A 20 second summary of what you can find more about down bellow:
👨🎨 Glenn Gould on the purpose of art
🏡 Eduardo Neira, Roth's Architectures: The Mexican House
The purpose of art is not the release of a momentary ejection of adrenalin but is, rather, the gradual, lifelong construction of a state of wonder and serenity. Glenn Gould
Is ancient technology ever really lost?
There are a few ways technology could be lost: the inventor dying, secrets being kept, mysterious processes being forgotten. But do any of these actually happen? And what are the known examples?
Why is the Pantheon still standing after nearly 2,000 years, while most of our concrete infrastructure crumbles after a few decades? Is it because we have lost the secrets of ancient Roman technology? Not really. We know how to make durable concrete; it’s just more expensive than the alternatives that last 30-40 years. Besides, we have figured out why Roman concrete was so great. In many cases it is because of the addition of pozzolana, a material that comes from volcanic ash and was common in the region of Naples, near the Vesuvius volcano. Pozzolana can help concrete auto-repair its cracks, which is pretty cool, but not supernatural either. We sometimes use pozzolana in cement today, and there’s extensive research that goes into concrete chemistry, considering concrete’s huge economic importance. It seems plausible that Roman concrete was, in a sense, lost as the empire crumbled and collapsed. It might have been difficult to procure pozzolana ash when the trade routes were less safe in the early Middle Ages, which would make durable concrete rarer. But then again, there’s plenty of use of mortar in the medieval period, notably in cathedrals, so it’s not like the knowledge of making “liquid stone” became unheard of.
What I'm currently watching:
In Residence: Eduardo Neira, Roth | The Mexican house cut from nature
