Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Monday, July 12, 2010
Sunday, July 4, 2010
BBC - Manchester historian deciphers hidden 'Plato Code'
BBC - Manchester historian deciphers hidden 'Plato Code'
"Plato and the Greeks believed music was the key to mathematics and the cosmos.
"What we didn't know was that he used Greek musical scales to give his works a hidden structure and then built layers of hidden meanings beneath that."
The hidden codes reveal that Plato anticipated the Scientific Revolution 2,000 years before Isaac Newton, discovering its most important idea - the book of nature is written in the language of mathematics.
"In ancient times, many of his followers said his writings were written in symbols; in modern times that was denied," he said.
"So I've rediscovered that the Ancients were correct."
Heresy
Plato was the Einstein of Greece's Golden Age and his work founded Western culture and science.
PLATO - FATHER OF PHILOSOPHY
born Athens, lived 427-347 BC
founded the first 'university' called the Academy
was a student of Socrates and teacher of Aristotle
most famous work is The Republic
laid the foundations of Western philosophy and science
once said: "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something"
But his views challenged the accepted view of the world and would have been considered a threat to Greek religion, explained Dr Kennedy, so there was good reason to conceal his views in a hidden Code.
"Plato's own teacher was executed for religious heresy," he said. "And Plato and the other followers of Pythagoras were known for hiding their doctrines.
"Plato and the Greeks believed music was the key to mathematics and the cosmos.
"What we didn't know was that he used Greek musical scales to give his works a hidden structure and then built layers of hidden meanings beneath that."
The hidden codes reveal that Plato anticipated the Scientific Revolution 2,000 years before Isaac Newton, discovering its most important idea - the book of nature is written in the language of mathematics.
"In ancient times, many of his followers said his writings were written in symbols; in modern times that was denied," he said.
"So I've rediscovered that the Ancients were correct."
Heresy
Plato was the Einstein of Greece's Golden Age and his work founded Western culture and science.
PLATO - FATHER OF PHILOSOPHY
born Athens, lived 427-347 BC
founded the first 'university' called the Academy
was a student of Socrates and teacher of Aristotle
most famous work is The Republic
laid the foundations of Western philosophy and science
once said: "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something"
But his views challenged the accepted view of the world and would have been considered a threat to Greek religion, explained Dr Kennedy, so there was good reason to conceal his views in a hidden Code.
"Plato's own teacher was executed for religious heresy," he said. "And Plato and the other followers of Pythagoras were known for hiding their doctrines.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Romila Thapar on the need of internalization of history
As a historian I am and have been deeply disturbed — and I’m not alone in this — by the reaction to such incidents. Indian identity at the popular level is increasingly being narrowed to the perceptions of what is called the majority community. This is ironic because among historians the perspective has widened out. This is in part due to the expansion of sources for constructing history. In archaeology for instance, various sciences are giving us dimensions of knowledge that are new, such as the data on environmental factors affecting history. Our attitudes to texts have changed. We now ask incisive questions about the author, and why the text is written the way it is and what is the intention of the patron? One looks beyond the statements for deeper historical understanding. This has led to new perspectives on the past in terms of both evidence and the manner in which it is analysed.
So while the historian is opening up the past, its popular representation is narrowing it down. The kinds of linkages that are made with the past in popular outlets tend to marginalise many communities and cultures that make up Indian society. These linkages frequently draw from political agendas. Inevitably one begins to ask whether or to what degree that which we’ve been writing, and speaking about in the past 30 to 40 years, have at all affected people’s perceptions — perceptions of our past, our identities, and the values that we hold as important in our lives? Possibly we have been too passive in our response to aggressive political actions. And we have failed to be sufficiently critical of the way the media plays with political agendas in representing what it calls “culture and history”. These are themes that need much more open discussion.
We have not internalised our history in the sense that for most people seeing the historical aspect of the world around us is still an experience of the extraneous. Historical analysis is really about an entire society with an accounting of different levels and the way in which they are inter-related, the way in which they disintegrate or integrate and how these relationships have changed over time. We assume a kind of static past, which is of course the behest of colonial scholarship. This is being questioned by historians who are trying to understand the dynamics of different periods and communities but somehow this questioning doesn’t seem to seep into popular agencies like the media. more
So while the historian is opening up the past, its popular representation is narrowing it down. The kinds of linkages that are made with the past in popular outlets tend to marginalise many communities and cultures that make up Indian society. These linkages frequently draw from political agendas. Inevitably one begins to ask whether or to what degree that which we’ve been writing, and speaking about in the past 30 to 40 years, have at all affected people’s perceptions — perceptions of our past, our identities, and the values that we hold as important in our lives? Possibly we have been too passive in our response to aggressive political actions. And we have failed to be sufficiently critical of the way the media plays with political agendas in representing what it calls “culture and history”. These are themes that need much more open discussion.
We have not internalised our history in the sense that for most people seeing the historical aspect of the world around us is still an experience of the extraneous. Historical analysis is really about an entire society with an accounting of different levels and the way in which they are inter-related, the way in which they disintegrate or integrate and how these relationships have changed over time. We assume a kind of static past, which is of course the behest of colonial scholarship. This is being questioned by historians who are trying to understand the dynamics of different periods and communities but somehow this questioning doesn’t seem to seep into popular agencies like the media. more
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
History of Bishop's College
The 150th anniversary of the foundation of Bishop's College evokes feelings of great gratitude to Almighty God for a wonderful record of theological teaching, corporate sacramental life and pastoral training which the College has enjoyed through the years. It is hard to exaggerate what the College has given to the Anglican Communion in India through the diffused influence of the men whom it has trained and sent out to serve Christianity in India in many ways. I remember with special happiness a visit which I was privileged to make to the College in 1961.
With the inauguration of Church union, the College has before it exciting prospects of change and new service. It will find itself increasingly serving the growing wider ecumenical scene. While it will be called upon to change, it will also be called upon to conserve, and what it conserves will be the strong emphasis on worship, prayer, sacramental life and personal discipline which belonged to it in its Anglican days. May God greatly bless the College in a deepening and widening service to Church and people both in India and beyond. Read it all here
With the inauguration of Church union, the College has before it exciting prospects of change and new service. It will find itself increasingly serving the growing wider ecumenical scene. While it will be called upon to change, it will also be called upon to conserve, and what it conserves will be the strong emphasis on worship, prayer, sacramental life and personal discipline which belonged to it in its Anglican days. May God greatly bless the College in a deepening and widening service to Church and people both in India and beyond. Read it all here
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