Brainpickings - brainpickings.org - Brain Pickings
General Information:
Latest News:
Oscar Wilde on Art 27 Aug 2013 | 04:00 pm
“The temperament to which Art appeals … is the temperament of receptivity.” Oscar Wilde may have been the twentieth century’s first and most tragic pop celebrity, and a masterful writer of love lette...
Neil deGrasse Tyson and Neil Gaiman on the Secret of Genius 27 Aug 2013 | 03:45 pm
“You don’t even know what the word ‘vacation’ means because what you’re doing is what you want to do and a vacation FROM that is anything BUT a vacation.” “Creating a life that reflects your values a...
To Be or Not To Be: Hamlet as a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Novel 27 Aug 2013 | 03:45 pm
Ophelia as an emancipated science-lover and Hamlet as an emo thirty-something. Parodies of Shakespeare — such as the recent Shakespearean rendition of Star Wars — may enrage purists as a perversion o...
Michael Lewis on Writing, Money, and the Necessary Self-Delusion of Creativity 26 Aug 2013 | 04:00 pm
“When you’re trying to create a career as a writer, a little delusional thinking goes a long way.” The question of why writers write holds especial mesmerism, both as a piece of psychological voyeuri...
Culinary Advice from James Beard, Illustrated by the Provensens 26 Aug 2013 | 03:45 pm
“Take time to cherish the old and to investigate the new.” As an aficionado of both unusual cookbooks and the whimsical vintage illustrations of Alice and Martin Provensen, I’m infinitely grateful to...
Science, Religion, and the Big Bang: An Animated Clarifier 26 Aug 2013 | 03:30 pm
From the non-beginning to the singularity, by way of belief-muddling misnomers and beneficial ignorance. The friction between science and religion stretches back millennia and has been addressed by s...
How to Tell Love from Passion: A Timeless Litmus Test from E. B. White and James Thurber, 1929 23 Aug 2013 | 04:00 pm
“By and large, love is easier to experience before is has been explained — easier and cleaner.” In 1927, E. B. White pulled some strings at The New Yorker, where he had been working since shortly aft...
Brian Cox on What Earthly Phenomena Reveal about the Wonders of the Solar System 23 Aug 2013 | 03:45 pm
“Curiosity is the rocket fuel that powers our civilization.” “I know that I am mortal by nature and ephemeral,” ur-astronomer Ptolemy contemplated nearly two millennia ago, “but when I trace at my pl...
10 Rules for Creative Projects from Iconic Painter Richard Diebenkorn 23 Aug 2013 | 03:45 pm
“Do search. But in order to find other than what it searched for.” On a recent visit to the Richard Diebenkorn: The Berkeley Years, 1953-1966 exhibition at San Francisco’s De Young fine arts museum, ...
Happy Birthday, Ray Bradbury: The Beloved Author on Emotion vs. Intelligence & the Core of Creativity 22 Aug 2013 | 04:00 pm
“You can only go with loves in this life.” Between 1973 and 1974, journalist James Day hosted the short-lived but wonderful public television interview series Day at Night. Among his guests was the i...
