About Me- Member since: May-26-98 14:03:51 PDT
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| Most Recent Posts Posted Sep-26-06 15:45:04 PDT A few weeks ago I was reading an article in The New Yorker magazine about how Jean Claude Ellena, the new nose for the prestigious fashion house of Hermes, went about designing and developing Hermes’ latest perfume "Un Jardin Sur Le Nil." The article was by Chandler Burr, and in the two sentence biography of their authors, the magazine mentioned that he had recently published a book called The Emperor of Scent: A True Story of Perfume and Obsession about another rather spectacular nose called Luca Turin.
I was expecting to read about a man with super-natural olfactory discrimination, perhaps someone who had such a finely tuned reception to the sense of smell that he could concoct perfumes of staggering beauty. The book was not what I expected at all, but it was an incredibly riveting read and I haven’t been this excited about a book for a while.
Luca Turin is indeed a nose. He is passionate about perfumes (and an avid collector of them) and does indeed have an incredibly discriminatory sense in this regard. Turin has published a bestselling book in France – Parfums – Le Guide – in which he reviews, with both acid wit and child-like awe, a number of perfumes. Instead of talking about Turin being an perfume alchemy and wizardry, the focus of the book is more around science, the politics of science, and it’s effect on new ideas. In that sense, the book is like a modern day fable.
In addition to being a nose, Luca Turin is also a scientist. Turin has proposed a radically new theory about how we actually smell. Conventional wisdom about smell is that when smell molecules come in contact with our specialized olfactory receptors, the receptors interpret the odor of the molecules in much the same way receptors in other parts of our body recognize their subjects – by the molecular shape of the molecule. In other words, current thinking suggests that when a molecule floats in our nose, it lands on a receptor and the receptors feels around the molecule structure, discerns in shape in three dimensions, and conveys it’s recognition to the brain. This theory has a few challenges. One of them is that certain enantiometers (molecules that are mirror images of each other, thus physically similar, but chemically different) are the same shape, but smell different. The same for is the case for isotopes. Certain isotopes, which are structurally identical (other than for the size of certain atoms,) should, by the conventional theory, smell the same, but they don’t. Turin thesis is that the smell is not a function of the shape of the subject molecule, but is rather an interpretation of the vibration of the electrons in the molecule. Turin does not reject Shape completely. He feels that shape is important to smell only in that certain receptors accept certain molecules and hold them fixed while the olfactory receptors literally perform inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy – only using biological components.
The book chronicles the established point of view (called the Shapist argument) and how various prior articulations of the Vibrationist argument have not passed muster. It then goes on to chronicle how Turin systematically assembled a much more compelling, and quite plausible, Vibrationist theory. This includes a pretty fascinating account of how Turin research and showed the plausibility that the biological components for performing the electron tunneling spectroscopy did indeed exists and could, without really stretching one imagination or credibility, come together in the olfactory receptors. It also includes accounts of Turin then had to test (and in some cases also manufacture) the molecules that smelled differently, were structurally the same, but had different spectroscopic properties (thereby showing the Shapist theory to be flawed, and his more realistic.) While the story really is about a new scientific theory, it is told through the life of Luca Turin, which cunningly anthropomorphizes an abstract idea and make the book immensely effective.
As the story of the development of Turin theory unfolds, it casts light on a part of the practice of science that it at one disgusting and terrifying. Many of us hold the belief that science is one of the last bastions of uncorrupt, collaborative, rational, fair, and open thinking. Turin experiences was anything but. Burr devotes a significant portion of the book to Turin’s challenge with publishing his work in the prestigious journal Nature. Through this process, Burr also exposes how Turin’s new theory threatened the careers and closely held beliefs of the Shapist and reveals the terrifying parochialism they brought to bear in evaluating Turin’s theory. Using a particularly ringing metaphor, Burr compares the powerful and established Shapist scientists who attack, disparage, or academically sabotage Turin’s every move, as giant silverback gorillas. Of course, Turin himself, an egotistical, short-tempered, arrogant, and acidic individual, does not help the process much either.
And Burr, in spite an entire chapter devoted to rationalizing his position on Turin, casts Turin as a modern-day Galileo. This is the probably the most perplexing part of the book. While one may be able to rationalize that the silverbacks thwarted Turin because his theory, if proved correct, would implode the world of those people who had built their academic career out of the shape theory, we find that Turin was equally rejected by all the potential commercial consumers of his new theory. If correct, Turin’s theory could have a profound impact on the productivity, process, and profits of the largest designers of perfumes. The fact that his overtures towards them (with respect to the application of his theory) were successively rejected, make me feel that perhaps the characterization of Turin as a martyr is probably out of proportion and also that this theory and it’s ultimate practical applicability is shaky. It also makes me think if story is just an exercise to expel some of the bitterness in Turin. Then again, it may be that the academic parochialism is prevalent in industry as well and that his vibratory theory threatens the jobs or credibility of many silverbacks in the perfume industry as well. It could also be that the theory may still be too new to be of any appreciable commercial interest.
Regardless, only time and additional research will tell if Luca Turin’s theory will stand. Meanwhile the story of a man with unusual interests and exceptional talent, a compelling new and iconoclastic scientific theory, and the complexities of academic and industrial intrigues still make this book and first-rate read. Posted Sep-26-06 15:44:33 PDT
The Assassins re-emerged in history as the Ismaili sect, lead by their religious and spirtual head known as the Aga Khan. Pop literature is replete with fascinating stories of the Aga Khan family, particularly the escapades of Aly Khan. While these stories can make for sordid reading -- with the luxious villas, the fast cars, the lavish parites, the stables of racehorses, and movie-star marriages -- the story of the Aga Khans also carries profound spiritual and philanthropic messages. The Throne of Gold: The Lives of the Aga Khans by Anne Edwards was one of the more easily accessible books on this topics. (Although not that easy; I had heard about it and a first edition hardcover finally showed up on eBay. See if any are available now.) One of the reviews on Amazon reamed this book for historical inaccuracies, but ultimately I liked the book because it mixed in enough of the extravagant stories with a respectful outlook towards the family. Earlier articles I had read always focused on the more debauched lifestyles of the family (the extra-marital affairs, Aly Khan's sexual training in Cairo, the celebration of the Aga Khan's Golden Jubilee with the gifts of gold equal to their leader's weight, the racehorses and intrugies in the turf clubs, the treasures held by the family, etc.) which is interesting for a little bit and then gets boring very quickly. It was interesting to read how the stables of racehorses actually made money for the Aga Khans which they then ploughed back into public services. It was intesting to understand how the Aga Khans, without an exception, encouraged their followers to become educated and how they set up schools, clinics, and other community program to help their followers. [A search for " aga khan" on eBay, yeild interesting results every now such as memorabilia around one the Khan's famous studs.]
Posted Sep-26-06 15:43:57 PDT I am beginning to re-read Bernard Lewis' The Assassins: a radical sect in Islam. The Assassins refers to the Ismaili sect founded by Hassan ibn al-Sabbah in the eleventh century. This sect is credited as the first group to use murder and calculated terrorism as a systematic way to eliminate political and religious rivals.
The Assassins lived in heavily fortified, inaccessible stone castles in high mountains in and around Persia and Syria. Their leader was often referred to as "The Old Man of the Mountain." As they spread, they began to win converts (both open and covert) across the Middle East. They became a very powerful and influential political and religious force, swearing allegiance to Nizar ibn al-Mustansir, whom they supported as Caliph. This support often led to them being referred as Nizaris.
One of the most often repeated, yet probably fanciful, stories about this sect is how they came to be called the Assassins. The belief is that when al-Sabbah wanted to eliminate an enemy he would identify a person in his group to be the murder. After plying this man with hashish until he fell asleep, the man would be transported to a garden within the fortress at Alamut. When the man awoke, he would find himself in a garden that was fashioned after the garden of Paradise as described in the Koran. Beautiful fragrant trees would be laden with fruit and he would be surrounded by beautiful women. After experiencing this bliss, he would be taken to al-Sabbah who would tell the man that he had briefly been admitted into paradise and that if he were to kill the target, he would be able to return to paradise to live out the rest of the days. The man, evidently, would oblige. The term assassin, then, is derived from the act of feeding these people with hashish (or "hashhashin" -- one who consumes hashish.)
Some of the most prominent of the Assassins’ victims were the vizier Nizam al-Mulk (Nizam al-Mulk, the poet Omar Khayyam, and Hasan al-Sabah were close friends,) the caliph Al-Adil, the Crusaders Raymond II of Tripoli and the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Albert.
After wrecking havoc with terror for almost two and a half centuries, the Assassins were practically wiped out. In 1256, as part of his Middle Eastern expansion and conquest of Baghdad, the grandson of Genghis Khan, Hulegu Khan systematically chased and massacred the Persian members of the group after al-Sabbah's son murdered several of Hulegu's ambassadors -- a massive breach of diplomatic protocol from a Mongol perspective. (It was exactly this act that enraged Genghis Khan and led him to wreak unmitigated devastation upon the Sultan of Khwarzim and the people of his kingdom.) The Syrians who belong to the sect were wiped out by the Mamluk Sultan of Egypt a bit later.
(Interestingly, the Mamluks were one of the few people who were able to withstand a Mongol offensive, which made them revered and respected in both Islamic circles. As the Mongols spread through Dar-al-Islam (the lands of Islam) survivors would flock to Cairo for refuge and protection, making it one of the most cosmpolitan cities of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The Christians also grudgingly armired the Mamluks for defending themselves against the Mongols and slowing down the Mongol jaggernaut that finally halted at the gates of Vienna upon the death of Ogodei, the Second Great Khan.) Posted Sep-26-06 15:43:32 PDT In Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World the author, Jack Weatherford, makes an impassioned case that one of the primary reasons for the disintegration and eventual collapse of the Mongol empire was the widespread epidemic of the plague throughout Asia and Europe in the 14th century.
In an earlier chapter of the book, Weatherford sets up a key foundation for his argument. He argues that one of the key reasons for the success of the Mongol empire, even after it's fragmentation into the independently ruled hordes, was the complex set of co-dependencies that existed between these entities. For instance, he suggests that the success of Khublai Khan's Chinese enterprises were dependent on the trade with the Golden Horde. Meanwhile, those in Persia were dependent on the output of (and the consumptions of items from) the Russian empire. The individual Khans also had significant personal financial interest in each other's lands through the ownership of land, villages, horses, manufacuting facilities, as well as rights to specific skills (astronomers from Persia, astrisans from South China, weavers from Norther China, military experts from Europe, etc.) Therefore, even when the two Khans were
at odds with each other and potentially engaged in a dispute, they still allowed the exchange of goods, money, and skills to keep the business of trade, politics, administration, research, and the arts running without interruption. This ability to run different aspects of each empire through import from the other areas, Weatherford argues, was keep to continued success of the empire.
When the plauge began to spread, there was a direct impact on the ability of the Mongol kingdoms to trade with each other and with other nations. The limitation came from decreased production of goods, decreased demand for luxuries, as well as the decimation of human life that made it hard to transport goods. With trade coming to standstill, Weatherford suggests that one of the key elements of that had earlier contributed to Mongol success was taken out of the equation, and the overall ecosystem was delt a shattering blow.
Weatherford also makes another interesting observation. He argues as long as the Mongol leaders were able to support the brisk and lucrative business of trade and as long they they continued to engage in military conquests that would amass largess in terms of captured loot and further expand trade horizons, the general population was happy, occupied, and engaged in constuctive activity. During the period of the plague and in it's aftermath, the lack of trade and military conquests that the Mongol were so well known for, began to put pressure on the leaders of the various hordes to endear themselves to their populations in different ways. One of the ways in which the leaders did this was to slowly eliminate their Mongol indentity and integrate more closely with the identity of the lands that they ruled. The leaders of the Persian horde, for example, embraced Islam. Those of the Tibetian regions embraced Buddhism. As a whole, Weatherford suggests, the concept of an overarching Mongol agenda and perspective was washed away and the boundaries became etched deeper and insularity grew, which further impacted the free movement across hordes, which was so critical to their survival.
I am not sure how to interpret Weatherford's arguments. In my estimation, his arguments support the theory that the overall umbrella of Mongol unity was crushed and the each individual horde probably became much more insular and integrated within it's own boundary. However, I'm not convinced that the impact of the plague was deep enough to unseat what was originally Mongol dominance in each indivudal kingdom. Posted Sep-26-06 15:43:31 PDT In Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World the author, Jack Weatherford, makes an impassioned case that one of the primary reasons for the disintegration and eventual collapse of the Mongol empire was the widespread epidemic of the plague throughout Asia and Europe in the 14th century.
In an earlier chapter of the book, Weatherford sets up a key foundation for his argument. He argues that one of the key reasons for the success of the Mongol empire, even after it's fragmentation into the independently ruled hordes, was the complex set of co-dependencies that existed between these entities. For instance, he suggests that the success of Khublai Khan's Chinese enterprises were dependent on the trade with the Golden Horde. Meanwhile, those in Persia were dependent on the output of (and the consumptions of items from) the Russian empire. The individual Khans also had significant personal financial interest in each other's lands through the ownership of land, villages, horses, manufacuting facilities, as well as rights to specific skills (astronomers from Persia, astrisans from South China, weavers from Norther China, military experts from Europe, etc.) Therefore, even when the two Khans were
at odds with each other and potentially engaged in a dispute, they still allowed the exchange of goods, money, and skills to keep the business of trade, politics, administration, research, and the arts running without interruption. This ability to run different aspects of each empire through import from the other areas, Weatherford argues, was keep to continued success of the empire.
When the plauge began to spread, there was a direct impact on the ability of the Mongol kingdoms to trade with each other and with other nations. The limitation came from decreased production of goods, decreased demand for luxuries, as well as the decimation of human life that made it hard to transport goods. With trade coming to standstill, Weatherford suggests that one of the key elements of that had earlier contributed to Mongol success was taken out of the equation, and the overall ecosystem was delt a shattering blow.
Weatherford also makes another interesting observation. He argues as long as the Mongol leaders were able to support the brisk and lucrative business of trade and as long they they continued to engage in military conquests that would amass largess in terms of captured loot and further expand trade horizons, the general population was happy, occupied, and engaged in constuctive activity. During the period of the plague and in it's aftermath, the lack of trade and military conquests that the Mongol were so well known for, began to put pressure on the leaders of the various hordes to endear themselves to their populations in different ways. One of the ways in which the leaders did this was to slowly eliminate their Mongol indentity and integrate more closely with the identity of the lands that they ruled. The leaders of the Persian horde, for example, embraced Islam. Those of the Tibetian regions embraced Buddhism. As a whole, Weatherford suggests, the concept of an overarching Mongol agenda and perspective was washed away and the boundaries became etched deeper and insularity grew, which further impacted the free movement across hordes, which was so critical to their survival.
I am not sure how to interpret Weatherford's arguments. In my estimation, his arguments support the theory that the overall umbrella of Mongol unity was crushed and the each individual horde probably became much more insular and integrated within it's own boundary. However, I'm not convinced that the impact of the plague was deep enough to unseat what was originally Mongol dominance in each indivudal kingdom. Posted Sep-26-06 15:42:59 PDT I have a pathalogical fear of being sued. As a consultant I kept hearing stories of how a client would end up hating what the consulting firm had done and decide to sue them for damages. Ever since I heard these stories, I decided to keep detailed written records of every client meeting I ever had and keep them carefully in the event I got dragged to some courthouse some where.
The problem with keeping notes is that you need a book that's sturdy enough to last for say, five to ten years. The floppy little Mead notebooks won't really cut it. Lab books are better, but the hardboard is hardly hard and the ink just seeps through the pages if you use a felt tip or rollerball pen.
On a trip to Belgium I found some really nice notebook by a company called Claire Fontaine. I bought about a dozen of those and went through them in about a year.
Then I read about the Moleskine books in a book by Bruce Chatwin. I kept looking for those notebooks and never found any. Finally I found a seller on eBay that sells them at reasonable price. A lot more is available on the site now.
The classic Moleksine has a hard oil skin cover, smooth pages that resist bleeding, and a ribbon marker. The book also comes with a very nifty elastic closure to keep it shut. At the end of the book are about a dozen perforated pages that you can tear out. On the back inside cover is a large pocket to keep pieces of papers (I use it for receipts and other scraps.)
I loved the book so much that I use it exclusively now. It's also become my traditional Christmas gift to all my co-workers. From what I can tell, they appreciate it as well.
Evidently the Moleskine has a rich literary history. It was the notebook of choice for some choice artistic figure besides Chatwin, such as Matisse, Van Gogh, and Hemmingway. Posted Sep-26-06 15:42:23 PDT Updated Sep-26-06 15:42:32 PDT This really has nothing to do with the fact that I work at eBay.
For years and years I have been fascinated with with the Great Game and the explorers of that period. One of the most romantic yet intriguing set of explorers of that period were The Pundits -- Indians who would disguise themselves as Pilgrims and map out territories in Central Asia and Tibet that foreigners were forbidden to enter. (Here's a nice article on the Pundits; there's also a great book on the The Pundits by Derek Waller of Indiana University.)
I've been looking for the Pundit maps for a long time. There were pubished in the late 1800s by the Royal Geographic Society. I finally tracked one down at The Map House in Beauchamp Place in London (about 10 minutes walk from Harrods in Knightsbridge.) And then I found a couple more on eBay last week for a quarter of what I paid in London. Now I have the map and associated monograph of the most important of these journeys: Account Of The Pundit's (Nain Singh) Journey In Great Tibet From Leh In Ladakh To Lhasa & Of His Return To India Via Assam from 1877. I think this one will join the other other framed Pandit map in my study. Posted Sep-26-06 15:41:54 PDT Currently reading Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford. Weatherford, a social anthropologist at Macalster College, has written an engaging yet factual account of the life of the Mongol emperor. It reads really well, and has a nice mix of narrative story-telling and historical analysis. What's particularly interesting about this book when compared to other biographies of Genghis Khan is that it spends a considerable amount of time (about half the book) talking about the impact of his policies and his legacy on the subsequent rule of the Mongols, including that of his grandson, Kublai Khan and the eventual disintegration of the emprire into the four hordes. (For an excellent account of Kublai Khan, read Morris Rossabi's book Khubilai Khan.) Weatherford's book is enjoyable, credible, and approachable. Posted Sep-26-06 15:41:16 PDT Another gift from my brother, Mapping the Silk Road and Beyond, merges my interest in Central Asia and cartography. Spanning over a 1000 years, this book has images and commentary on maps of Eastern Europe, Central Asia, China, Mongolia, and Japan. Although the maps are stunning and the commentary is very insightful, I had hoped to see more maps by some of famous explorers of the Great Game era like Hedin, Montgomerie, and Przevalsky. Posted Sep-26-06 15:40:51 PDT
My brother sent me the one the most beautiful books on the Silk Road. Along the Silk Road by Alessandra Meniconzi and Bertram Job captures images across the ancient route. The composition, variety, and range is spectacular. After reading about this area for over ten years, the pictures, particularly those of the landscape the people helped me create mental image of the places and people I have been reading about. The large format lends itself exceptionally well to doing justice to these photographs. The images themselves are good quality; not the really high-end glossy images but more of a matte finish.
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