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Ideas for a New Century
An electrifying collection of thought-provoking interviews from recent broadcasts of CBC Radio's Ideas . In these remarkable dialogues — most of them in the company of Ideas host Paul Kennedy — some of the great intellectuals of our time reflect, interject, and project on the course of human civilization, addressing topics such as social engineering and human rights, the directions of science and technology, the influence of art, music, and literature, and the quest for truth. Compiled and edited by Bernie Lucht, this volume explores the ideas of nineteen inspiring international and Canadian thinkers, including Louise Arbour, David Schindler, Jerome Kagan, John Gray, Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, Leonore Tieffer, Nat Hentoff, Theodore Dalrymple, Mark Lilla, and many others.
- GenresNonfiction
408 pages, Paperback
First published October 24, 2008
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August 7, 2018
Hits and Misses
"Ideas" is an impressive and long lasting (since 1965) program on Canada's CBC radio that I've enjoyed depending on the the topic and available time. The format is simply an interview with a noted individual whose life work embodies a message. What I like about it is that most of what the interviewer says is edited out and is replaced by a background framing . The result is more akin to a lecture than a question/answer session. Since it takes less time to read than to listen I looked forward to the format. The interviews are grouped around the following: "The Culture of Society", "Canada and the World", "The Eye, The Word and the Ear" (arts), "The Future" and the Idea of Ideas.
I liked the initial interview with polymath Lister Sinclair, mainly because I was familiar with his work as a producer and interviewer on Ideas in the last century. I also enjoyed the 2nd piece with John Gray - I was particularly struck with his characterization of Western secular utopianism as a dangerous continuation of religious evangelism.
But there were some misses. The third interview with Mark Lilla was too short - one didn't get the full sense of what the man was about though you do get some interesting points about Hobbes' Leviathan and John Locke. The interviews with Jerome Kagan, Joseph Martin were rather mundane - I could have easily missed them, and Lenore Tieffer's piece was only mildly interesting for her view that the study of sexual dysfunction emerged as make work project for urologists who's main procedure - removing gallstones - had been trivialized by medical advances. Psychologist Elliot Aronson's relationship with his two mentors the theorest Abraham Maslow and the experimentalist Leo Festinger was OK; his discussion of cognitive dissonance blends the two approaches in a way I found less than ideal - it becomes too facile to declare that A believes X in spite of the evidence because she also believes Y. Having been down this road before I can say that it can be a fascinating debate, but not that well presented here. The interview with Louise Arbour could be skipped. In my view she's achieved some interesting positions but hoped for insight into the problems of the UN during her tenure as the High Commissioner on Human Rights just wasn't there.
On the other hand Donald Savoie's take on how parliament in Canada (and perhaps elsewhere) has shifted from oversight of the civil service to a focus group for power centralized in the Prime Minister (or Premier's) office was worth noting, as was his take on the balance between regional and national interests. He thinks the "bargain" between the people and government has changed, and not for the better, yet surprisingly he has easy access to the system he is studying. For all it's fault, Canada works, and I think it's worth describing to the world. And Ann Golden simply impressed with her grasp of how integrated social and business needs are with each other. I'd consider her interview the high point of the book.
I also really liked the interview with Cape Breton artist Mary Pratt and her impressions of both colour and message in her work. I have to admit that I've sort of passed her by and I'll have to take a closer look. And aboriginal artist Laurence Paul Yuxweluptun's powerful anger I found both effective and affecting. It's worth looking up some of his imagery on the Internet.
The interviews with Stewart Brand and Ray Kurzweil on the future were enjoyable but I'm familiar with both their work and there was nothing new. Kurzweil's a certified genius, but his basic message is "Stay well - immortality is around the corner and if you live long enough, maybe 20 years, it can be yours." I don't quite buy it. I'll likely chuckle over Ray's obituary, knowing my own will likely follow in 15-25 years. If you are not familiar with their ideas then both pieces are a worthwhile. Ted Dalrymple I've heard of - he's frank and politically incorrect about dysfunctionalism in British society, but this was my introduction. Matt Hentoff is a journalist, jazz impresario and political critic who I was not familiar with - the interview was so-so but there is an interesting bit about Malcolm X towards the end of his life where Malcolm comes out against black antisemitism.
The 2nd last interview with limnologist (lake scientist) David Schindler on the importance and science of water quality was on the mark and literally hit close to home, giving a good background on the fight over phosphates and acid rain. He suggests some further reading (Charles Elton - The Ecology of Invasions by Animals and Plants ) which he recommends over Rachel Carson's Silent Spring.
Finally the interview with Peter Watson "3 Great Ideas" (the Soul; Western Civilization, Experimentation) introduced me to this man who has written 2 books on the Ideas: A History of Thought and Invention, from Fire to Freud, a fitting self referential conclusion to the book.
My recommendation: Actual rating is about 3.6 - worth asking your local library to have it on hand, but not a book to hold on to. Worthy as an intro to each of its subjects and if any tickle you might follow through with something in more depth. And in some cases (ie: Lister Sinclair) it's nice to attach the persona of a voice to the ideas - check out the "Ideas" collection of podcasts from cbc.ca.
"Ideas" is an impressive and long lasting (since 1965) program on Canada's CBC radio that I've enjoyed depending on the the topic and available time. The format is simply an interview with a noted individual whose life work embodies a message. What I like about it is that most of what the interviewer says is edited out and is replaced by a background framing . The result is more akin to a lecture than a question/answer session. Since it takes less time to read than to listen I looked forward to the format. The interviews are grouped around the following: "The Culture of Society", "Canada and the World", "The Eye, The Word and the Ear" (arts), "The Future" and the Idea of Ideas.
I liked the initial interview with polymath Lister Sinclair, mainly because I was familiar with his work as a producer and interviewer on Ideas in the last century. I also enjoyed the 2nd piece with John Gray - I was particularly struck with his characterization of Western secular utopianism as a dangerous continuation of religious evangelism.
But there were some misses. The third interview with Mark Lilla was too short - one didn't get the full sense of what the man was about though you do get some interesting points about Hobbes' Leviathan and John Locke. The interviews with Jerome Kagan, Joseph Martin were rather mundane - I could have easily missed them, and Lenore Tieffer's piece was only mildly interesting for her view that the study of sexual dysfunction emerged as make work project for urologists who's main procedure - removing gallstones - had been trivialized by medical advances. Psychologist Elliot Aronson's relationship with his two mentors the theorest Abraham Maslow and the experimentalist Leo Festinger was OK; his discussion of cognitive dissonance blends the two approaches in a way I found less than ideal - it becomes too facile to declare that A believes X in spite of the evidence because she also believes Y. Having been down this road before I can say that it can be a fascinating debate, but not that well presented here. The interview with Louise Arbour could be skipped. In my view she's achieved some interesting positions but hoped for insight into the problems of the UN during her tenure as the High Commissioner on Human Rights just wasn't there.
On the other hand Donald Savoie's take on how parliament in Canada (and perhaps elsewhere) has shifted from oversight of the civil service to a focus group for power centralized in the Prime Minister (or Premier's) office was worth noting, as was his take on the balance between regional and national interests. He thinks the "bargain" between the people and government has changed, and not for the better, yet surprisingly he has easy access to the system he is studying. For all it's fault, Canada works, and I think it's worth describing to the world. And Ann Golden simply impressed with her grasp of how integrated social and business needs are with each other. I'd consider her interview the high point of the book.
I also really liked the interview with Cape Breton artist Mary Pratt and her impressions of both colour and message in her work. I have to admit that I've sort of passed her by and I'll have to take a closer look. And aboriginal artist Laurence Paul Yuxweluptun's powerful anger I found both effective and affecting. It's worth looking up some of his imagery on the Internet.
The interviews with Stewart Brand and Ray Kurzweil on the future were enjoyable but I'm familiar with both their work and there was nothing new. Kurzweil's a certified genius, but his basic message is "Stay well - immortality is around the corner and if you live long enough, maybe 20 years, it can be yours." I don't quite buy it. I'll likely chuckle over Ray's obituary, knowing my own will likely follow in 15-25 years. If you are not familiar with their ideas then both pieces are a worthwhile. Ted Dalrymple I've heard of - he's frank and politically incorrect about dysfunctionalism in British society, but this was my introduction. Matt Hentoff is a journalist, jazz impresario and political critic who I was not familiar with - the interview was so-so but there is an interesting bit about Malcolm X towards the end of his life where Malcolm comes out against black antisemitism.
The 2nd last interview with limnologist (lake scientist) David Schindler on the importance and science of water quality was on the mark and literally hit close to home, giving a good background on the fight over phosphates and acid rain. He suggests some further reading (Charles Elton - The Ecology of Invasions by Animals and Plants ) which he recommends over Rachel Carson's Silent Spring.
Finally the interview with Peter Watson "3 Great Ideas" (the Soul; Western Civilization, Experimentation) introduced me to this man who has written 2 books on the Ideas: A History of Thought and Invention, from Fire to Freud, a fitting self referential conclusion to the book.
My recommendation: Actual rating is about 3.6 - worth asking your local library to have it on hand, but not a book to hold on to. Worthy as an intro to each of its subjects and if any tickle you might follow through with something in more depth. And in some cases (ie: Lister Sinclair) it's nice to attach the persona of a voice to the ideas - check out the "Ideas" collection of podcasts from cbc.ca.
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