Beyond Maps; Seeing the World in a Richer Way
August 4, 2025
Maps can distort our views of the world. Thongchai Winichakul, in Siam Mapped, wrote that the map of Thailand became a metasign—it acquired meanings that
Beyond Information and AI
July 23, 2025
Many of AI’s leaders are concerned about aligning AI’s goals with what will benefit humanity, but its LLMs have a narrow view of us. Humanity’s
Ancient Indian Concepts of Space; More Hidden Wealth in Basic Ideas
July 12, 2025
Western scientists in the 16th and 17th centuries increasingly conceived space as a void that objects move around in. At the same time, architects were
Culture and Time
July 4, 2025
Just after the beginning of the 20th century, the French philosopher Henri Bergson defined two kinds of time. One is objectively measured. We identify a
Cultures and Concepts; Hidden Wealth in Basic Ideas
June 25, 2025
What is a circle? Many Westerners have been trained to think of it as an abstract geometric shape with a circumference of 2πr and the
Perplexed Confucius and AI Models in Hoi An; Vietnam’s Multicultural Landscape
May 14, 2025
Confucians from the royal court in Hue probably would have found Hoi An chaotic if they had ventured there. Although the Nguyen Dynasty’s kings tried
Confucianism and its Discontents in Vietnam
April 29, 2025
In 1802 the last Nguyen lord, Nguyen Anh, defeated the Tay Son rulers of Vietnam after a traumatic civil war. He returned from the north
Vietnamese Kings Taking a Step toward China and Landing back on Their Own Shore
April 10, 2025
Vietnam is full of underappreciated cultural blends. China had ruled Vietnam since 111 BCE. The Vietnamese finally gained independence in 939, after China’s Tang Dynasty disintegrated.
Walking on Sacred Ground in Pisa
March 21, 2025
A lot of the people who take selfies by Pisa’s leaning tower miss the Campo Santo, but it’s one of the stateliest buildings I’ve ever