vs math

Was Romanticism a reaction against rationality and reason? In some ways it was, but it's really not that simple. You can't accuse Coleridge and Wordsworth (or any of the other important representatives of the Romantic movement) of being anti-intellectual. Then, if we look at German Romanticism, it's even clearer because a lot of the poets were actually scientists as well. 

Ultimately, in the battle for hearts and minds, the mathematicians won. That's why we don't take Goethe's theory of light seriously, but we do take Newton's seriously. 

construed

Every fiber of my being resists the art of fiction. 

the eye of the beholder

People who write books against liberalism/ progressivism/ 'woke' ideology seem to make some common mistakes. One mistake they make is to see everything they don't like as being orchestrated by the left. They identify phenomena that may be happening for a variety of reasons and they present it as a strategy. 

Everything is malevolent.....like, according to them, it's not possible that people can be engaged in activism against racism, inequality, discrimination based on good motives - no, it's subversive and they're depraved and want to attack conservatives and pollute the minds of the young. 

words

Writing feels like the most unnatural process. The idea that thoughts are somehow seamless with language so expressing them comes naturally and easily - that just isn't true. 

To translate thoughts into text, you have to build something new. 

our micro world

Each decade in the second half of the 20th century had a very distinctive mood, which I have my own personal sense of, but I'm not sure about the 21st century. It seems like the world is more customizable now, which makes it harder to talk about macro-culture. 

the library of enthusiasm

I've never been able to read poetry for pleasure like some people can. My appreciation for poetry is in many ways mediated by other people who understand it. Harold Bloom is a good example. Because of my appreciation for his work, the centrality of poetry to that work, and his enthusiasm about poetry, I feel enthusiasm about poetry. Because he says it's good, I believe it even if I can't see it for myself. 

turns out

A revolution has to involve an element of chaos, because all the standard narratives become suspect and have to be replaced with new narratives, which takes time.