Welcome to the Time Capsule — a weekly newsletter that discusses the practicalities of life and explores the wisdom, ideas, and events of the past to help you build a better future.
💭 Quote of the Week
Let your boat of life be light, packed with only what you need—a homely home and simple pleasures, one or two friends worth the name, someone to love and someone to love you, a cat, a dog, and a pipe or two, enough to eat and enough to wear, and a little more than enough to drink; for thirst is a dangerous thing.
Jerome K. Jerome (1859-1927)
✏️ The Online Panopticon
First conceived in the 18th century by the English philosopher and utilitarian Jeremy Bentham, the panopticon is a circular building with prison cells on the circumference and a single security guard in the central tower, from which he can observe all cells. Whilst one security guard cannot view all cells simultaneously, the fact that prisoners can be seen at all times and never know if they are being watched forces them to self-regulate their behaviour and follow the rules.
The panopticon prison has been used to describe our hyper-technological 21st-century world: we live in an online, integrated society that has provided opportunity and massive improvements in quality of life, as well as the mass surveillance of the individual by both state and private enterprises. Google seems to know exactly what ads to show you, and governments possess powerful tools that can infiltrate your devices without you even realizing it, let alone your consent. Whilst this surveillance may provide benefits in some cases, such as collective safety, the lack of optionality we have in the collection of our data is concerning.
Never before in human history have institutions had so much access to the public — the existence of such far-reaching powers raises many questions regarding individual rights and the role of the state in the provision and maintenance of ‘public order’. With no precedent to rely on, it is critical in the next few decades that we intentionally set laws, boundaries and limitations on public surveillance and data collection to protect the sovereignty of the individual.
📸 Photo of the Week
📖 Book of the Week — Relativity: The Special & General Theory by Albert Einstein
First published in 1920, Relativity: The Special and General Theory was written by Einstein himself to “give an exact insight into the theory of Relativity to those readers who, from a general scientific and philosophical point of view, are interested in the theory, but who are not conversant with the mathematical apparatus of theoretical physics.”
In essence, it’s general relativity for dummies. But even so, without a strong scientific background, it is not an easy read.
💡 Food for Thought
Impatience breeds hopelessness.
🔭 Sunday Best
A Clash of Two Systems — by Nicholas Nassim Taleb. Through the lens of the current Russo-Ukrainian War.
Let That Stuff Go: The True Story of Joseph — a sermon by Voddie Baucham
Seymour Bernstein on Beethoven: Technique & Interpretation — a fascinating and funny interview with a true master. One of the pieces they practice is the 2nd Movement of Beethoven’s “Pathetique” Piano Sonata No. 8, Op. 13, which is one of my favourites.
Thanks for being here & Happy Mother’s Day.
AT