MIT tends to host a decent amount of talks that I’d like to go to, but they almost always conflict with orchestra or other evening activities. Nevertheless, I’m determined to try to go to as many as I can. For instance, David Macaulay is coming tomorrow, Tom Brokaw on Wednesday, and at some point soon, Neil Gaiman will be giving a talk. I regret already missing Jhumpa Lahiri’s lecture some weeks ago.
David Macaulay was one of my heroes growing up. I was absolutely fascinated by “The Way Things Work,” which illustrated the operation of devices, factories, and really anything with a mechanical part in it. I later read his quasi-narrative about the building of a cathedral. He always manages to keep artistic wit without losing the functional aspect of his illustrations. Oftentimes, an artistic spin on an object ignores its modes of operations – gadgets become decorations and ornaments; or the inverse – a lifeless schematic of squares and circles. Macaulay managed to somehow bridge the two together, and I think I’m willing to be a little late to orchestra to hear what he has to say.
Leave a Reply