Ideas & Culture

Essays on the intellectual currents that influence how we think and work: philosophy, culture, language, and the often-unexamined ideas that structure everyday decisions.

On Fairy-Stories and the Art of Fantasy

'Fantasy (in this sense) is, I think, not a lower but a higher form of Art, indeed the most nearly pure form, and so (when achieved) the most potent.'

By Dr Robert N. Winter

/ 21 Sep 2022

Pseudo-Profound Bullshit

In this context, we do well to reject the bullshitters of this world, but we do our understanding a disservice if we are sceptical to a fault.

By Dr Robert N. Winter

/ 23 May 2022

At A Journey's End

I have a thesis of which I am proud, and a marriage to my beautiful wife Halaina—who has been a constant source of love, joy, and support as I laboured in the archives.

By Dr Robert N. Winter

/ 22 May 2022

Intellectual Warehouse

While access to information is now relatively more widespread than in the past, the modern paywall can often prove to be as much of a hurdle to access as the price of manuscripts was in yesteryear.

By Dr Robert N. Winter

/ 5 Jun 2021

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How I Publish — Version 4.0

A few months back I gave a short sketch of how I publish online. But today is back to the future as I return to WordPress.

By Dr Robert N. Winter

/ 12 Aug 2020

Printer working an early Gutenberg letterpress from the 15th century

Art as Background

Turner was something of a privacy advocate. In the 1841 census he rowed a boat into the Thames so he could not be counted as being present at any property

By Dr Robert N. Winter

/ 2 Aug 2020

The Fighting Temeraire tugged to her last berth to be broken up, 1839, oil on canvas. National Gallery

Emotional Contagion

Emotional Contagion is the phenomenon of feeling what it appears someone else is experiencing. Art abounds with examples of this, where a painting, sculpture or film elicits a sensation in

By Dr Robert N. Winter

/ 21 Jul 2020

Sculpture of Marsyas by Balthasar Permoser

The Shape Of Things That Are

Though conclusions drawn from data may be offensive, we should be slow to take offence at data. Even if it contradicts our deeply held beliefs.

By Dr Robert N. Winter

/ 17 Jul 2020

Steven Pinker by Kayana Szymczak for The New York Times

Gothic Reprieve

Musing on how the building I passed was the very antithesis of the Gothic, I found myself recalling some of the majestic architecture of the past.

By Dr Robert N. Winter

/ 12 Jul 2020

How I Publish — Version 3.0

Avid readers, and those who accidentally stumbled in searching for something else, will have seen deliberations on whether or not to switch platforms.

By Dr Robert N. Winter

/ 1 Jul 2020

Letterheady

One superb example of the genre is the business letterhead of Nikola Tesla - after whom the car company is named. Stunning share by Letterheady.

By Dr Robert N. Winter

/ 14 Jun 2020

Cold Calling Students

While the line between a Socratic acceptance of the limits of our knowledge and genuine ignorance is blurred, academia's financial rapacity knows no bounds.

By Dr Robert N. Winter

/ 8 Jun 2020

Students enter the „Natio Germanica Bononiae“, the german nation at the university of Bologna, image from the 15th century