Great read! Always been fascinated by Tesla. This trend of societies ignoring luminaries like Tesla, Anton von Webern, et. al. is wacky and horrifying. Makes it hard to fight off cynicism sometimes. One of my favorites to combat this feeling is "If you keep looking in the rear-view mirror, you'll crash."
That's excellent advice. I think that if you couple looking forward, with the idea that you're going to take care of your own needs first in order to help more folks, that's the right way to frame this.
Sure! Webern (1883-1945) is considered amongst modern composers to be one of the greats. He is normally associated with Schoenberg and the 12-tone technique but his treatment of it comes off (to me at least) as more expressive. During his life, his music was rarely played and he was essentially ignored but he never stopped composing. He was killed by friendly fire accident in 1945. These days, you can't get a degree in music without encountering him and his music is played everywhere.
If you're interested, maybe this is something we can work together on at some point. I like to call attention to folks who slip through the cracks of history (at least in the public sphere), but deserve more notice.
Idioms are the fantastic in that they reflect, to a degree, the background and culture of a nation. You are right, "no good deed" feels like an outlier among other english-language idioms (probably because it didn't originate in english).
One of my favorites is the german: "The forest echoes back what you shout into it." - Basically, do unto others.
A complex topic, but very, very interesting. I believe that when you do good, you do it because it is your way of seeing the world, not to get something out of it. Any of us can turn on a smile and never see it, and maybe that makes that smile even more precious. Aristotle said, "Dignity is not in the possession of honors, but in the consciousness of deserving them."
Maybe I'm wrong, but that's what came to mind as I read. Your article is very moving. What you have written is not only a matter of the head, but also of the heart. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Michael! I might add: being altruistic is a noble thing, but without being able to actually do the good (putting your own mask on in our analogy), it's all for nothing. Between feelings good and having a meaningful outcome, give me the latter every time.
Yes, I completely agree. I once took a course on rescuing people lost in the mountains. I remember they kept telling us: If you can't save someone, don't do anything, and call someone who can.
You are right, it is also good to learn how to do good without doing absurd things just to feel "noble."
Ahhh, two of my personal go-to favorites. As a very literal person, sometimes it takes a while for the larger concept to sink in. I remember the first time I flew as a parent, the voice over instructing me to put my own mask on first was so contrary to everything I knew and believed. How on earth could a mom be so selfish to treat herself before her child?. (Hmmm. ... typing this sentence it’s easy to see my Texas Christian fundamentalist childhood and the seeds planted - hard not to get distracted on sidebar related to todays anti-women policies but I digress... ). I recall thinking, they could instruct people to mask up first, but I would not be doing that! What kind of horrible parent did they think I was? I’m embarrassed to admit how long I had to really contemplate the meaning and understand the gravity of the directions issued. Once the mind-blowing revelation sunk in and I ‘got it’; it’s been life changing. As such, repeating the mantra and putting my own mask on first, has greatly improved not only my life (it provides control for survival, no longer a victim of circumstance, one is now taking action not to save just themselves, but as many people within their reach as they can touch), but hopefully the lives of those near and dear. I do have to wonder though, what does it take for a man like Tesla, sacrificing his own advancement for the greater good of humanity, to be the successful hero of the story? How different would humanity be?
As always, appreciate the thought-provoking articles Andrew! Keep up the good work.
For the "what does it take for a man like Tesla, sacrificing his own advancement for the greater good of humanity, to be the successful hero of the story?" question, I think my own take is that there's little to be done for folks who don't first put their own oxygen masks on.
That said, we've seen history take some notable turns toward people like Tesla (Alan Turing comes to mind), folks who suffered in life and weren't really recognized for their brilliance, at least for a while after they died.
Also, "You can't love anyone until you love yourself" is kind of the cringey equivalent, right?
I'm sure you know the story, but the guy had an elephant secretly poisoned while allegedly wired to AC, just to demonstrate its dangers. But hey, AC ultimatedly became the standard despite Edison's jackassery, so all kind of evens out in the end. Not that Tesla cares at this point.
Edison's life was so complex and so fascinating. To me, he's a much, MUCH more interesting character than Tesla precisely because of crazy stuff like that! He also had a far greater impact than Tesla because... well, he understood how to have an impact. It's really too bad that Tesla didn't also get this.
Great read! Always been fascinated by Tesla. This trend of societies ignoring luminaries like Tesla, Anton von Webern, et. al. is wacky and horrifying. Makes it hard to fight off cynicism sometimes. One of my favorites to combat this feeling is "If you keep looking in the rear-view mirror, you'll crash."
That's excellent advice. I think that if you couple looking forward, with the idea that you're going to take care of your own needs first in order to help more folks, that's the right way to frame this.
Also, Will: tell me some things about Webern!
Sure! Webern (1883-1945) is considered amongst modern composers to be one of the greats. He is normally associated with Schoenberg and the 12-tone technique but his treatment of it comes off (to me at least) as more expressive. During his life, his music was rarely played and he was essentially ignored but he never stopped composing. He was killed by friendly fire accident in 1945. These days, you can't get a degree in music without encountering him and his music is played everywhere.
I appreciate that, Will. Have you written about him in the past?
Sure thing! Nope, just a fan of his!
If you're interested, maybe this is something we can work together on at some point. I like to call attention to folks who slip through the cracks of history (at least in the public sphere), but deserve more notice.
Idioms are the fantastic in that they reflect, to a degree, the background and culture of a nation. You are right, "no good deed" feels like an outlier among other english-language idioms (probably because it didn't originate in english).
One of my favorites is the german: "The forest echoes back what you shout into it." - Basically, do unto others.
Sam, as far as I could tell, "no good deed" actually does originate in English, but if you have read or heard otherwise, I'm all ears!
I'm also a huge fan of idioms. It's always fun to uncover how they came to be. There's usually a really cool historical surprise in there.
A complex topic, but very, very interesting. I believe that when you do good, you do it because it is your way of seeing the world, not to get something out of it. Any of us can turn on a smile and never see it, and maybe that makes that smile even more precious. Aristotle said, "Dignity is not in the possession of honors, but in the consciousness of deserving them."
Maybe I'm wrong, but that's what came to mind as I read. Your article is very moving. What you have written is not only a matter of the head, but also of the heart. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Michael! I might add: being altruistic is a noble thing, but without being able to actually do the good (putting your own mask on in our analogy), it's all for nothing. Between feelings good and having a meaningful outcome, give me the latter every time.
Yes, I completely agree. I once took a course on rescuing people lost in the mountains. I remember they kept telling us: If you can't save someone, don't do anything, and call someone who can.
You are right, it is also good to learn how to do good without doing absurd things just to feel "noble."
Ahhh, two of my personal go-to favorites. As a very literal person, sometimes it takes a while for the larger concept to sink in. I remember the first time I flew as a parent, the voice over instructing me to put my own mask on first was so contrary to everything I knew and believed. How on earth could a mom be so selfish to treat herself before her child?. (Hmmm. ... typing this sentence it’s easy to see my Texas Christian fundamentalist childhood and the seeds planted - hard not to get distracted on sidebar related to todays anti-women policies but I digress... ). I recall thinking, they could instruct people to mask up first, but I would not be doing that! What kind of horrible parent did they think I was? I’m embarrassed to admit how long I had to really contemplate the meaning and understand the gravity of the directions issued. Once the mind-blowing revelation sunk in and I ‘got it’; it’s been life changing. As such, repeating the mantra and putting my own mask on first, has greatly improved not only my life (it provides control for survival, no longer a victim of circumstance, one is now taking action not to save just themselves, but as many people within their reach as they can touch), but hopefully the lives of those near and dear. I do have to wonder though, what does it take for a man like Tesla, sacrificing his own advancement for the greater good of humanity, to be the successful hero of the story? How different would humanity be?
As always, appreciate the thought-provoking articles Andrew! Keep up the good work.
Thanks so much, Laura!
For the "what does it take for a man like Tesla, sacrificing his own advancement for the greater good of humanity, to be the successful hero of the story?" question, I think my own take is that there's little to be done for folks who don't first put their own oxygen masks on.
That said, we've seen history take some notable turns toward people like Tesla (Alan Turing comes to mind), folks who suffered in life and weren't really recognized for their brilliance, at least for a while after they died.
Well put - there really is something about acting in service, in service to yourself first, so that you can serve others.
That's a good way to put it, Zan.
Also, "You can't love anyone until you love yourself" is kind of the cringey equivalent, right?
I'm sure you know the story, but the guy had an elephant secretly poisoned while allegedly wired to AC, just to demonstrate its dangers. But hey, AC ultimatedly became the standard despite Edison's jackassery, so all kind of evens out in the end. Not that Tesla cares at this point.
Edison's life was so complex and so fascinating. To me, he's a much, MUCH more interesting character than Tesla precisely because of crazy stuff like that! He also had a far greater impact than Tesla because... well, he understood how to have an impact. It's really too bad that Tesla didn't also get this.
No good deed is unrewarded after you are dead.