I was doing some research on why left brain, masculine dominance has evolved in our world, and came across Leonard Shlain, who I found to be one of the most fascinating people I’ve ever discovered. Leonard took my depth of understanding of our world to a whole new level. I highly recommend watching these lectures if you have a chance, especially The Alphabet vs. The Goddess and Sex, Time, and Power.
 
Art & Physics: Parallel Visions in Space, Time, and Light

 
The Alphabet vs. The Goddess: The Conflict Between Word and Image

 
Sex, Time, and Power: How Women’s Sexuality Shaped Human Evolution

In the first talk, Leonard proposes that the visionary artist is the first member of a culture to see the world in a new way. Then, nearly simultaneously, a revolutionary physicist discovers a new way to think about the world. He makes fascinating comparisons between greats such Picasso and Einstein. In the second talk, Leonard contrasts the feminine right-brained oral teachings of Socrates, Buddha, and Jesus with the masculine left-brained creeds that evolved when their spoken words were committed to writing, and discusses how language and the written word have contributed to an imbalance in human brain function and male/female power. The third talk discusses female sexuality as the driving force of evolution, and how it in essence taught men about time due to a menstrus sexual cycle governed by the moon, which ultimately led to a realization of mortality and the creation of religion.

This is very intense stuff that combines a lot of different areas of human study. I find it mind blowing as it gives a holistic picture of where we come from, where we are, and where we’re going by synergizing art and science and focusing on a cultivation of harmony and equilibrium among the two hemispheres of the mind.

The 3 lectures are based on Shlain’s 3 bestselling books. He’s currently finishing up his fourth and seemingly final book called Leonardo’s Mind, a take on the brilliant mind of quite possibly the greatest combination artist/scientist in human history, Leonardo Da Vinci. Ironically, Leonard is currently recovering from brain surgery to remove a tumor in the very place of the stroke that killed Da Vinci. Heavy stuff!

Related posts

• Visit to Vinci
• Toasting Obama and the Future

Posted in Art, Technology | View Comments