Bouquet #1: Eclectic Mind Food (Power of Science, MI6 Female Spies, Wisdom, Beethoven's masterpiece)

Science is not just a seeking of things outside.  It can also transform us when we know the vastness of this existence. Several scientists tell Big Think how science has changed their understanding of the Universe and themselves.

How science changes the way we think, according to 10 leading scientists

Scientific research reveals much about the world but also much about ourselves. A group of researchers share what science means to them.

Big ThinkElizabeth Fernandez

Four directors-general at SIS.  One is Kathy.  She reports to the Chief, who is known as “C”.  First time in MI6’s history, three of the Director-Generals are women.  Kathy is the Director of Operations. Rebecca is the one for Strategy. And Ada, also known as “Q” after James Bond’s legendary gadgeteer, is the head of technology.

This article describes the fascinating lives of women spies from Mi6.

The secret lives of MI6’s top female spies

For the first time ever, SIS officers reveal why women often make the best spies for our times

Financial TimesHelen Warrell

The word for ‘philosophy’ in Korean is the ‘study of wisdom’ or, perhaps better, ‘how to become wise’ In the Korean tradition of philosophy, human beings are social beings, therefore knowing how to interact with others is an essential part of living a good life.

Korean philosophy is built upon daily practice of good habits | Aeon Essays

Practice is at the heart of Korean philosophy. In order to lead a good life, hone your daily rituals of self-cultivation

Aeon MagazineKevin Cawley

Architecture, industrial design, cinematography, and probiotic soda branding aren't sending their best. Despite advanced manufacturing and design technologies, our built environment tends overwhelmingly toward the insubstantial, the flat, and the gray, punctuated here and there by the occasional childish squiggles.

Why Is Everything So Ugly? | The Editors

Dodging huge grilles we walk on, pulled by ugliness toward a gentrified retail strip. Here the violence of the new ugliness comes more fully into focus. The ruling class seized cities and chose to turn them into . . . this?

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The Ode to Joy was first performed in Vienna in 1824. It was adopted by the Council of Europe as its anthem in 1972. Thirteen years later, in 1985, it became the official anthem of the European Community, and of its successor, the European Union.  Beethoven used a poem written by Friedrich Schiller in 1785 as the basis for his most popular composition.   “Ode to Joy” is the tune is the prelude to the fourth – and final – movement of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9.  This is the fascinating story behind this masterpiece!

Trial, Triumph, and the Art of the Possible: The Remarkable Story Behind Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy”

A hymn of rage, a hymn of redemption, and a timeless love letter to the possible.

The MarginalianMaria Popova

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