jandradt's New Writeups

Nixon in China (thing)

2002-11-25T03:52:33Z

The tradition of opera is one filled with mythological references and larger-than-life heroes, more often than not from the classical canon; the first operas were based on the Orpheus story, and subsequent composers would go back again and again to the Greek and Roman myths and histories that inspired the classic masters. The resurgence of interest in classical music led composers to seek ancient sources for texts. Myth appeals to writers of opera because it is eternal, forever relevant and forever capable of being related to current life. Whether the myth has classical or other folk roots, its characters endure because they are archetypical, and its stories endure because they arise from common and pervasive emotions. The mythological hero is not free from such emotion, for he is human, but he is also more than human. He has some extraordinary skill or acts extraordinarily well. He is looked on as an example, and he is who the common person aspires to be. The arts represent…

genetic counselor (idea)

2001-12-03T21:41:35Z

Can genetic counselors give advice without accidentally influencing their clients?

In considering the possible courses of action open to a genetic counselor in specific cases, we must first establish the goals of genetic counseling and the acceptable means to reach these goals. The standard view is that the genetic counselor must not impose upon patient autonomy, that is, the ability of the client to make her own decisions, and that to do this he must not express his personal moral opinion to his client. According to Robert Wachbroit and David Wasserman in the article "Clarifying the Goals of Nondirective Genetic Counseling" however, the genetic counselor needs not maintain value neutrality, if he is careful to remind clients that his ethical opinion holds no more merit than theirs because such decisions are based less on science than on moral judgements, which client and counselor are equally qualified to make. Wachbroit and Wasserman hold that to give information is not…

Augustinian and Buddhist thinking (idea)

2001-11-30T04:33:24Z

disclaimer: I don't claim to have a great deal of knowledge about either Augustine or Buddha, but this is an account of what I understood of what I read of theirs and what I thought about it.

Augustinian and Buddhist views of the world seem very different to begin with, but they are not without their similarities. Although they differ in their beliefs about individuals, that is, whether there is a self and soul or not, some of their motivations are for the same thing. The origins of the schools of thinking, too, have both similarities and differences. It is from the combination and modification of ideas that these philosophies arose, and in my own evaluation of them, I, too, modify and combine to create a philosophy fitting with my experiences.

A fundamental difference between Buddhist and Augustinian thinking is the state of the soul or self. In Buddhist philosophy, there is no self as in the inalterable sinew of the Augustinian idea. Rather, each person is a series of…

Keats, stars, trees (idea)

2001-11-30T00:54:47Z

Sometimes, I'm just not productive. I'm sitting here, staring at Mr. William May Garland II, '55, and his alpaca, juggling stars and trees in my head and fidgeting more than a six-year-old listening to a two-hour lecture on Babylonian cuneiforms. This is my fourth piece of paper; the prior three have been covered top to bottom in black and blue scribbles. And it's not like I don't know where I'm going. The hamburger patty is there, I just can't find the top of the bun. I had it all figured out last night right before going to bed: the steadfastness of Keats' bright star, the fallacy of that belief; the primordial Population III stars, long dead and not constant at all, burning burning burning until...later, they are replaced by today's Population I and II stars, the second generation of twinkle lights in our galaxy; and how trees, too, have generations-one kind of tree gradually replaces another. I had it all figured out last night, but this afternoon, the meat remains elusively…

Stephen Sondheim (idea)

2001-11-30T00:31:14Z

The Musicals of Steven Sondheim:
Plays That Communicate on Many Levels

The incorporation of music, with its repertoire of tools ranging from pitch to volume to rhythm, into a play adds to the richness of the story being told through dialogue and action. In cooperating with the text, the music both reinforces and enhances ideas presented by the play. Rather than distract from the existing dramatic elements, the extra component of musical theater provides another layer of meaning; in a musical theater piece the music is often most essential to the setting of the tone and to the connecting of themes throughout the work. At the core, a musical is no different from any other play. The fundamental elements of storytelling are there: an interesting, logically progressing plot, a cast of characters with their individual motives and relationships, a definite setting and time, action and dialogue. What makes a musical different is the addition of music. Background instrumental music and…

The Dot and the Line: a romance in lower mathematics (thing)

2001-11-17T20:24:22Z

An illustrated story about a line who falls in love with a frivolous dot and who must prove to her that lines are not boring. In the process of trying to win her love, the line finds out all the things that he can turn himself into (pictures drawn with continuous lines). This small book by Norton Juster is a beautiful story. It was made into an Oscar-winning short film.