9/19/2013

Book Look - The Map That Changed the World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology, by Simon Winchester



The author does a creditable job of creating an entertaining read, given the dearth of historical records and William Smith's largely unexceptional life. Alas (at least for narrative purposes), Smith wasn't one of those fascinating dilitantes of the 18th/19th century who managed to dabble in science, arts, literature, politics, and philosophy, all while managing an extravagent estate. Smith was obsessed with just one thing - geology/paleontology - but what he did, he did exceptionally well. His geologic map of the U.K. - the first geological map ever endeavored, remarkable accurate for its time - may not have changed the world on its own, but his theories on stratographic deposition - especially when combined with Darwin's insights into natural selection - definitely contributed to a continental shift (pun intended) in how future generations came to regard natural science.

Up until Smith's work at the beginning of the 19th century, it appears no one had bothered to question why the Earth beneath our feet seemed to be layed down in layers, why some of those layers contained coal while others didn't, nor why some of those layers seemed to contain fossils of sea life even though they were located far inland. Primarily this is because, at that time, people were busier trying (with uneven success) to fit observed facts into the Biblical account of Earth's genesis rather than visa versa.

Smith's work as a coal miner and drainage engineer placed him in the ideal position - geographically and historically - to start piecing together the puzzle that laid the foundation for a more scientific approach to geological time and Earth's origins.

All was not science and glory for Mr. Smith, however - partly due to the jealousy of rivals, partly due to bad luck, partly due - even the author admits - to Smith's own deficits. The man was an poor communicator, vain, spendthrift, and a terrible procrastinator, who also appears to have married unwisely and to have made a series of inexplicably reckless decisions that eventually led to disgrace and bankrupcy. Never fear - the story has a happy ending! Towards the end of his life Smith's reputation was salvaged and today the "Father of English Geology" occupies his rightful place in the pantheon of geology gods.

I agree that the story is a thin one, made even thinner by the fact that Smith appears to have been an inconsistent, unreliable journalist and there's a dearth of 3rd person accounts to corroborate or enrich Smith's sparse narrative. For instance, I'm still not sure whether his fascination with geology was merely the result of intellectual curiosity or more of an obsession/compulsion; I'm not clear whether he was socially adept or a social disaster(different anecdotes seem to come down on different sides); it's not clear to what extent Smith reconciled (or failed to reconcile) his findings with extant beliefs re. Earth's history; and Winchester's such a Smith fanboy that I can't shake the feeling he may have omitted information/analysis that would have shed a less favorable light on our reticent protagonist.

Having said that, I give Winchester props for making this story of geological exploration broad, engaging and accessible. If the author's portrait of Smith isn't quite complete, at least I gained interesting insights into British history, the geology of the U.K., the state of scientific discovery in the late 1700s/early 1800s, and debtor's prisons. His descriptions of geological phenomenon are simple and lucid (though a few more charts/graphs might have been useful). And if Winchester's heavy use of foreshadowing does sometimes confuse the chronology, at least it keeps you turning pages right up until the end. Perhaps not a great book, but I definitely don't regret the time I spent in Mr. Smith's company, and hope one day to be able to visit his great map at the headquarters of the Geological Society in London on the strength of this amiable tale.

9/08/2013

A Thousand Words - McDreamy Shakespeare


This is the so-called "Cobbe portrait" of Shakespeare, unearthed in 2006 or so.  If you're interested in a detailed discussion of its provenance, check out the wikipedia article.  But just look at those dashing features, those intelligent eyes, that dapper facial hair - he's even managing to rock that lace collar practically garotting him, for goodness sake! As far as I'm concerned, the matter is settled: this is the type of man capable of writing Romeo & Juliet, not to mention reliably filling the ladies seats at the Rose Theater as an actor.  Goodbye, Balding Bard; hello, McDreamy Shakespeare!

9/06/2013

Most Romantic Lines From Literature


Hope others will enjoy this collection of swoon-worthy quotes from literature as much as I enjoyed compiling them!   Obviously there are thousands to choose from, so I've limited myself to classic literature and quotes that made my own heart give a little throb the first time I read them. 
  1. "Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.” - Catherine, Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
  2. "If he loved you with all the power of his soul for a whole lifetime, he couldn't love you as much as I do in a single day." - Heathcliff, Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
  3. "I pray one prayer--I repeat it till my tongue stiffens--Catherine Earnshaw, may you not rest as long as I am living; you said I killed you--haunt me, then! The murdered do haunt their murderers, I believe. I know that ghosts have wandered on earth. Be with me always--take any form--drive me mad! only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh, God! it is unutterable! I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!" - Heathcliff, Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
  4. "A solemn passion is conceived in my heart; it leans to you, draws you to my centre and spring of life, wraps my existence about you–and, kindling in pure, powerful flame, fuses you and me in one.” - Mr. Rochester, Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
  5. "You should be kissed, and often, and by someone who knows how.” - Rhett Butler, Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
  6. “You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone for ever. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own than when you almost broke it, eight years and a half ago. Dare not say that man forgets sooner than woman, that his love has an earlier death. I have loved none but you." - Capt. Wentworth, Persuasion (Jane Austen)
  7. "If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day, so I never have to live without you." - Winnie the Pooh (A.A. Milne)
  8. But our love it was stronger by far than the love/Of those who were older than we-/Of many far wiser than we-/And neither the angels in heaven above,/Nor the demons down under the sea,/Can ever dissever my soul from the soul/Of the beautiful Annabel Lee. - Annabelle Lee (Edgar Allen Poe)
  9. "As you wish," Wesley, Princess Bride (William Goldman)
  10.  "No matter where you go. I will find you. No matter how long it takes, no matter how far, I will find you. " - Hawkeye, The Last of the Mohicans (James Fenimore Cooper)
  11. "My bounty is as boundless as the sea,/My love as deep; the more I give to thee,/The more I have, for both are infinite." - Juliet, Romeo & Juliet, Shakespeare
  12. "What did my arms do before they held you?" -Sylvia Plath
  13. "When I first met her, I knew in a moment I would have to spend the next few days re-arranging my mind so there'd be room for her to stay"- Gatsby, The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
  14. "Strephon kissed me in the spring,/Robin in the fall,/But Colin only looked at me/And never kissed at all.//Strephon's kiss was lost in jest,/Robin's lost in play,/But the kiss in Colin's eyes/Haunts me night and day." - Sara Teasdale