History gets changed by a tooth
A child’s tooth and some stone tools found in France’s Mandrin cave place our ancestors in Europe far earlier than we thought, living alongside Neanderthals rather than wiping them out.
“The Neanderthals emerged in Europe as far back as 400,000 years ago. The current theory suggests that they went extinct about 40,000 years ago, not long after Homo sapiens arrived on the continent from Africa.
But the new discovery suggests that our species arrived much earlier and that the two species could have coexisted in Europe for more than 10,000 years before the Neanderthals went extinct.”
A child’s tooth and some stone tools found in France’s Mandrin cave place our ancestors in Europe far earlier than we thought, living alongside Neanderthals rather than wiping them out.
“The Neanderthals emerged in Europe as far back as 400,000 years ago. The current theory suggests that they went extinct about 40,000 years ago, not long after Homo sapiens arrived on the continent from Africa.
But the new discovery suggests that our species arrived much earlier and that the two species could have coexisted in Europe for more than 10,000 years before the Neanderthals went extinct.”
London’s new language
This New Yorker piece is relentlessly self-involved but also offers a fascinating window on how London’s spoken English is continuing to evolve, and the rise of Multicultural London English.
‘Speakers of M.L.E. use notably different pronunciations from speakers of Cockney: “face,” which in Cockney sounds like fay-eece, for example, slides closer to fess. (In linguistic terms, the Cockney diphthong is replaced by a near-monophthong.) Some of M.L.E.’s features are lexical, with vocabulary especially influenced by the language spoken by people with Jamaican backgrounds—one of the first postwar immigrant groups to arrive in the East End. But the shifts in the language of London amount to more than the borrowing of vocabulary or changes in pronunciation: there are structural changes, too. David Hall, a linguist at Queen Mary University of London, has written of the organic emergence of a new pronoun, “man,” which, depending on its context, can mean “I” or “me” or “him” or “them.” As an example of generic-impersonal use, Hall gives the example “Man’s gotta work hard to do well these days.” To describe the second-person use, he cites a command that might be issued to an upset friend: “Man needs to calm down!” I asked Hall to meet me in a café in Mile End, in East London, not far from the university. Over coffee, Hall—who is young and bearded, and uses many features of M.L.E. in his speech—discussed other attributes of the linguistic variant, such as the dropping of prepositions with the verbs “go” and “come” in certain contexts.
‘“It has to be some sort of familiar or institutional goal, like ‘I went pub last night,’ or ‘I went chicken shop,’ ” he told me. “It can’t be ‘I went art gallery.’ ”’
This New Yorker piece is relentlessly self-involved but also offers a fascinating window on how London’s spoken English is continuing to evolve, and the rise of Multicultural London English.
‘Speakers of M.L.E. use notably different pronunciations from speakers of Cockney: “face,” which in Cockney sounds like fay-eece, for example, slides closer to fess. (In linguistic terms, the Cockney diphthong is replaced by a near-monophthong.) Some of M.L.E.’s features are lexical, with vocabulary especially influenced by the language spoken by people with Jamaican backgrounds—one of the first postwar immigrant groups to arrive in the East End. But the shifts in the language of London amount to more than the borrowing of vocabulary or changes in pronunciation: there are structural changes, too. David Hall, a linguist at Queen Mary University of London, has written of the organic emergence of a new pronoun, “man,” which, depending on its context, can mean “I” or “me” or “him” or “them.” As an example of generic-impersonal use, Hall gives the example “Man’s gotta work hard to do well these days.” To describe the second-person use, he cites a command that might be issued to an upset friend: “Man needs to calm down!” I asked Hall to meet me in a café in Mile End, in East London, not far from the university. Over coffee, Hall—who is young and bearded, and uses many features of M.L.E. in his speech—discussed other attributes of the linguistic variant, such as the dropping of prepositions with the verbs “go” and “come” in certain contexts.
‘“It has to be some sort of familiar or institutional goal, like ‘I went pub last night,’ or ‘I went chicken shop,’ ” he told me. “It can’t be ‘I went art gallery.’ ”’
A great star fell from heaven…
New evidence that about 1,500 years ago a comet exploded over North America. Some of the locals actually built a comet-shaped mound (since lost) recording the catastrophe. But now chemical fingerprints seem to confirm the oral tradition.
“The fiery blast of a comet tearing through the atmosphere would have devastated the landscape below, clearing forests, damaging agriculture and possibly wiping out villages. These losses would have greatly disrupted crop harvest, limited access to resources and likely interrupted trade activity”.
Like I say, we really should spend more time looking up at the big, intermittent threats hanging over our heads.
New evidence that about 1,500 years ago a comet exploded over North America. Some of the locals actually built a comet-shaped mound (since lost) recording the catastrophe. But now chemical fingerprints seem to confirm the oral tradition.
“The fiery blast of a comet tearing through the atmosphere would have devastated the landscape below, clearing forests, damaging agriculture and possibly wiping out villages. These losses would have greatly disrupted crop harvest, limited access to resources and likely interrupted trade activity”.
Like I say, we really should spend more time looking up at the big, intermittent threats hanging over our heads.
Pratchett: more Parton than Piketty
Good to see Robert Shrimsley at the Financial Times making the case for Terry Pratchett. It is, however, a sign of our times that Pratchett is rising in influence having been picked up from the political left (by campaigner Jack Monroe, who has used an idea from Pratchett to frame a new index of inflation focused on low-income households).
Still, the wisdom contained in humour is permanently out of fashion with Serious People (TM), and anything that advances its status is to be welcomed, even if it risks narrowing Pratchett’s breadth of view into something more partisan.
I was reminded of the brief appreciation I wrote for City AM when Pratchett died, which recalled his more, dare I say, neoliberal side.
“It is the rich, human mess of the marketplace, under the rule of law, that his heroes strive to protect. Through Pratchett’s generous gaze we see not only the absurdities of a commercial civilisation, but also its abiding value.”
One of the rare talents that Pratchett’s work possesses is its ability to appeal across political boundaries. It’s a quality he shares with Dolly Parton, and few others. I hope if his stock rises it isn’t at the price of being captured by only one side.
Good to see Robert Shrimsley at the Financial Times making the case for Terry Pratchett. It is, however, a sign of our times that Pratchett is rising in influence having been picked up from the political left (by campaigner Jack Monroe, who has used an idea from Pratchett to frame a new index of inflation focused on low-income households).
Still, the wisdom contained in humour is permanently out of fashion with Serious People (TM), and anything that advances its status is to be welcomed, even if it risks narrowing Pratchett’s breadth of view into something more partisan.
I was reminded of the brief appreciation I wrote for City AM when Pratchett died, which recalled his more, dare I say, neoliberal side.
“It is the rich, human mess of the marketplace, under the rule of law, that his heroes strive to protect. Through Pratchett’s generous gaze we see not only the absurdities of a commercial civilisation, but also its abiding value.”
One of the rare talents that Pratchett’s work possesses is its ability to appeal across political boundaries. It’s a quality he shares with Dolly Parton, and few others. I hope if his stock rises it isn’t at the price of being captured by only one side.
Friday Cocktail: Division Bells, the book that didn’t burn and energy from the air
Sip: after a long week of political squabbles, on a Division Bell
Weekend browsing:
Is the future of clean energy making hydrocarbons out of thin air? (via @patrickc)
One book that proved uncancellable: Ulysses turns 100
The rise of America’s New Industrialists cuts across party lines. But where’s the UK equivalent? (See my earlier post on the need for an abundance agenda)
The UK does, however, have a new and surprisingly ambitious £1.4bn space defence strategy
Could one simple rule of thumb have saved Boris Johnson’s government from implosion?
Listen: to John Cale, singing Perfect
“I'm not perfect
But you're perfect for me…”
Have a great weekend.
Sip: after a long week of political squabbles, on a Division Bell
Weekend browsing:
Is the future of clean energy making hydrocarbons out of thin air? (via @patrickc)
One book that proved uncancellable: Ulysses turns 100
The rise of America’s New Industrialists cuts across party lines. But where’s the UK equivalent? (See my earlier post on the need for an abundance agenda)
The UK does, however, have a new and surprisingly ambitious £1.4bn space defence strategy
Could one simple rule of thumb have saved Boris Johnson’s government from implosion?
Listen: to John Cale, singing Perfect
“I'm not perfect
But you're perfect for me…”
Have a great weekend.
Where have all the ideas gone?
In a typically thought-provoking aside, Tyler Cowen asks if, in the age of social media, ideas no longer need to spread through popular entertainment (like novels, films and hit songs). If so, has that left pop culture emptier and less interesting?
“Today you can debate ideas directly on social media, without the intermediation of music. Ideas become less simple and more baroque, while music loses its cultural centrality and becomes more boring.“
Music and, in particular, narrative have a long history of real world influence, from the novel that helped create the modern state of Israel to the role of optimistic sci-fi to inspire the scientists behind the Apollo programme. There are still plenty of people on both sides of the political debate committed to countercultural entertainment to advance their worldviews. So are they wrong, or is Tyler missing something? Perhaps the impact of common knowledge?
In a typically thought-provoking aside, Tyler Cowen asks if, in the age of social media, ideas no longer need to spread through popular entertainment (like novels, films and hit songs). If so, has that left pop culture emptier and less interesting?
“Today you can debate ideas directly on social media, without the intermediation of music. Ideas become less simple and more baroque, while music loses its cultural centrality and becomes more boring.“
Music and, in particular, narrative have a long history of real world influence, from the novel that helped create the modern state of Israel to the role of optimistic sci-fi to inspire the scientists behind the Apollo programme. There are still plenty of people on both sides of the political debate committed to countercultural entertainment to advance their worldviews. So are they wrong, or is Tyler missing something? Perhaps the impact of common knowledge?
Will the real me please stand up?
A fascinating London Review of Books essay by Joe Dunthorne on his experience of being impersonated on social media, and trying to communicate with his sleazy double.
“Real me and fake me seemed to have an instant sexual chemistry. I thought about texting but then I got worried because that would mean sharing my actual phone number. So I ordered a new sim card – ‘my burner’, as I made a point of calling it – then bought a little black box from a man called Igor on the internet that would allow me secretly to record both sides of a phone conversation. Only then did I send my impersonator a message on WhatsApp: ‘I’m sorry I didn’t text you straight away. I was nervous!’ and then ‘Shall we chat? Are you in the studio?’ (I loved the idea that I had a studio.) I got no reply. I noticed that his WhatsApp profile picture was different from his Instagram. There it was one of my author photos but here it was a spooky hooded figure sitting in front of a laptop, face obscured by a question mark, looking halfway between a hacker and the Grim Reaper.”
A fascinating London Review of Books essay by Joe Dunthorne on his experience of being impersonated on social media, and trying to communicate with his sleazy double.
“Real me and fake me seemed to have an instant sexual chemistry. I thought about texting but then I got worried because that would mean sharing my actual phone number. So I ordered a new sim card – ‘my burner’, as I made a point of calling it – then bought a little black box from a man called Igor on the internet that would allow me secretly to record both sides of a phone conversation. Only then did I send my impersonator a message on WhatsApp: ‘I’m sorry I didn’t text you straight away. I was nervous!’ and then ‘Shall we chat? Are you in the studio?’ (I loved the idea that I had a studio.) I got no reply. I noticed that his WhatsApp profile picture was different from his Instagram. There it was one of my author photos but here it was a spooky hooded figure sitting in front of a laptop, face obscured by a question mark, looking halfway between a hacker and the Grim Reaper.”
For the love of… urban wine
I have a double life as a wine. A highly drinkable Riesling, in fact. It’s one of the specialities of Renegade, a winery set up under a railway arch in Bethnal Green, London.
Urban winemaking is a fascinating trend, enabled by improved cold chain transport of grapes, which allows high-quality wines to be made outside of the region where they are grown. Just like people, cities provide a place where different traditions of vinification can collide in unexpected and creative ways.
Unable to benefit from the usual appellation branding, urban winemakers are free to create new approaches that help them stand out. For instance, my wine combines old and new world techniques: grapes from Pfalz in Germany fermented with a strain of yeast common in Australian winemaking.
A new short video from The English Wine Collection is a great intro to what urban winemaking is all about, and why Renegade, and others, are making wine the London way.
The original bottling of my wine is mostly sold out now, but a new vintage with a rather different profile is set to drop later this year. I look forward to tasting what the wine renegades have come up with this time.
Watch the video on urban wine here. By the way, Renegade offer free delivery if you order online.
I have a double life as a wine. A highly drinkable Riesling, in fact. It’s one of the specialities of Renegade, a winery set up under a railway arch in Bethnal Green, London.
Urban winemaking is a fascinating trend, enabled by improved cold chain transport of grapes, which allows high-quality wines to be made outside of the region where they are grown. Just like people, cities provide a place where different traditions of vinification can collide in unexpected and creative ways.
Unable to benefit from the usual appellation branding, urban winemakers are free to create new approaches that help them stand out. For instance, my wine combines old and new world techniques: grapes from Pfalz in Germany fermented with a strain of yeast common in Australian winemaking.
A new short video from The English Wine Collection is a great intro to what urban winemaking is all about, and why Renegade, and others, are making wine the London way.
The original bottling of my wine is mostly sold out now, but a new vintage with a rather different profile is set to drop later this year. I look forward to tasting what the wine renegades have come up with this time.
Watch the video on urban wine here. By the way, Renegade offer free delivery if you order online.
Waiting for Sue
As everyone waits for the report on parties at Number Ten from Sue Gray, here’s an interesting profile of Dominic Cummings, the “chaos maker” behind the drip-drip-drip of Boris-related scandal.
“[Cummings] believes that gifted people are repelled by politics. ‘When you talk to them, increasingly their attitude is: Politics is a shitshow, government’s a shitshow, we don’t want to get involved with that, you’re dealing with clowns, you don’t build anything.’ Instead, “a lot of these people prefer to build their own kind of walled garden where they can feel like they’re building something that’s worthwhile and creating wealth and doing their own thing and thinking increasingly: How do I insulate myself from politics and government? All of which is a very bad thing.’”
I only live a couple of streets from Cummings and I can’t say I’ve ever seen him being followed by camera crews, but the rest of it is an interesting take.
As everyone waits for the report on parties at Number Ten from Sue Gray, here’s an interesting profile of Dominic Cummings, the “chaos maker” behind the drip-drip-drip of Boris-related scandal.
“[Cummings] believes that gifted people are repelled by politics. ‘When you talk to them, increasingly their attitude is: Politics is a shitshow, government’s a shitshow, we don’t want to get involved with that, you’re dealing with clowns, you don’t build anything.’ Instead, “a lot of these people prefer to build their own kind of walled garden where they can feel like they’re building something that’s worthwhile and creating wealth and doing their own thing and thinking increasingly: How do I insulate myself from politics and government? All of which is a very bad thing.’”
I only live a couple of streets from Cummings and I can’t say I’ve ever seen him being followed by camera crews, but the rest of it is an interesting take.
Friday Cocktail: flying cars, dying words and God’s big comeback tour
Sip: on a Last Laugh – a Last Word that tickles the nose
Weekend browsing:
It’s always sunny in Philadelphia pretty much everywhere in the US, compared to Europe
“A world that’s not supposed to exist”: the awkward persistence of God
Pearls before swine: 50 very English phrases that are off to the knacker’s yard
Listen: to Uncle Kracker, singing Smile
“You make me smile like the sun
Have a great weekend.
Sip: on a Last Laugh – a Last Word that tickles the nose
Weekend browsing:
It’s always sunny in Philadelphia pretty much everywhere in the US, compared to Europe
“A world that’s not supposed to exist”: the awkward persistence of God
Pearls before swine: 50 very English phrases that are off to the knacker’s yard
Listen: to Smile, sung by Uncle Kracker
“You make me smile like the sun
Have a great weekend.
“You must do everything”: the philosophy of burnout
Ted Gioia, excellent as ever, on the influential German-Korean thinker Byung-Chul Han, author of The Burnout Society.
“You can do anything!
“That’s the mantra, and you hear it everywhere. All the messages circulating in our society seem to converge on that same imperative.
“But this soon turns into: You must do everything. The symptoms are everywhere—fitness programs, self-help podcasts, inspirational quotes on social media, vitamins and nutritional supplements, constant proclamations about self-actualization, weight-loss fads, life coaches, and countless other schemes for improvement. No boss would ever be as tyrannical as we are to our souls and selves.“
It’s not clear that Byung-Chul Han has a good answer to how to escape the treadmill of self-actualisation he identifies. But Gioia offers this excellent piece of advice: “Even if you work inside the system, you don’t need to let the system work inside of you.“
Ted Gioia, excellent as ever, on the influential German-Korean thinker Byung-Chul Han, author of The Burnout Society.
“You can do anything!
“That’s the mantra, and you hear it everywhere. All the messages circulating in our society seem to converge on that same imperative.
“But this soon turns into: You must do everything. The symptoms are everywhere—fitness programs, self-help podcasts, inspirational quotes on social media, vitamins and nutritional supplements, constant proclamations about self-actualization, weight-loss fads, life coaches, and countless other schemes for improvement. No boss would ever be as tyrannical as we are to our souls and selves.“
It’s not clear that Byung-Chul Han has a good answer to how to escape the treadmill of self-actualisation he identifies. But Gioia offers this excellent piece of advice: “Even if you work inside the system, you don’t need to let the system work inside of you.“