Week Three of our regular morning feature here at Friedman of the Plains Worldwide in which we highlight the great words and works of great men and women, as well as those who are insufferable, delusional, and even fictional.
This week, let’s continue with another brilliant JB . . . Jacob Bronowski, a Polish-born British mathematician, professor, and lover of William Blake, Albert Einstein, and humanity.
“I grew up,” Bronowski said, “to be indifferent to the distinction between literature and science, which in my teens were simply two languages for experience that I learned together.”
We should all grow up like that.
(Personal Note: He was born in Łódź, Poland, the same place as my grandfather, and died at 66, the same age as my grandfather.)
“It's said that science will dehumanize people and turn them into numbers. That's false, tragically false. Look for yourself. This is the concentration camp and crematorium at Auschwitz. This is where people were turned into numbers. Into this pond were flushed the ashes of some four million people. And that was not done by gas. It was done by arrogance, it was done by dogma, it was done by ignorance. When people believe that they have absolute knowledge, with no test in reality, this is how they behave. This is what men do when they aspire to the knowledge of gods.” — The Ascent of Man
Thanks for the reminder: I had forgotten about Bronowski. I was a big fan of "The Ascent of Man" when it was on PBS in the '70s. Will have to see if I can stream it somewhere.
Also, too: Pretty sure I have ancestors who came from Lodz. Of course, mine were from the uncircumsized tribe, so their history and experiences were somewhat different. Which didn't prevent the Nazis from abducting my mother in 1939 and sending her to a work farm in Austria.
Last week was the conscience of inequality, this week is an example of Man's lucid higher aspirations. It's a pity that there aren't more of them; a LOT more!