(The Music Center, 11 July 2013)
Balanchine's "Symphony in C" is a firework---a routine that is simple, aesthetically pleasing in its synchrony, musicality, and understatement, a routine that is about nothing in particular, but has been found to please, just as Bizet's accompaniment.
By contrast, Balanchine's "Apollo" is affectedly theatrical, dated in its narcissism. To prevent a work from evolving is to condemn it or confine it to a menagerie that is of interest only to historians and choreographers. Jazz standards and classical music are resilient because legally malleable. A performer of Bach's Cello Suites is under no obligation to imitate Rostropovich; a Berlin interpreter is under no obligation to imitate Astaire. A dance is not a precision instrument built to meticulous specifications, but a conduit of emotion, which originates with the choreographer and musicians and infects dancers and the audience. To starve the dancers of that emotion by replacing the artist with the technique is to abuse their bodies (for the dancers would be doing something they do not understand and hence would not live when life could have been at its fullest).
In Ratmansky's "Chamber Symphony," with Jason-Hartlinesque intensity and playful curiosity, the protagonist discovers that it is easier (and more gratifying) to inspire dozens than to control one. Creativity is spurred by bewilderment and the failure to fit in.
13 July 2013
7 July 2013
Hitchcocked
(Fais Do-Do, 6 July 2013)
Theatre shows how little one may need to change the world. Pretend that the world is the way you want it to be. The chances are, you are not alone in that vision. Others will join in the pretence and nudge the world in the desired direction.
Theatre shows how little one may need to change the world. Pretend that the world is the way you want it to be. The chances are, you are not alone in that vision. Others will join in the pretence and nudge the world in the desired direction.
1 July 2013
Starbucks on the Third Street
A waiting room. A check-in counter into a world dignified, inclusive, relaxed. A wormhole.
Traversed, it opens onto the Third Street, dignified, inclusive, relaxed; foggy, fluid, forthcoming; carrying and caring for the world's Parisless Parisians, angelless Angelinos, sanctified by the ocean breeze Santa Monicans, wrapped into or flaunting ideals, eyeing the stars, from the gutter or laterally, by stroke of good fortune and taste, to the mingling of voices and guitar tunes, bouncing off the soaped pavement, the lit-up storefronts, spilling into the side-streets, lulling the alleys, taming the night.
Driven by a maxim and the promise of sun, a barista attends to the journey of the civilisation.
Traversed, it opens onto the Third Street, dignified, inclusive, relaxed; foggy, fluid, forthcoming; carrying and caring for the world's Parisless Parisians, angelless Angelinos, sanctified by the ocean breeze Santa Monicans, wrapped into or flaunting ideals, eyeing the stars, from the gutter or laterally, by stroke of good fortune and taste, to the mingling of voices and guitar tunes, bouncing off the soaped pavement, the lit-up storefronts, spilling into the side-streets, lulling the alleys, taming the night.
Driven by a maxim and the promise of sun, a barista attends to the journey of the civilisation.
23 June 2013
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago + Alonzo King LINES Ballet
(The Music Center, 22 June 2013)
At the turn of the twentieth century, among the objections against skyscrapers was an aesthetic one. No skyscraper of pleasing proportions had ever been designed. The view that has prevailed, in letter or in spirit, is that economic viability alone warrants the skyscraper's right to rise. What ought to be legislated is not beauty, on which few agree, but the liberty to seek one's own expression of beauty.
Height limits in Chicago had been imposed, but were routinely flouted. Today, zoning rules in the city remain among the most permissive ones. In the irregularity of its members, the troupe of the Hubbard Street Dance Chicago resembles the skyline of their home city---disparate in height, proportions, and plasticity (in wind or music). If a dancer can execute a part, he gets the part. Beauty is in the work done well, not the fortuitous bodily architecture. What makes dancers' bodies beautiful is that their form is subordinated to function, which is to communicate.
Morals are subjective in the same way that beauty is. In public policy, promoted ought to be the ideals that few question---such as efficiency---not a purported universal morality.
The craving for synchrony is irreducible. Yet classical ballets, and many modern ones, fail to indulge this craving by occasionally recognising that music is more than an accompaniment to a silent film, and that music has a beat, which can be acknowledged by an individual dancer and can be used to coordinate with others. As a result, a dancer warming up in the wings has a greater presence in the production than his on-stage colleagues.
The craving for synchrony of beliefs favours simplicity at the expense of accuracy. A simple belief is accessible to many. Hence, even if capable of critical thinking, one may prefer to suspend his disbelief---seduced by the prospect of mutual confirmation.
At the turn of the twentieth century, among the objections against skyscrapers was an aesthetic one. No skyscraper of pleasing proportions had ever been designed. The view that has prevailed, in letter or in spirit, is that economic viability alone warrants the skyscraper's right to rise. What ought to be legislated is not beauty, on which few agree, but the liberty to seek one's own expression of beauty.
Height limits in Chicago had been imposed, but were routinely flouted. Today, zoning rules in the city remain among the most permissive ones. In the irregularity of its members, the troupe of the Hubbard Street Dance Chicago resembles the skyline of their home city---disparate in height, proportions, and plasticity (in wind or music). If a dancer can execute a part, he gets the part. Beauty is in the work done well, not the fortuitous bodily architecture. What makes dancers' bodies beautiful is that their form is subordinated to function, which is to communicate.
Morals are subjective in the same way that beauty is. In public policy, promoted ought to be the ideals that few question---such as efficiency---not a purported universal morality.
The craving for synchrony is irreducible. Yet classical ballets, and many modern ones, fail to indulge this craving by occasionally recognising that music is more than an accompaniment to a silent film, and that music has a beat, which can be acknowledged by an individual dancer and can be used to coordinate with others. As a result, a dancer warming up in the wings has a greater presence in the production than his on-stage colleagues.
The craving for synchrony of beliefs favours simplicity at the expense of accuracy. A simple belief is accessible to many. Hence, even if capable of critical thinking, one may prefer to suspend his disbelief---seduced by the prospect of mutual confirmation.
29 May 2013
"Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil" by Hannah Arendt (1963)
Removed from historical context, the idea of Nazism seems absurd and implausible. Yet abstract ideas such as this---serving no one's interest---do take on lives of their own. Humans become these ideas' bewildered carriers and victims. Like a virus, the idea cares about its carrier only in so far as the carrier's well-being is conducive to the idea's propagation. Uncritical attachment to abstract ideals such as duty, honour, loyalty, and consistency turn humans into obliging carriers.
Resistance to viral ideas comes from critical reasoning and the assertion of self-interest. Such behaviour flourishes in markets and democracies. Under these regimes, an idea must benefit sufficiently many individuals in order to survive.
To endorse markets and democracies is to endorse a particular moral standard. Markets kill by starving the poor. Such deaths are deemed to be more moral than deaths by a committee. This is presumably so because the impoverished have little to offer not just to the few and possibly prejudiced members of the committee, but to anyone in the inclusive, anonymous market. Democracies kill, for instance, by imposing trade restrictions, by popular will. Such restrictions are deemed to be moral because they benefit the special interests whose lives---as viewed by the group defining morality---are worth more than the lives of sufferers. The incidence of markets and democracies influence---and are influenced by---the prevailing moral norms.
Extinction through evolution is deemed to be more moral than extinction through revolution. This is so due to the society's reluctance to reward momentary superiority in violence. Evolution aggregates the decisions of many, in a variety of environments, and over time.
The desire to change the world is an instinct, related to the desire to seek a better place. Artists and mathematicians create realities that do not interfere with others' realities. Most others' sought realities do conflict.
This conflict admits at least three resolutions: (i) individuals can sort into homogeneous communities with a shared view of reality (e.g., artists' colonies); (ii) individuals can seek seclusion in suburban units, and (iii) individuals can live in high-density, urban environments, with multiple realities intertwined, and tolerate others' realities.
It may be a crime to support an inferior institution. One may be held responsible even if (ex-post) non-pivotal. The rationale is to avoid coordination on inferior outcomes.
Resistance to viral ideas comes from critical reasoning and the assertion of self-interest. Such behaviour flourishes in markets and democracies. Under these regimes, an idea must benefit sufficiently many individuals in order to survive.
To endorse markets and democracies is to endorse a particular moral standard. Markets kill by starving the poor. Such deaths are deemed to be more moral than deaths by a committee. This is presumably so because the impoverished have little to offer not just to the few and possibly prejudiced members of the committee, but to anyone in the inclusive, anonymous market. Democracies kill, for instance, by imposing trade restrictions, by popular will. Such restrictions are deemed to be moral because they benefit the special interests whose lives---as viewed by the group defining morality---are worth more than the lives of sufferers. The incidence of markets and democracies influence---and are influenced by---the prevailing moral norms.
Extinction through evolution is deemed to be more moral than extinction through revolution. This is so due to the society's reluctance to reward momentary superiority in violence. Evolution aggregates the decisions of many, in a variety of environments, and over time.
The desire to change the world is an instinct, related to the desire to seek a better place. Artists and mathematicians create realities that do not interfere with others' realities. Most others' sought realities do conflict.
This conflict admits at least three resolutions: (i) individuals can sort into homogeneous communities with a shared view of reality (e.g., artists' colonies); (ii) individuals can seek seclusion in suburban units, and (iii) individuals can live in high-density, urban environments, with multiple realities intertwined, and tolerate others' realities.
It may be a crime to support an inferior institution. One may be held responsible even if (ex-post) non-pivotal. The rationale is to avoid coordination on inferior outcomes.
24 May 2013
"The Death and Life of Great American Cities" by Jane Jacobs (1961)
The Industrial Revolution heralded what few thought possible to engineer: sustained economic growth. With hindsight, governments have come to believe that property rights, the rule of law, the private enterprise, and insurance promote growth. The governments undertook to guard these tenets. Growth has continued to oblige.
Reducing the success of cities to a handful of tenets has proved elusive. Suburbs have been more popular and more enduring than Jane Jacobs had imagined. They are popular among the generations who grew up without having experienced the ideal cities envisaged by Jacobs. They are enduring because they are simple enough systems to be understood and managed. Even suburban boredom has been less venomous than Jacobs had imagined, because of the diversions supplied by television and the Internet; few view watching the street as a comparable entertainment.
The mind needs a delicate balance between external structure and stimulation on the one hand, and the peace and quiet, necessary for independent reasoning, on the other hand. Sensory deprivation and solitary confinement relax at first, then cripple. In the absence of external stimuli, the mind hallucinates.
So suburbs can debilitate. Yet survivors abound, for at least two reasons: (i) what constitutes sense deprivation varies across individuals depending on the baseline level of stimulation to which they were exposed when they grew up, and (ii) individual tastes differ; some may actually like suburbs, regardless of upbringing.
A major suburban limitation is that suburbs do not permit casual relationships. Only intense ones or none are available. So one must settle for an extreme. Furthermore, intensity will typically not translate into depth. Those few with whom deep relationships are possible are unlikely to be one's neighbours.
The restlessness in "the" American character may stem from the dull city scenery. There may be high-density (but architecturally and occupationally monotonous) agglomerations of people without a city atmosphere. Most streets in American cities are barren after dark. One must travel in order to experience the variety of scenery and people. Without a local sample of this variety, however, one may be unaware that variety exists and gratifies.
Reducing the success of cities to a handful of tenets has proved elusive. Suburbs have been more popular and more enduring than Jane Jacobs had imagined. They are popular among the generations who grew up without having experienced the ideal cities envisaged by Jacobs. They are enduring because they are simple enough systems to be understood and managed. Even suburban boredom has been less venomous than Jacobs had imagined, because of the diversions supplied by television and the Internet; few view watching the street as a comparable entertainment.
The mind needs a delicate balance between external structure and stimulation on the one hand, and the peace and quiet, necessary for independent reasoning, on the other hand. Sensory deprivation and solitary confinement relax at first, then cripple. In the absence of external stimuli, the mind hallucinates.
So suburbs can debilitate. Yet survivors abound, for at least two reasons: (i) what constitutes sense deprivation varies across individuals depending on the baseline level of stimulation to which they were exposed when they grew up, and (ii) individual tastes differ; some may actually like suburbs, regardless of upbringing.
A major suburban limitation is that suburbs do not permit casual relationships. Only intense ones or none are available. So one must settle for an extreme. Furthermore, intensity will typically not translate into depth. Those few with whom deep relationships are possible are unlikely to be one's neighbours.
The restlessness in "the" American character may stem from the dull city scenery. There may be high-density (but architecturally and occupationally monotonous) agglomerations of people without a city atmosphere. Most streets in American cities are barren after dark. One must travel in order to experience the variety of scenery and people. Without a local sample of this variety, however, one may be unaware that variety exists and gratifies.
12 May 2013
"Surely You're Yoking, Mr. Feynman!" by Richard Feynman (1985)
Specialisation requires detachment, which can be arrived at by deep reasoning or by prejudice, and is well sustained by prejudice.
Individuals are bad at solving in parallel multiple optimisation problems with disparate horizons. Peace---the luxury of focusing on the long horizon---is conducive to intellectual pursuits.
A rich choice set has ennobling influence on one's idiosyncrasies. In its presence, one is not forced towards the lowest common denominator. A choice set is expanded by inviting and following up on life's leads.
That is real the idea of which is useful.
Individuals are bad at solving in parallel multiple optimisation problems with disparate horizons. Peace---the luxury of focusing on the long horizon---is conducive to intellectual pursuits.
A rich choice set has ennobling influence on one's idiosyncrasies. In its presence, one is not forced towards the lowest common denominator. A choice set is expanded by inviting and following up on life's leads.
That is real the idea of which is useful.
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