back then. (Ben Franklin was another of the bunch.) The commentators were saying how it was possible to do everything back then but isn't really today. Everyone specializes nowadays.
I really bemoan that. (I don't think I've ever used that word before....) I want to do everything under the sun. I don't really care whether I am good at it or not, but my interest is in almost everything.
Oooh, it can be time for another anti-trivia poll for those who know me or think they do:
Poll Anti-Trivia About Me #8: Fields of Study
Why can I not be a Renaissance man? Is there something wrong with that. I mean, as long as I pick one career to bring in an income, why can I not keep delving into other fields?
And it's not like Jefferson was any good at it. He was known as a politician, though he considered himself a scientist and a gardener. And he died in debt -- complete debt. He would have been evicted, except that people felt too bad for him.
Ben was far more successful at the mix of things. He truly is remembered for numerous things in differing fields.
I know of scientists who have at least jumped fields within science -- physicists who later became biologists, etc., and we have men like Hawking, Sagan, Ramachandran, and Sacks, who become decent authors, but they write about what they do for the most part. Hawking isn't writing best-selling mystery novels. And none of them are translating ancient Hittite texts.
But I want to (well, not necessarily Hittite)! I would love to be known as a chemist, linguist, author,... heck, while I'm at it, lead singer for a decent band, Christian philosopher. (And of course, man of God and -- some day -- father.)
But alas, I am a dreamer....Edit: Anti-Trivia answer:
It looks like most are guessing the 2nd-closest answer, which is a very good guess. This was a harder question than usual. Actually, I would study political science before economics. I mention oftentimes about disliking politics, but the trick is that I dislike modern politics and politicians and political methods, where I am mildly interested in political theory as an abstract thing. But economics... blah.
So then: marine biology (with a cognitive science bias; that is, pretty much dolphin intelligence only) > archeology = English lit. > poli. sci. > econ.
If I could not study dolphin intelligence: arch. = Eng. lit. > marine bio. > poli. sci. > econ.