I have always been mystified by chess so I watched this informed and informative portrait of Garry Kasparov talking about chess and his life in the former Soviet Union. He is interviewed by Sir David Frost.
Last June in Manchester, Garry Kasparov took on Alan Turing's
"Paper Machine" - the first chess computer program ever written - for
the first time in public, and Garry true to form wins in 16 moves.
While having a coffee in a small cafe in Cambridge, I came across a lovely thought provoking journal. I noticed from its webpage the following which I thought was worth showing in full and definitely food for thought.
Why Wisdom?
"Fashionable intellectuals today treat
all ideas as fads. Alas, it’s a zeitgeist that’s conducive not to
responsible thinkers but rather provocateurs, who do little of substance
to foster the kind of humanity they claim to profess. Sensationalising
not explaining, bamboozling not enlightening, berating not inspiring:
society’s moralising has been entrusted to the likes of radical
postmodernists, religious fundamentalists and political extremists, all
of whom fit and shape the virulent modern media, even as they critique
it. Yet beneath this entanglement of
weeds, wisdom endures: civilisation’s forgotten monument. Inscribed on
it are history’s most profound existential lessons – thoughtful,
conscientious and deep, yet down-to-earth, concrete and practical. There
are homely meditations on how to live a meaningful, happy and good
life. There are simple teachings on how to get the best out of oneself
and others; to create more of the things that make life worthwhile –
such as beauty, love, labour, compassion, peace and learning. And there
are insights into human nature and how it can be channelled into
achieving all this. Through contributions from academics and other professionals – responsible intellectuals alike – the Journal of Modern Wisdom
seeks to cut through the faddish brambles; to recover, reassert and
redevelop wiser ways of living. Because ideas matter. And wisdom is the
most valuable thing people can reflect on – and in doing so, with hope,
achieve"
