Culture & Religion — April 21, 2010

Poetic Messiah

“No poet has ever been so influential, so controversial, and so little read” as Ezra Pound, writes Jamie James. After him, “anyone aspiring to be a poetic messiah would be shunned as a charlatan.”

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“No poet has ever been so influential, so controversial, and so little read” as Ezra Pound, writes Jamie James. “Pound predicted this gathering gloom, a new Dark Age brought on by the rise of commercial mass production.” After him, “anyone aspiring to be a poetic messiah would be shunned as a charlatan. … Poets now polish their CV’s and grant applications as well as their verse.”

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Starts With A Bang

The Steady-State Universe: A viable alternative to the Big Bang?

For nearly 60 years, the hot Big Bang has been accepted as the best story of our cosmic origin. Could the Steady-State theory be possible?

Pixelated red human figure on a black grid background with blue symmetrical curves and white geometric shapes adjacent.

Hard Science

The Arecibo Message fifty years later

In November 1974, astronomers used the radio telescope at Puerto Rico’s Arecibo Observatory to send a hello to the universe.

Bronze statue of a bearded man embodying stoicism, riding a horse with one arm extended forward, set against a black background.

Thinking

3 clues that Stoicism is a religion in disguise

All religions have three traits: metaphysical commitments, ethical guidance, and daily rituals or practices. So does Stoicism.

An open book with abstract designs: the left page displays a horizontal row of color blocks, while the right page features a hand touching a network of connected circles, highlighting strong connections.

Business

Why our “weak-tie” connections are actually super-strong

Sure, “who you know” matters — but your best contacts will be the ones you don’t know very well.

Starts With A Bang

Could dark matter be the same thing as dark energy?

Two parts of our Universe that seem to be unavoidable are dark matter and dark energy. Could they really be two aspects of the same thing?

Up Next

Technology & Innovation

Globalizing Poor Nations

The adoption of enhanced incentives for domestic enterprise in the Third World may help poor countries compete in the global marketplace, writes David Landes.