Jesuits and Giants

The Story Of The Jesuits

M.Antoni J. Ucerler, S.J.  | Engelsberg Ideas | 20th December 2021

On the logistics, rather than the doctrines, of missionary work. The 16C Jesuits maintained strict central control over far-flung missions by means of elaborate written reporting requirements and periodic recalls to Rome. "The Jesuits in Japan and China would usually make three copies of each letter and send them on different ships, in the hope that at least one copy would survive" (4,500 words)

Gigantism

Vaclav Smil | IEEE Spectrum | 20th December 2021

From the Great Pyramid of Giza to the Airbus A380, engineers and designers have been fixated by size and scale. Even now, architects dream of mile-high buildings. Is this evidence of "an admirable quest for new horizons", or of "irrational and wasteful overreach"? Perhaps both. "There is a fundamental difference between what can be designed and built and what makes sense" (630 words)

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