Researchers unearth the “Lamborghini” of ancient chariots in Pompeii
The chariot survived ancient eruptions and modern-day looters to become a part of the world heritage site.
05 March, 2021
Credit: Luigi Spina, Archaeological Park of Pompeii
- Archeologists recently discovered a first-of-its-kind chariot in Pompeii.
- The ceremonial chariot is decorated with bronze and tin medallions, while the sides sport bronzesheets and red-and-black paintings.
- Given looting activity in the area, it's lucky the 2,000-year-old treasure wasn't lost to the world heritage site.
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<p>In 79 CE, near the Bay of Naples, <a href="https://www.history.co.uk/article/the-eruption-of-mount-vesuvius-in-79-ad-and-the-destruction-of-pompeii" target="_blank">Mt. Vesuvius erupted</a>. Geologically, this was business as usual for the volatile volcano, but for the nearby cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, it proved a cataclysmic event.</p><p>After the terrifying initial blast, the volcano spewed ash and rocks miles into the atmosphere. As this volcanic drift cooled, it began to snow onto the cities. It collapsed buildings under its weight and suffocated those unlucky enough to not flee. Then came the pyroclastic flows—massive waves of ash, gases, and lava fragments that washed over the cities at speeds of more than 100 miles per hour. All told, Vesuvius unleashed more than 100,000 times the energy of the two atomic bombs dropped during World War II on doomed towns nestled beneath it.</p><p>It seemed as though the cities weren't simply wiped off the map but practically from history itself, banished to a footnote in historical text. And so when explorers in the 1700s found the super-heated ash had <a href="https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/pompeii" target="_blank">preserved the city</a> with taxidermic care, it was a miraculous discovery.</p><p>Today, Pompeii's fossilized slice-of-life gives historians an unprecedented view into a moment of history and culture. Bodies lie where they lived, traces of their clothes and other belongings still clinging to their forms. Frescos retain their imagery and vibrant colors. Fast food joints (called <em>thermopolium</em>) can be found with the jars still <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/12/27/950645473/whats-on-the-menu-in-ancient-pompeii-duck-goat-snail-researchers-say#:~:text=The%20researchers%20found%20remnants%20of,taste%20and%20color%20of%20wine." target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">holding remnants of their menu items</a>. Even <a href="https://bigthink.com/culture-religion/mount-vesuvius-eruption" target="_self">the brain cells of a young man</a> managed to survive the ages in vitrified conservation.</p><p>Each excavation teaches us <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/new-treasures-pompeii-180972829/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">something new</a> about life in this Roman resort town, and Pompeii continues to surprise archeologists and historians well in the 21<sup>st</sup> century.</p>
One dope Pompeian whip
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTc5ODk0Ni9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY3NTk5NTc0OH0.SyjKTnqDO6XGbGqecHArg5jLoRbPhJm8KLCQDYNKVVw/img.jpg?width=980" id="8c0df" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="538759b05d27098f3100e366d363193d" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="Chariot found at Pompeii" data-width="986" data-height="1024" />Researchers carefully extract the chariot from the sedimentary rock encasing it.
Credit: Luigi Spina, Archaeological Park of Pompeii
<p>In a recent discovery, researchers unearthed a first-of-its-kind chariot at Civita Giuliana, an excavation site north of Pompeii's ancient walls. In Roman times, the site served as a getaway for Rome's elite and wealthy citizens, a serene countryside brimming with villas and Mediterranean farms. So, it's understandable why such an exquisite chariot was found here.<br></p><p>"I was astounded," Eric Poehler, a professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, who specializes in Pompeii traffic, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/02/27/972118983/a-lamborghini-of-chariots-is-discovered-at-pompeii-archaeologists-are-wowed?ft=nprml&f=1001" target="_blank">told <em>NPR</em></a>. "Many of the vehicles I'd written about before ... are your standard station wagon or vehicle for taking the kids to soccer. This is a Lamborghini. This is an outright fancy, fancy car."</p><p>Located in a double-level portico, the chariot is a far cry from anything Ben-Hur would have been seen cruising around in. It sports four iron wheels and a high seat complete with arm- and backrest. The sides are adorned with engraved bronze and wooden panels painted with red-and-black figures. And the rear bumps with a register of bronze and tin medallion depicting Eros-inspired scenes of satyrs, nymphs, and cupids. In short, this chariot is slab.</p><p>"It is an extraordinary discovery for the advancement of our knowledge of the ancient world," Massimo Osanna, the director of the archaeological park, <a href="http://pompeiisites.org/en/comunicati/the-four-wheeled-processional-chariot-the-last-discovery-of-pompeii/" target="_blank">said in a statement</a>. "At Pompeii vehicles used for transport have been found in the past, […] but nothing like the Civita Giuliana chariot."</p><p>But unlike a Lamborghini—which serves only to show the owner has more money than sense—this chariot served a social and cultural role. Likely a <em>pilentum</em>, it would have been rolled out in times of ceremony, potentially during festivals, processions, or weddings.</p><p>While similar chariots have been uncovered in northern Greece, this is the first such chariot to be discovered in Italy. Its presence in Pompeii will further help historians understand the people who called the city home, as well as their relation to the Mediterranean world.</p><p>As Poehler added, "This is precisely the kind of find that one wants to find at Pompeii, the really well-articulated, very well-preserved moments in time. And it happens to be in this case an object that is relatively rare despite its ubiquity in the past."</p>It belongs in a museum (not the black market)
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTc5ODk2NC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY3NTUzMTE4NH0.spa-Hrt91eKZBpnYfk1H6MDYduDl4auXSZ89EWM64wU/img.jpg?width=980" id="d2e80" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="be9f69758cdcb6969b247602e4d97e4a" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1024" data-height="683" />Bronze and tin medallions depict satyrs, nymphs and cupids.
Credit: Luigi Spina, Archaeological Park of Pompeii
<p>Beyond its gilded appeal, the chariot is also special because it survived so we could learn from it. The area where the vehicle was found has been favored in recent years by looters, and illicit tunnels had been dug precariously close to the chariot's resting place. For this reason, the archeological park has teamed up with the Public Prosecutor's Office of Torre Annunziata to protect Pompeii's history and excavate its treasures before they become lost or stolen.</p><p>"The collaboration between the Public Prosecutor's Office of Torre Annunziata and the Archaeological Park of Pompeii has proved itself to be a formidable instrument, not only for bringing finds of exceptional historical and artistic value to light, but also for halting the criminal actions of individuals who for years have been the protagonists in a systematic looting of the priceless archaeological heritage preserved in the vast area of the Civita Giuliana villa, which is still largely buried and to which the recent exceptional findings bear witness," Nunzio Fragliasso, chief prosecutor of Torre Annunziata, said in his joint statement with Osanna.</p><p>Nor is everything that glitters historic gold. Even Pompeii's everyday ephemera can have an outsized impact on history. Pompeian citizens, for example, viewed street walls as a type of "<a href="https://www.thegreatcoursesdaily.com/how-pompeii-graffiti-preserved-the-ordinary-voices-of-ancient-rome/" target="_blank">public advertisement space</a>" and so painted them thick with graffiti. As historians must often rely on the written works of the literate elite, this graffiti gives the ordinary Pompeians their voice back. <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/10/ancient-graffiti-shifts-date-pompeii-s-destruction-back-2-months" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">One such charcoal tag</a> even corrected the record of Vesuvius's eruption by two months, from August to October, contradicting the traditionally accepted date set by Pliny the Younger.</p><p>"Today, archaeologists try to understand ancient societies by studying the entire material record -- not just the beautiful or luxurious objects, but also the broken bits of cooking pottery, the animal bones thrown into the trash, the microscopic grains of pollen in the soil, and much more," Caitlín Barrett, associate professor at Cornell University, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/pompeii-new-excavations-looting/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">told <em>CNN</em></a>.</p><p>This ephemera is also at risk. Looters looking for eye-catching treasure and artwork will often destroy everyday objects in their pursuit. And after centuries encased in protective sedimentary rock, the city has again been exposed to the rains, winds, and human blunders that erode. The goal now isn't just to excavate fantastic treasures, but to preserve the world heritage site and learn from it for as long as time (<a href="http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/what%E2%80%99s-most-recent-eruption-vesuvius-and-will-it-erupt-again" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">and maybe Vesuvius</a>) will allow.</p>
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Best. Science. Fiction. Show. Ever.
"The Expanse" is the best vision I've ever seen of a space-faring future that may be just a few generations away.
26 February, 2021
Credit: "The Expanse" / Syfy
- Want three reasons why that headline is justified? Characters and acting, universe building, and science.
- For those who don't know, "The Expanse" is a series that's run on SyFy and Amazon Prime set about 200 years in the future in a mostly settled solar system with three waring factions: Earth, Mars, and Belters.
- No other show I know of manages to use real science so adeptly in the service of its story and its grand universe building.
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<p>Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know: <em>Best science fiction show ever. </em>That is a pretty audacious claim and it means I've got some explaining to do. But with 58.5 years of nerdom behind me, including years of watching "Star Trek", "UFO", "Space 1999", "Battlestar Galactica" (the original one that sucked except for the special effects), "Stargate", "The X-Files", "Farscape", "Battlestar Galactica" (the new one that didn't suck) and Firefly I have seen a thing or two concerning science fiction on TV. That's why I'm here ready to stand my ground and proclaim for all nerdom to hear…</p>
<p>"<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08MMJTJSH" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Expanse</a>" is the greatest science fiction TV show ever. EVER!</p>
<p>For those of you who don't know, "The Expanse" is a series that's run on SyFy and Amazon Prime set about 200 years in the future in a mostly settled solar system (slight spoiler alerts follow). Based on an <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/56399-the-expanse" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">amazing book series</a> by <a href="https://twitter.com/AbrahamHanover" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">SA Corey</a>, in this future there are three major political factions in constant conflict with each other. First, there is Earth which remains powerful but is stretched thin by climate change and overpopulation. Then there is Mars, a former colony of Earth, that's now an independent militaristic republic whose technology generally outpaces that of humanity's homeworld. The final faction is "The Belt" which refers to the asteroids and moons of the giant planets. Belters are resource extractors, and they are the oppressed underclass. After generations living on ships and in low-gravity environments, their bodies have changed, making it impossible for many of them to handle the crush of gravity on the inner planets. </p>
<p>The story begins with all three factions at each other's throats. Mars and Earth are in the midst of a long cold war that, occasionally, turns <a href="https://expanse.fandom.com/wiki/Vesta_Blockade" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">hot</a>. What Earth and Mars have in common, however, is keeping their boot on the neck of the Belters who are, themselves, poised for bloody rebellion. This simmering political, social and military conflict would be enough for a hundred episodes but it's into this pile of dynamite "The Expanse" drops an alien artifact that changes everything and propels the narrative.</p><p>Now, the individual elements in what I described above are not really that original. You can find many versions of them in many TV shows across many decades. So, what does "The Expanse" do with these elements that makes it so special? For me the excellence of the show manifests in three distinct ways: characters and acting; universe building; science.</p>
<blockquote>The level of attempted scientific realism in the show is wonderful, extending even to little details like how whiskey spirals out of its bottle due to the <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/coriolis-effect/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Coriolis effect</a> when poured on a rotating space station.</blockquote>
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTY5MTc0OC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0ODc0NzIyMn0.h3G9wanrr1lmk3itUpVAyj-fw_iuUkUvyFa7Oum86-M/img.jpg?width=980" id="d6dcc" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="2e1eacc6a1afa879c5c199aec589c06b" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1000" data-height="200" /><p>Let's start with characters and acting. No matter how good your science fiction ideas may be, you have to tell your stories through actors pretending to be characters interacting with each other. By its nature, science fiction shows can ask a lot of actors. They have to stare at green screens, pretending to be in awe of an alien mothership that won't get added till post-production CGI; or they dangle from wires emoting through a screen set in the weightlessness of space. It takes serious acting chops to maintain the gravity (or levity) that makes it all believable or better yet <em>relatable</em>. That's why the depth of performances in <em>The Expanse</em> is its best surprise. The recent season, for example, had actor <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4625680/" target="_blank">Dominique Tipper</a> killing it across three episodes as Belter engineer Naomi Nagata. Nagata is caught alone on a booby-trapped ship, exhausting herself trying to signal her friends to <em>not</em> attempt a rescue. It's a solo performance reminiscent of Tom Hanks' great work in "Castaway".<br></p><br>Across the seasons, other actors have also filled out their characters with an empathy that's comparable to anything else in any other genre on TV. <a href="https://twitter.com/ThomasJane" target="_blank">Thomas Jane's</a> detective Josephus Miller was an epic noir depiction of a man broken by circumstance but still moving towards something better. <a href="https://twitter.com/SAghdashloo" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Shohreh Aghdashloo's</a> foul-mouthed UN leader Chrisjen Avasarala is a skilled politician who will kick your ass and save your world at the same time. And, perhaps best of all, is <a href="https://twitter.com/weschatham" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Wes Chatham</a>'s Amos Burton. Born in the worst the streets can offer he became a killer then escaped to become a spaceship mechanic. Chatham plays Burton as simultaneously dangerous, kind, and slightly bewildered, always wanting to do the right thing if he just knew what that was. And don't even get me started on how good <a href="https://twitter.com/CaraGeeeee" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Cara Gee</a> is as Belter captain Camina Drummer.
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTY5MTc0OS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2NTgzOTgwMX0.7RtmTVSHBVO7lpWbIa3qx9bmpBi_qG58b6J_L-nGO0s/img.jpg?width=980" id="e8c48" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="2b0f8459f35eb2073d4ed2347f667a6d" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1000" data-height="200" /><p>Next, we come to what's called 'universe building' in science fiction. All the great acting needs a fully fleshed out, lived-in world to ground it. How, for example, do the trams work on a hollowed out, spinning asteroid like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceres_(dwarf_planet)" target="_blank">Ceres</a> that's used as a space settlement? This isn't a physics question. Instead, it means if you arrived on Ceres, where would you find the tram station? What do the maps look like that would help you get around? These are the kind of details that fall both to the writers and the art department. Getting these details wrong means the world your show inhabits will either look cheesy or, worse, sterile, as if all your expensive sets never had anyone live in them.</p>
<p>Happily, everything in "The Expanse" looks lived in. Everything looks like part of an organic whole. The sets and scenes give us a world built by humans for human purposes even if it's a city built into the side of a Martian cliff. From visions of New York City under siege from climate change to the claustrophobic interiors of Belter ships (all webbing, ductwork and grimy computer screens), the universe of "The Expanse" is endlessly rich, interesting, and believable (<a href="https://twitter.com/donttrythis" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Adam Savage</a> has a great set of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2ICDTv3VJA" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">videos</a> on production design in "The Expanse").</p>
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTY5MTc1MS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0NDEyNDg2Nn0.b7YJNl900W-P531IJDBt-a3sxieX3VdjuyhOVJU19PY/img.jpg?width=980" id="90aec" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="7630d221c2eadd637411ac089fb7c652" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1000" data-height="200" /><p>Finally, we come to the science, because, after all, this is science fiction. I am not one who demands that my science fiction always get the science right. What matters is that the writers create a self-consistent universe where whatever "science" is invoked remains constant as constraints imposed to provide obstacles and make the story work. But, to my joy, for the most part the "science" used in "The Expanse" is the science I teach in my <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/12/how-real-world-science-sets-expanse-apart-other-sci-fi-shows" target="_blank">physics</a> classes. For example, there is no imaginary "artificial gravity" babble. Instead, there is thrust gravity when the engines are on, accelerating spaceships. There is also spin gravity when you're on the inside of something rotating. Other than that, you are "on the float." Just like what will happen in real spaceships and space stations in the future.</p>
<p>The level of attempted scientific realism in the show is wonderful, extending even to little details like how whiskey spirals out of its bottle due to the <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/coriolis-effect/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Coriolis effect</a> when poured on a rotating space station. Most importantly, the writers use the real physics real people will really encounter in real space travel as a kind of extra character in the show. During space battles, as ships roll and pivot, Newton's first law (inertia) means unsecured tools are sent flying across the cabin. That makes them dangerous projectiles our brave heroes must dodge while fighting evil and advancing the storyline. It all makes my physicist's heart weep in gratitude.</p>
<p>Of course, not all the science in "The Expanse" is valid or accurate or correct. But that's OK. No other show I know of manages to use real science so adeptly in the service of its story and its grand universe building. I often rewatch episodes of "The Expanse" just to get a sense of "Oh yeah, that's how it might look." In a way, the show is the best vision I've ever seen of a space-faring future that may be just a few generations away.</p>
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTY5MTc1OC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNTc0OTQ1OX0.Enwz2n8tuWTiTJCUGhNZyKdFFMpIluc_gMiF81syppo/img.jpg?width=980" id="58949" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="19881167238be86e0db2bcae4e79f249" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="970" data-height="546" />
Credit: "The Expanse" / Syfy
<p>Now, I get it if you don't agree with me. I love "Star Trek" and I thought "Battlestar Galactica" (the new one) was amazing and I do adore "The Mandalorian". They are all fun and important and worth watching and thinking about. And maybe you love them more than anything else. But when you sum up the acting, the universe building, and the use of real science where it matters, I think nothing can beat "The Expanse". And with a <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_expanse" target="_blank">Rotten Tomato</a> average rating of 93%, I'm clearly not the only one who feels this way.</p><p>Best.</p><p>Show.</p><p>Ever. </p>
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How art and design can rebuild a community
MIT professor Azra Akšamija creates works of cultural resilience in the face of social conflict.
24 February, 2021
Credit: Memory Matrix
In the spring of 2016, a striking art installation was constructed outside MIT's building E15.
<p> The work consisted of 20,000 small green plexiglass squares, with intricate holes cut in each one, depicting vanished or endangered pieces of global cultural heritage, including buildings, monuments, and sculptures. Attached to fencing about 40 feet high, the squares collectively formed an image of the Arch of Triumph from Palmyra, Syria, an ancient treasure destroyed by fundamentalists in 2015.</p><p>Lit up at night or shimmering in daytime, this installation — the “Memory Matrix" — was a powerful reminder of the fragility of our cultural creations in the face of conflict and strife. But it also represented human resilience and the strength of collaboration: About 700 people helped construct it, including MIT community members from 11 different departments and programs, and participants from Egypt and Jordan.</p><p>“That project was amazing, because of the solidarity-building it created across campus and internationally," says MIT Associate Professor Azra Akšamija, who created the idea for the installation. </p>
<p>Akšamija is an uncommonly versatile artist, architect, and scholar whose work explores cultural identity and conflict. Her own career exemplifies resilience: Akšamija experienced displacement as a Bosnian Muslim whose family left in the early 1990s to escape the war at home. Having spent much of her life in Austria, the United States, and Germany, her work frequently explores encounters between Islam and the West.</p><p>Among other distinctions, Akšamija was given the 2013 Aga Khan Award for Architecture for her design of a prayer space's symbolic elements, at Austria's first-ever Muslim cemetery, in Altach (the cemetery itself was designed by Bernardo Bader). Some of her best-known designs are wearable art, including her "Frontier Vest" from 2006, a garment that works as a jacket for refugees and can be transformed into a Jewish prayer shawl or an Islamic prayer rug. Akšamija has detailed many of her ideas in a 2015 book, "Mosque Manifesto — Propositions for Spaces of Coexistence."</p><p>She has also been a program-builder at MIT, founding the Future Heritage Lab (FHL), which focuses on cultural preservation. At the Al Azraq Refugee Camp in Jordan, FHL members, along with their partners at German-Jordanian University, have helped Syrian refugees document their lives through photography, design, and poetry; the work was displayed at the 2017 Amman Design Week.</p>
<p>Over the past three years, camp residents, FHL members, and MIT students have developed a book about refugee inventions, which will be used in MIT's first design studio-based online course, "Design and Scarcity" (co-taught by Akšamija and FHL program director Melina Philippou). The book will also be translated for the camp and the wider region.</p><p>The Al Azraq camp refugees, Akšamija says, "design artifacts that are partly utilitarian, but are about preserving human dignity and memory, and keeping the feeling of who you are. It's powerful."</p>
<h3>"Making things since I could think"</h3><p>Akšamija grew up in Sarajevo, now part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. One of her grandfathers was an accomplished architect who had studied in Prague and, she says, "brought Czech modernism back to Bosnia." Design grabbed Akšamija's interest from a young age.</p><p>"I have been making things since I could think about myself," Akšamija says. "As a child I was completely obsessed with drawing and sculpture, which I would do for hours. Also, to get out of my piano lessons, I would make these plasticine sculptures and then display them on the piano, to distract the piano teacher."</p><p>At the time, Sarajevo was part of the larger republic of Yugoslavia. But in 1992, after war broke out in the Balkans, Akšamija and her family moved to Germany, then Austria, to escape the conflict. As an undergraduate, Akšamija studied architecture at the Graz University of Technology. Still, she says, the university "had these awesome art classes," and she wanted to incorporate art into her career.</p><p>Akšamija attended graduate school at Princeton University, receiving her MArch in 2004, while becoming active artistically; by 2004, her work had been displayed in high-profile institutions and exhibitions in Vienna, Valencia, Leipzig, and Liverpool. Joining MIT's PhD program in the history and theory of architecture, Akšamija continued to create art; in addition to "Frontier Vest," she produced noted works such as "Survival Mosque" (2005), a wearable and portable mosque equipped with a copy of the U.S. Constitution, earplugs (to block out the insults Muslims might hear), books, and more. Soon her work was exhibited in major art museums in London, New York, and Berlin.</p>
<p>Some of Akšamija's projects from this period went in novel directions. With nine other artists and architects, Akšamija co-curated the "Lost Highway Expedition" in 2006, a trek in which 300 people walked the Highway of Brotherhood and Unity that connects the capitals of the former Yugoslavia.</p><p>"After the war I had thought, 'I'm never going to Serbia again in my life,'" Akšamija says. However, for the trek, "we had events in cities and you had to find your own way, you had to make friends. And this is the way I went for the first time to the territories my country had the war with." Though the project was challenging, she says, "It was important to start discussing difficult topics. It doesn't mean they're fully resolved. Unfortunately, there are still many people denying that genocide happened in Bosnia."</p><p>For her dissertation, working with MIT professors Nasser Rabbat and Caroline Jones, as well as Harvard University's András Riedlmayer, Akšamija looked at the systematic targeting of cultural heritage in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the 1992-95 war, examining how Bosnian Muslims restored mosques that had been destroyed.</p><p>"These buildings were attacked because nationalists wanted to revise history and alienate people to an extent that they would never want to live together in the future," Akšamija says.</p><p>The questions driving her research apply anywhere, Akšamija says. "From the Balkans we can learn important lessons about how we live in spaces of fragmented commons. When that falls apart, how do you reconnect? What kinds of cultural institutions do we need to bridge divides and hold governments accountable? It is relevant globally. Who has the right to write their history, to be visible in public space, and who decides those things?"</p><p>After joining the MIT faculty, Akšamija earned tenure in 2019.</p>
<h3>Becoming yourself</h3><p>At MIT, Akšamija has found it gratifying to see students gravitate to her classes, to projects like "Memory Matrix," and to the Future Heritage Lab.</p><p>"MIT students care," Akšamija says. "They really want to do something to contribute to this world. This place is so inspiring."</p><p>At the same time, she notes, the Institute can be an intense academic setting, and instructors need to help sustain the sheer enjoyment of learning.</p><p>"You [can] lose sight of why you started doing things and what initially drew you to them, and it can be overwhelming," Akšamija says. "You see it with students. I like to create joy in things, especially in classes. That's why it's so amazing to teach here, because the students are so full of enthusiasm and joy. But also sometimes anxiety, and I think we all have responsibility here as teachers to take care of that. It's not about students performing for someone else, but becoming better versions of themselves."</p><p>Akšamija calls the current direction of her research "Performative Preservation." This is an approach to cultural preservation that uses "methods of contemporary arts and participatory art." She emphasizes that participation and co-creation are crucial to cultural restoration; physical structures can be rebuilt, but they will lack meaning without community involvement.</p><p>Her work is now on view at the Gallery for Contemporary Art, in Leipzig, Germany, and at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, with a new work slated for the 17th International Architecture Exhibition for the Venice Biennale, in May 2021. Curated by Hashim Sarkis, dean of MIT's School of Architecture and Planning, the Biennale's theme is "How Will We Live Together?" Akšamija's project, "Silk Road Works," a symbolic construction site for a pluralist society, will be part of a section at the Arsenale titled, "Among Diverse Beings."</p><p>As always, Akšamija hopes for a thoughtful response from her audience, without knowing exactly what that will be.</p><p>"When you work in public space, it's not about finding a consensus, where we all have the same opinion and are happily living together," Akšamija says. "It's about accepting and coming to terms with conflicting attitudes and ideas, and making space for them."</p><p>Reprinted with permission of <a target="_blank" href="http://news.mit.edu/" rel="noopener noreferrer">MIT News</a>. Read the <a target="_blank" href="https://news.mit.edu/2020/azra-aksamija-cultures-art-0812" rel="noopener noreferrer">original article</a>.</p>
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Inspirational quotes from famous people on the autism spectrum
Words of wisdom from H.P. Lovecraft, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Dr. Temple Grandin, Hannah Gadsby and more.
09 February, 2021
Credit: World Travel & Tourism Council /gdcgraphics on Flickr / Big Think
- Autism (commonly referred to as ASD, autism spectrum disorder) refers to a broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech, and nonverbal communication.
- The effects of ASD and the severity of symptoms can be very different in each person. Additionally, these things can also change over time. This is why it's considered a spectrum.
- Many people with ASD gift the world with inventions or new ways of thinking. Judy Singer, for example, is the woman who coined the term "neurodiversity" in the 1990s.
<p><strong>What is autism? </strong></p><p>Autism (commonly referred to as ASD, autism spectrum disorder) refers to a broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech, and nonverbal communication.</p><p><strong>What is neurodiversity?</strong></p><p>Neurodiversity is the concept that there are many different variations of human functionality and that each and every variation needs to be better understood and respected.</p><p>Previously (and in some places, currently), neurological differences such as autism or ADHD were considered medical deficits. They were classified as things that need to be treated and cured. </p><p>Neurodiversity is an alternative approach to learning and disability that shifts the focus from treatment and cures to acceptance and accommodation. The neurodiversity movement began in the late 1990s, when sociologist Judy Singer (who is on the autism spectrum), came up with the word to describe conditions such as ADHD, autism, and dyslexia. This ideology recognizes that neurological differences are the result of natural variations to the human genome.</p><p><strong>What does it mean to be on the autism spectrum? </strong></p><p>The "official" term for the diagnosis is ASD (autism <em>spectrum </em>disorder). While the days where things were viewed as black and white aren't too far behind us, the world is slowly gravitating towards understanding that many things (from mental health conditions to gender) can land on a spectrum. The effects of ASD and the severity of symptoms can be very different in each person. Additionally, these things can also change over time. This is why it's considered a spectrum.</p><p>There are several people throughout history who have been rumored to be on the autism spectrum, from infamous author Lewis Carroll, to iconic mathematician Isaac Newton. Many people with ASD gift the world with inventions or new ways of thinking. In fact, the first entry on the list is the woman who coined the term "neurodiversity" in the 1990s, Judy Singer. </p>
Judy Singer
<blockquote><em>"I think the concept of Neurodiversity has been world-changing, by giving us a new perspective on humanity, but it needs to mature to the point where we see that human nature is complex, and nature is beautiful but not benign."</em> <br>- <strong>Judy Singer to </strong><a href="https://www.autismawareness.com.au/news-events/aupdate/in-conversation-with-judy-singer/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Autism Awareness</strong></a></blockquote>Hannah Gadsby
<blockquote><em>"There is nothing stronger than a broken woman who has rebuilt herself."</em> <br><strong>-</strong> <strong>Hannah Gadsby, </strong><a href="https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/a22502991/hannah-gadsby-nanette-quotes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Marie Claire</strong></a></blockquote>Daryl Hannah
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTYyOTUyMy9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2NTk2NzI1MH0.3Nsw6M_Vlh17Uzd7XypVE2iR8eyps3lEu5UjU8xgh2E/img.jpg?width=980" id="75b00" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f9b64a7d23222a9f2318ce305e2314db" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1024" data-height="1448" />Daryl Hannah
Credit: World Travel & Tourism Council / Flickr
<blockquote><em>"And I know that the younger generation is doing things that are so ingenious. And for them it's not a matter of a political belief or an environmental stance. It's really just common sense."</em> <br><strong>- </strong><strong>Daryl Hannah, </strong><a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna12853873" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>NBC News</strong> </a></blockquote>Susan Boyle
<blockquote><em>"There are enough people in the world who are going to write you off. You don't need to do that to yourself." <br></em><strong>- Susan Boyle, "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Woman-Was-Born-Be-Story/dp/1451609264" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Woman I Was Born to Be: My Story</a>"</strong></blockquote>Dan Harmon
<blockquote><em>"We float around and we run across each other and we learn about ourselves, and we make mistakes and we do great things. We hurt others, we hurt ourselves, we make others happy and we please ourselves. We can and should forgive ourselves and each other for that."</em> <br><strong>- </strong><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/6890515.Dan_Harmon" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Dan Harmon</strong></a></blockquote>Dr. Temple Grandin
<blockquote><em>"When I was younger I was looking for this magic meaning of life. It's very simple now. Making the lives of others better, doing something of lasting value. That's the meaning of life, it's that simple."</em> <br><strong>- Dr. Temple Grandin, </strong><a href="https://wecapable.com/famous-people-with-autism/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>WECapable</strong></a></blockquote>Kim Peek
<blockquote>"Recognizing and respecting differences in others, and treating everyone like you want them to treat you, will help make our world a better place for everyone."<br><strong>- Kim Peek, </strong><a href="https://allthatsinteresting.com/famous-people-with-autism#6" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>All That's Interesting</strong></a></blockquote>H.P Lovecraft
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTYyOTUyOS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1Mjg0NjgzNX0.Wma0Tq3lpRCTQWb8rhO31w5HVkgkaKer5gA4kuHAjdE/img.jpg?width=980" id="7de42" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="49d8f4e4b93d01b616f11e6acac1c213" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="512" data-height="628" />H.P. Lovecraft
Public domain
<blockquote><em>"What a man does for pay is of little significance. What he is, as a sensitive instrument responsive to the world's beauty, is everything!"</em> <br><strong>- </strong><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/7263148-what-a-man-does-for-pay-is-of-little-significance#:~:text=%E2%80%9CWhat%20a%20man%20does%20for%20pay%20is%20of%20little%20significance,world's%20beauty%2C%20is%20everything!%E2%80%9D" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>H.P. Lovecraft</strong></a></blockquote>Daniel Tammet
<blockquote><em>"I would play with numbers in a way that other kids would play with their friends."</em> <br><strong>- </strong><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Tammet" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Daniel Tammet</strong></a> </blockquote>Sir Anthony Hopkins
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTYzNzk4Mi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MjAyNTg3NH0.17d6hwAXAzXR3bXw-h25d-OzFFkWpxNmLHJG335Fp8g/img.jpg?width=980" id="da773" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="fce54fbea9fb9cb5e332aec9d8edc4c3" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="727" data-height="900" />Credit: gdcgraphics on Flickr
<blockquote><em>"My philosophy is: It's none of my business what people say of me and think of me. I am what I am, and I do what I do. I expect nothing and accept everything. And it makes life so much easier."</em> <br><strong>- </strong><a href="https://www.psycom.net/autism-famous-people" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Sir Anthony Hopkins</strong></a></blockquote>John Elder Robinson
<blockquote><em>"It does not matter what sixty-six percent of people do in any particular situation. All that matters is what you do."</em> <br><strong>- John Elder Robinson, "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Different-Adventures-Free-Range-Aspergian-Aspergians-ebook/dp/B004J4WKNI" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Be Different: Adventures of a Free-Range Aspergian with Practical Advice for Aspergians, Misfits, Families & Teachers</a>"</strong></blockquote>
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Learn how to play the guitar from the comfort of your home for only $29
This course bundle features 59 hours of training that will help you channel your inner instrumentalist.
08 February, 2021
- With so many hours spent at home these days, there's never been a better time to learn to play an instrument.
- The Ultimate Beginner to Expert Guitar Lessons Bundle teaches you to play guitar from the comfort of your home.
- It features 59 hours of training, led by pro Dan Dresnok, that will help you channel your inner instrumentalist.
<script async="true" src="https://widgets.stackcommerce.com/js-deal-feed/0.1/widget.js" type="text/javascript"></script><p>If you've always wanted to learn how to play the guitar, don't wait to make this dream of yours happen. Considering all the time you're spending at home, why not pick up the stringed instrument and start learning?</p><p>You won't have to go at it alone. Grab the <a href="https://shop.bigthink.com/sales/the-ultimate-beginner-to-expert-guitar-lessons-bundle?utm_source=bigthink.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=the-ultimate-beginner-to-expert-guitar-lessons-bundle&utm_term=scsf-466553&utm_content=a0x1P000004Z4XOQA0&scsonar=1" target="_blank">Ultimate Beginner to Expert Guitar Lessons Bundle</a> and you'll be strumming along to your favorite song in no time.</p><p>In fact, the online course bundle starts out with a Strumming for the Curious Guitarist class, which will teach you the very basics of reading, writing, counting, tapping, and strumming to any rhythm. It continues to breakdown guitar-focused genres, such as bluegrass, <a href="https://bigthink.com/strange-maps/jimi-hendrix-death" rel="noopener" target="_blank">blues</a>, and jazz, and you'll learn popular songs from each style of music. All in all, there are nine classes showcasing fundamental guitar knowledge that will have you playing like a pro in no time.</p><p>You'll be learning from Dan Dresnok, who's been teaching guitar for over two decades. He's also played as a session guitarist for various recording studios, moderated hundreds of group guitar clinics, and written a number of guitar method books. His specialty lies in jazz, bluegrass, blues, rock, and music theory, so if any of those interest you, you've come to the right place.<br></p><p>In total, the bundle includes 59 hours of guitar training that you'll have access to whenever and wherever you have time to learn. This <a href="https://shop.bigthink.com/sales/the-ultimate-beginner-to-expert-guitar-lessons-bundle?utm_source=bigthink.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=the-ultimate-beginner-to-expert-guitar-lessons-bundle&utm_term=scsf-466553&utm_content=a0x1P000004Z4XOQA0&scsonar=1" target="_blank">beginner online guitar training</a> is valued at $1,601, but you can sign up for only $29 for a limited time, which comes out to about $3 per class.</p><p><em>Prices subject to change.</em></p><p><em><em><em><em><em><em><em>W</em><em>hen you buy something through a link in this article or from <a href="https://shop.bigthink.com/" target="_self">our shop</a>, Big Think earns a small commission. Thank you for supporting our team's work.</em></em></em></em></em></em></em></p><script type="text/javascript">https://cdnp3.stackassets.com/5988b46e400299139c759b6b56f7975416fe68a3/store/d39f387c04512927a072f22dfb01959c77a8ed99570f20ccd003ad8d10c8/sale_20325_primary_image_wide.jpg_
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