So are we all really being watched over by "machines of loving grace"? If you haven't seen the documentaries by Adam Curtis, full as they are of quirky and strangely compelling arguments, patterns and links between the seemingly unlinked, then sit back, ingest a huge pinch of salt, take it all in and think for yourself. ...read more
During 2011, Halcyon listened to many original and provocative speakers, at live events, and through videos and podcasts. Here, we recap on some of the highlights:
Humanity: The RSA recently gathered a high-profile panel of speakers to explore the hidden agendas behind our values and attitudes toward the place of ‘the human’ in today’s societies, and debate what must now be a key issue for the 21st century.
Modernity:The Wasteland and Modernity tried to figure out whether someone who captured modern life so well could really dislike it so much. When he stared out at a world of radio and cinema, of radical art and universal suffrage, did T.S. Eliot see only a barren, featureless plain?
Poetry: Is it possible to appreciate fully Dante’s work without understanding the man himself and the society in which he lived? A recent book attempted to shed new light on what some have called "the greatest of all European poems".
We also listened, inter alia, to the following: ...read more
With global population now exceeding 7 billion, National Geographic examined provided a broad overview of demographic trends that got us to today and will impact us tomorrow.
It was just over two centuries ago that the global population was 1 billion — in 1804. But better medicine and improved agriculture resulted in higher life expectancy for children, dramatically increasing the world population, especially in the West. U.N. forecasts suggest the world population could hit a peak of 10.1 billion by 2100 before beginning to decline.
