Having already read his autobiographies “Surely You’re Joking Mr Feynman” and “What Do You Care What Other People Think“, I was convinced that I could gain valuable insights into quantum electrodynamics (QED) from Feynman, who had a unique ability to explain the most complex concepts. “What one fool can understand, another can” (even though that one fool was a Nobel Laureate). Feynman did not disappoint. He was not only a […]
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“War and Peace” by Leo Tolstoy
It took me at least three attempts and more than a year’s time to finish “War and Peace”, and I’m certainly glad that I finally did. A True of Work of Art Like a good farmer who sows the seeds, cultivates, waters, and patiently waits for the crops to mature, Tolstoy lets his characters develop slowly, giving vivid descriptions of their external and internal lives as they unfold. “War and […]
Read more“What is Art” by Leo Tolstoy
This is one of the, if not the, best essay on art I’ve ever read. It has broadened and deepened my understanding and appreciation of art. I especially enjoyed the summary of various aesthetic theories and definitions of beauty by philosophers and aestheticians. For Tolstoy, their definitions of beauty are too obtuse or confusing to be applicable in art, so his own definition of art is based not on beauty […]
Read more“Resistance to Civil Government” by Henry David Thoreau
Current Title: On the Duty of Civil Disobedience Beyond the Majority Rule Thoreau argued that the State should recognize and respect the autonomy and rights of the individual, and improve further upon the current form of democracy, i.e., the majority rule. “All voting is a sort of gaming, …, a playing with right and wrong, with moral questions; … The character of the voters is not staked. I cast my […]
Read more“Master and Man” by Leo Tolstoy
A master and his servant go on a short trip through a snowstorm. On the way, we learn much about the lives and characters of the two men, through their actions and dialogue, as if we were traveling together with them in the sledge. In the end, one of them unexpectedly finds exceeding joy and the meaning of his life, though not without paying a heavy price. A bittersweet story […]
Read more“The Death of Ivan Ilyich” by Leo Tolstoy
Ivan Ilyich lived a happy, healthy, decorous and dutiful life as a judge, until an accident made him terminally ill and brought him face to face with Death and the terrible realization that he hadn’t lived as he should. Like Morrie Swartz (“Tuesdays with Morrie”), Ivan suffered a slow death, unlike Morrie who was able to share some of his feelings with his family, friends and the public, Ivan was […]
Read more“Journey to the Center of the Earth” by Jules Verne
After reading Verne’s “Around the World in Eighty days“, I wished to follow in Phileas Fogg’s footsteps as closely as possible and tour around the world myself. After reading this book, however, I can’t say I’m ready to embark on the journey to the center of the earth, even if it were possible and the route were laid out before me by the heroes in the book, Professor Lidenbrock, Axel […]
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