On Sundays, Browser readers receive a special edition with puzzles, poems, books, charts, music and more – here's a little taste of this week's edition.

Image Of The Week

Portrait of Charlotte du Val d’Ognes

"Our attention is initially drawn to the light, which clings to the contours of a woman thought to be Marie Joséphine Charlotte du Val d’Ognes. The artist meets our gaze: are we the model or a mere distraction? Our concentration strays to a frame within the frame — the scene encased by a broken windowpane. First attributed to Jacques-Louis David, this portrait is now believed to be the work of Marie-Denise Villers (1774–1821)" — Public Domain Review

Poem Of The Week

Excarnation
Kim Parko | Poetry Foundation | May 2022

In this story, despite
our reservations, we do have kids.
We adore
their tiny furred faces and deep
pooled eyes.
They are hungry; my milk is pale with
thin oats.
I suckle them in a tiny boat
bobbed by the stormy sea.

The captain
has long passed; his gold has sunk.

continue reading at Poetry Foundation

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New Look, Same Great Look

Kim Beil | Lapham's Quarterly | 16th May 2022

The rise of colour photography in the mid-20th century turned long-running scientific and philosophical debates about visual perception and the nature of colour into urgent and practical problems. Why did colours in prints not match colours in real life? Why did objects seem to change colour in different lighting? Kodak, the pioneer of colour film, had a lot of explaining to do (4,000 words)

Seven Varieties Of Stupidity

Ian Leslie | Ruffian | 21st May 2022

We are stupid for different reasons and in different ways. There is pure stupidity, ignorant stupidity, fish-out-of water stupidity, rule-based stupidity, overthinking-stupidity, emergent stupidity and ego-driven stupidity. "Stupidity is often an act of will. People make themselves stupid when it suits them. They don’t just miss out on knowledge; they resist or reject it. They seek minus knowledge" (2,950 words)

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The Evolution Of Writing

Piers Kelly | Sapiens | 19th May 2022

Vai, one of about 30 indigenous languages of Liberia, had no written form until 1833. Then, a man who had never learned to read or write dreamed that Vai's symbols were revealed to him. Once awake, he reconstructed the 200 symbols, which were quickly adopted. The subsequent modifications that came with use have greatly advanced understanding of how language develops (1,999 words)

Speaking Of Memory

Ágnes Heller | Baffler | 19th May 2022

Translated extract from Heller's 2015 book The Philosophy of Autobiographical Memory. Illuminating throughout. Heller uses personal anecdote — about revising for exams, or forgetting hotel room numbers — to elucidate types of memory and the triggers they need to function. Her subtle evocation of the frustrations and triumphs of trying to remember lost details is very recognisable (2,194 words)

It's sad that we often forget
Many things we have known - but don't fret!
Forget the past gaily:
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Churched

Maria Farrell | Lunate | 24th January 2022

Short story told from the perspective of an Irish immigrant in London, who finds attending Mass both a comforting link with home and a distressing reminder of the restrictions she has left behind. A drama over a theft from the collection plate tests everyone's faith, no matter where they originated, and brings ugly emotions to the surface. "We must each have our ways in this foreign land" (4,202 words)

Oncology’s Darwinian Dilemma

Bobak Parang | LARB | 11th May 2022

Immunotherapy is revolutionising cancer treatment. But moving away from blunter instruments like chemotherapy forces us to confront the myriad variations of the disease — and the fact that we do not know why some patients respond to the therapy while others die. Still, this should be viewed as progress: "The certainty of futility is now replaced by the uncertainty of possibility" (1,884 words)

In life, a most useful ability
Is keeping your mind's fresh agility.
Get five picks (all ace)
Every day, and embrace
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A Passenger's View of The Trolley Problem

Tyler Gooch | McSweeney's | 18th May 2022

Should you let the trolley race ahead and kill five people? Or should you switch the points and have the trolley hit somebody else? The philosophers cannot agree, and the passengers on the trolley are getting perplexed. "It’s not just that we ran over the guy; but on the return trip, and every subsequent trip on that trolley, there is always a slightly different combination of people tied to the tracks" (680 words)

Half-Truths Are Lies Too

Max Nelson | Baffler | 16th May 2022

The diaries of Brigitte Reimann reveal the experience of working and loving in the GDR; they also document her gradual disillusionment with the cause of state socialism. Above all, they are worth exploring as a meditation on objectivity. Reimann fretted that her journals had no "documentary value" because fact co-existed with her "endless love stories". Her doubts kept her honest (3,161 words)

If half-truths are lies, we confess,
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On Sundays, Browser readers receive a special edition with puzzles, poems, books, charts, music and more – here's a little taste of this week's edition.

Poem Of The Week

The Book Of My Enemy Has Been Remaindered
Clive James | Collected Verse 1958-2003

The book of my enemy has been remaindered
And I am pleased.
In vast quantities it has been remaindered
Like a van-load of counterfeit that has been seized
And sits in piles in a police warehouse,
My enemy's much-prized effort sits in piles
In the kind of bookshop where remaindering occurs.
Great, square stacks of rejected books and, between them, aisles
One passes down reflecting on life's vanities,
Pausing to remember all those thoughtful reviews
Lavished to no avail upon one's enemy's book —
For behold, here is that book
Among these ranks and banks of duds,
These ponderous and seemingly irreducible cairns
Of complete stiffs.

continue reading at CliveJames.com

Book Of The Week

Every Good Boy Does Fine: A Love Story In Music Lessons
Jeremy Denk | Random House | 2022

Recommended by Caroline Crampton In The Guardian
"One of the most refreshing things about Denk’s memoir is his relaxed approach to the music itself. There is no unnecessary complexity or pretension. He doesn’t shy away from using musical terminology, but deploys little hand-drawn diagrams and extracts from scores to make it absolutely clear what he is describing. The result is a light, informative tone that will be readable for both diehard classical music fans and complete newcomers alike. It’s a rare feat"

The Browser Sunday edition is a smorgasbord of delights. If you enjoyed this taster, subscribe for puzzles, crosswords, art, charts, articles and more each Sunday - plus five articles daily, in your inbox:

Fake Journals And Critical Reading

Gwern | 23rd April 2022

Reading and evaluating academic journals demands a "fundamentally predictive" approach. You need enough prior understanding of the given field to be constantly asking yourself, “What do I predict I will read next?” The best parts of the paper will be the parts that you didn't predict, that take you by surprise. One way to develop such skills is by reading alongside others in a journal club (3,000 words)

Crisis Mindsets

Venkatesh Rao | Ribbonfarm | 18th May 2022

When a crisis looms, first choose your group. The bigger the crisis, the less likely you are to survive it alone. Find people that you want to be with, then agree who does what. "I used to think I was not much good in a crisis, but over the years, I have realized there is no such thing as being individually good or bad in a crisis. Humans either deal with crises in effective groups, or not at all" (1,800 words)

The moral of both today's readings
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Philosophy For Passengers

Michael Marder | MIT Press Reader | 12th May 2022

Passengerhood provides a "privileged perspective" on the passage of time. On a journey, we experience the finitude of what otherwise can seem infinite: time's span. And "each of us confronts the flux of time in a unique, idiosyncratic way", with our perception of time passing varying with mood and situation. Something to think about the next time you stare out of a train window (1,724 words)

What Rainbow Trout Know

Lauren Silverman | Human Parts | 11th May 2022

Essay about transplanting oneself, told via the habits of rainbow trout. These fish migrate from fresh water to the sea and back again to spawn, although confusingly for scientists only some trout choose to make this risky trip. Humans, too, shy away from such a dislocation: "You have to be quite brave or desperate (or both) to strip yourself bare and offer yourself to the whims of a distant land" (4,326 words)

From time (passage of) to trout (rainbow)
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Who Owns Einstein?

Simon Parkin | Guardian | 17th May 2022

Einstein earns more dead than he ever did alive, making an average of $12.5m a year in image licensing fees. Although image conscious, during his lifetime the scientist himself resisted all attempts to "commercialise his identity". Even the law that allows this postmortem profiteering is contentious. Can an heir inherit rights that did not yet exist during the originator's lifetime? (6,012 words)

Indian Biscuits: 1947-2022

Sharanya Deepak | Vittles | 9th May 2022

The history of Indian biscuits, and also India itself, told through five crunchy vignettes. Biscuits touch everything: industry, geopolitics, agriculture and taste. From Parle-G, which was made possible by the US's post independence wheat exports, to free market "premium biscuits" like Hide & Seek from the 2000s, this is an excellent way to comprehend India's evolution in the 20C (2,985 words)

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So You Want To Be A Bootlegger

Jeff Nilsson | Saturday Evening Post | 10th May 2022

Tips from 1922 for starting a Prohibition era liquor distribution business. The risks were great but the potential profits were enormous, especially during the days of "the medicinal whiskey racket". Other options included driving or sailing the booze down from Canada, while dodging hijackers. Two years in, customers forgot what real whiskey tasted like so it could be freely watered down (1,239 words)

God Has A Beautiful Mansion For Me Elsewhere

John Higgs | Lapham's Quarterly | 5th May 2022

William Blake, for all his heretical beliefs and casual chats with angels, was good company, especially towards the end of his life. Here we see the artist in his late sixties through the eyes of a new acquaintance. "He was dressed in old-fashioned, threadbare clothes and his gray trousers were shiny at the front through wear. His large, strong eyes didn’t seem to fit with his soft, round face" (1,598 words)

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Why Not Let The Leaning Tower Of Pisa Collapse?

Daniel Snowman | On History | 12th May 2022 | U

The Leaning Tower Of Pisa sank lopsidedly soon after construction began in the late 12th century. Despite its builders' best efforts it was still leaning when work ended 200 years later. On the verge of collapse, it was stabilised for the nth time 20 years ago. So why not just straighten it? Perhaps because it is "a kind of freak show" among buildings. Its deformity excites our baser instincts (2,200 words)

38 Ways To Win An Argument

Arthur Schopenhauer | M'n Ei | 1896 | U

World's gloomiest philosopher explains how to pwn trolls and win Twitter. Prepare to feel a sense of horrified recognition that Schopenhauer could list all relevant tropes in his Art Of Controversy a century before social media was even imagined. "Ignore your opponent's proposition, which was intended to refer to a particular thing. Understand it in some quite different sense and then refute it" (1,695 words)

The internet's full of loud shouting
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