I've been wanting to subscribe to Lapham's Quarterly ever since Lewis Lapham, the erstwhile editor of Harper's Weekly, left and started this several years ago. I was a big fan of his writing - erudite, sarcastic, flowing. I finally bit the bullet when the subject of the quarter was "Technology". I'm glad I did. It's hard to describe this as a mere magazine with some articles on technology. The articles range from those written in antiquity (e.g. by Plutarch), to forward looking ones about fusion and superconductors. Interspersed are quotes, poems, short articles that put the ~250,000 years of human tech into perspective.

Although it's hard to choose, a couple of my favorite essays:

  • Screen Time - Primo Levi (1984). His thoughts on using a word processor for the first time. "The ancient Greeks used to say of an uneducated man -- 'He can neither swim or write'".
  • Lagado - Johnathan Swift (1708). A funny view of what the academics were up to. e.g. One was 'eight years upon a project for extracting sunbeams out of cucumbers'. Another was trying to 'reduce human excrement to its original food'.
  • Fusion & Magic - Andrew Blum. An optimistic view on energy, fusion and superconductors. Essentially if we crack this, we are all set as a human race.

One of my favorite quotes:

The real problem of humanity is the following: we have Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions, and godlike technology. - Edward O. Wilson

Anyway, it's a bit heavy going in parts, but overall a joy to read (and hold). Maybe a good idea for a Christmas present for those that like tech.