The Saunterer

J. B. Priestley on communication

    We see them walking side by side on campus, each on a cell phone. We see them in the fitness room, glued to their iPods. J. B. Priestley must have seen something similar, to say:

    The more elaborate our means of communication, the less we communicate.

    (Quoted from page181 of The Australian Journal of Science, Volumes 19 - 20. Australian National Research Council, 1956.)
    For a brief biography of J. B. Priestley, click here. For images of or relating to J. B. Priestley, click here.

Constance Classen on odors

    Does Constance Classen’s observation match yours?

    We are often unable to recognize even the most familiar odors when these are separated from their source. That is, we know the smell of a rose when the rose itself is there, but if only an odor of roses is present, a large percentage of people would be unable to identify it.

    (Quoted from page 13 of Essence and Alchemy: A natural history of perfume, by Mandy Aftel. Gibbs Smith, 2004.)
    For a brief biography of Constance Classen, click here. For images of or relating to Constance Classen, click here.
    For information about Mandy Aftel, click here. For images of or relating to Mandy Aftel, click here.

Oscar Wilde on classical music

    People who have rock music in their lives have not satisfied their total need for music. Classical music meets other needs, which Oscar Wilde tells:

    After playing Chopin, I feel as if I had been weeping over sins that I had never committed, and mourning over tragedies that were not my own. Music always seems to me to produce that effect. It creates for one a past of which one has been ignorant, and fills one with a sense of sorrows that have been hidden from one’s tears. I can fancy a man who had led a perfectly commonplace life, hearing by chance some curious piece of music, and suddenly discovering that his soul, without his being conscious of it, had passed through terrible experiences, and known fearful joys, or wild romantic loves, or great renunciations.

    (Quoted from page 83 of Everyday Quantum Reality, by David A. Grandy. Indiana University Press, 2010.)
    For a brief biography of Oscar Wilde, click here. For images of or relating to Oscar Wilde, click here.
    For information about David A. Grandy, click here. For images of or relating to David A. Grandy, click here.