![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() The frame on which these ideas are threaded is the real-life story of Charles Mason (1728-1786) and Jeremiah Dixon (1733-1779), the British surveyors who mapped out the boundary line between Pennsylvania and Maryland in pre-Revolutionary America, Rationalism and absurdist despair between the orderly processes of science and the inexplicable marvels of nature, between our modern faith in progress and the violent, primeval realities of history. This time, the overarching tension is between Enlightenment In "Mason & Dixon," his long-awaited new novel - and the most emotional and affecting work in his oeuvre to date - Pynchon offers a variation on this favorite theme. Secret agendas, mysterious codes - in short, a hidden design - to the burble and turmoil of human existence, or is it all a product of chance? Are the paranoiacs onto something, or do the nihilists have the key to it all? The Great Big Question in Thomas Pynchon's novels, from "V." (1963) through "Gravity's Rainbow" (1973) and "Vineland" (1990), has been: Is the world dominated by conspiracies or chaos? Are there patterns, ![]() 'Mason & Dixon': Pynchon Hits the Road With Mason and DixonĪp'Mason & Dixon': Pynchon Hits the Road With Mason and Dixon By MICHIKO KAKUTANI ![]()
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![]() ![]() Just like the idea of a human living solely on beef, salt, and water. That is undeniably good advice.īut the notion that only those with neat and tidy personal lives are allowed to criticize the world, is dangerous nonsense. ![]() Ironically, having a messy personal life doesn’t mean that Peterson’s emphasis on personal improvement, on finding meaning through responsibility, isn’t worth listening to. And it’s a rule that has no basis in reality - historical heroes like Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr. ![]() ![]() That rule functions as a cudgel, to crush the idealism of young people. It’s the kind of thing that sounds innocuous on the surface - after all, what’s wrong with practicing what you preach? Surely, there are plenty of obnoxious activists who could use that advice.īut the way Peterson promoted this rule wasn’t meant to encourage - he was essentially telling activists to be quiet, to accept the world’s structural injustices, because they were imperfect and didn’t clean their rooms, or whatever. "Set your house in perfect order before you criticize the world." After working for decades as a clinical psychologist and a professor at Harvard and the University of Toronto, Peterson has become one of the worlds most influential public intellectuals. Which seems incredibly hypocritical, considering his big rule, one that he consistently touted while public speaking, which reads: Peterson is the bestselling author of 12 Rules for Life, which has sold more than five million copies worldwide. Now, Peterson is back, and he is about to release another self-help book, titled, Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life. ![]() ![]() ![]() These examples underscore the importance of understanding the impact of cultural background on success. He also discusses the influence of cultural attitudes toward authority and communication on the development of exceptional math skills in certain Asian countries. Gladwell examines the role of cultural legacy in the performance of airplane pilots from different countries and how it impacts their communication styles, ultimately affecting flight safety. These anecdotes demonstrate the importance of dedicated practice and perseverance in achieving mastery.Īnother significant aspect of success explored in “Outliers” is the role of cultural and social factors. Gladwell illustrates this concept with examples like the Beatles, who honed their craft by performing relentlessly in Hamburg, Germany, and Bill Gates, who gained unparalleled access to a high school computer lab and spent countless hours programming. One of the key insights from “Outliers” is the idea of the “10,000-hour rule,” which posits that it takes roughly 10,000 hours of practice to become an expert in any field. The book analyzes various elements, such as cultural background, family circumstances, and unique opportunities, that play a crucial role in shaping the lives of highly successful individuals. ![]() ![]() “Outliers: The Story of Success” by Malcolm Gladwell is a thought-provoking exploration of the factors that contribute to success, challenging conventional wisdom and offering fresh insights into the nature of achievement. ![]() ![]() ![]() It’s about paying attention to the shape of what’s not there - the edges of the thing that you’re describing, whether in words or images. His description of negative space as a concept was something that really stuck with me, and that I kept coming back to when I was writing this story. My father was always giving me art lessons from a very young age, explaining technique, concepts, art history - all kinds of things. ![]() I want to start by talking about the title, “Negative Space.” Towards the end of the book, you write movingly about how your art and writing was built around the shape of your father’s absence. ![]() It’s not an easy subject matter, but Dancyger, who previously edited Burn It Down: Women Writing About Anger, a powerful collection of essays on anger, dives into the task headfirst in Negative Space.Īhead of the publication, we chatted about writing grief, finding Judaism, and her father’s impression of Tevye from “Fiddler on the Roof. ![]() It’s also a reflection of her own life as she dealt with grief and found her own voice as a writer in the ensuing years. The memoir is an examination of the life and work of her father, the artist Joe Schactman, who struggled with a heroin addiction and died when Dancyger was 12 years old. ![]() |