Genius & Ink �‪�‬ Vashik Armenikus

Hello friends,
In this episode, we explore a wonderful book called The Library: A Fragile History written by Arthur der Weduwen and Andrew Pettegree. In one of the chapters, they mention a powerful brewers’ lobby that tried to stop the expansion of public libraries in England. (This is back in the 19th century)
Why would companies that make money on selling beer be against books?
💭 Interesting links
* You can get this wonderful book here.
* This wonderful documentary on The National Library of France
* I wrote about my grandfather’s library. (One of my favourite pieces)
* Weird ASMR video of a library by Victoria & Albert Museum in London
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Our minds often resemble a disordered library. We might be well-read, but not be able to use knowledge when we need it. In this episode we explore a short passage from Schopenhauer’s essay ‘On Thinking for Yourself’.
The passage:
As the biggest library if it is in disorder is not as useful as a small but well-arranged one, so you may accumulate a vast amount of knowledge but it will be of far less value to you than a much smaller amount if you have not thought it over for yourself; because only through ordering what you know by comparing every truth with every other truth can you take complete possession of your knowledge and get it into your power. You can think about only what you know, so you ought to learn something; on the other hand, you can know only what you have thought about.
~ On Thinking for Yourself from Essays and Aphorisms by Arthur Schopenhauer

💭 Interesting links
* My edition of Schopenhauer’s Essays and Aphorisms
* This video by Aeon mag: The intellectual legacy of philosophy’s greatest pessimist: life is suffering, art is supreme
* Here are 6 books on philosophy that I recommend
* Philosophy for the Beginners - My YouTube video
* Michel Houellebecq’s short book on Schopenhauer is quite interesting.
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In this episode, we're delving into a rare book by Leo Tolstoy, written during his darkest times. Tolstoy, a Christian mystic, delves into the relationship between religion, science, and the human spirit.
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Attention is "the rarest and purest form of generosity." The act of giving oneself-turning away from one's own self and turning toward the world, making a place for others by placing one's own self in a subordinate position- is true attention.
Dear listeners,
This episode is an unusual one. It’s the audio version of my article on the French philosopher Simone Weil, who had a revolutionary perspective on the nature of our attention.
She says that without being able to pay true attention to life we won’t be able to find true meaning of it.
That piece took me a long time to write, but it also turned out to be quite lengthy itself. Since I appreciate every single second you spend reading my articles or watching my videos, I recorded this episode so you could listen to the ideas of Simone Weil if you don’t have sufficient time to read it.
Would you like more reading episodes like this in the future?
Let me know,
Confide tibimet!
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The French philosopher Michel de Montaigne had an enormous influence on every thinker who came after he died in 1592. Voltaire, Rousseau, Nietzsche, Camus, and Hannah Arendt are only a few names who quoted Montaigne as their influence.
Montaigne is also known as the inventor of Essay as a genre. Unfortunately, our modern schools and universities often miss the original purpose of this genre. Essay comes from the French word ‘essayer’ which means ‘to attempt’, ‘to try’.
In this episode, I want to talk briefly about how you can use this powerful tool that Montaigne invented to improve your life.
💭 Interesting links
* The best translation of Montaigne’s Essays (in my opinion, of course) → https://amzn.to/46DxaMC
* My essay on how Seneca saw friendship
* I’ve made a video about Montaigne’s three philosophies of life.
* Sarah Bakewell’s book on Montaigne is brilliant.

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Hello friends!
Over the past 15 years I’ve documented every book that I’ve ever read in my journal or commonplace book.
The result is that as of June 2023, I’ve about 30 Moleskine notebooks full of ideas, quotes and passages written by some of the greatest minds that ever lived.
From the mind-blowing ideas of Nietzsche and the beautiful language of Vladimir Nabokov’s stories to the sublime labyrinths of mind of Jorge Luis Borges. The problem with this cabinet of curiosities of mine is that it sits and waits on my bookshelves for someone to come, read and rediscover them again.
Treat this podcast as a shared weekly diary where we explore beautiful, timeless ideas from books written by the greatest minds, thinkers, and humans who have ever lived.
V.A. 🖊️
Mentioned in this episode:
* Japanese Koan
* Goethe’s advice comes from this book here.
* Oliver Burkeman’s book 4000 thousand weeks
* My favourite translation of Les Misérables
* Essay on Virginia Woolf
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* YouTube Channel 🍿 👉 Find Here



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