Reflecting on the ways that swallows move about the earth reminded me of the time, in 1996, when Ivan Illich agreed to speak at Doors of Perception in Amsterdam. Our theme that year was ‘speed’. The philosopher surprised us by bringing along two fellow speakers: Sebastian Trapp, a field biologist, and Matthias Rieger, a musicologist. As Illich described their approach at the time, “we went back into history to distance ourselves from modern certainties, to see whether we could find speed outside our speedy society”. The three texts were revised after the conference – and each one is as fresh today as the day we heard them in Amsterdam – so this seems like an opportune moment to run them again in three parts.
Sebastian Trapp: Frederic the Second and the Speed of a Falcon
“In the early morning of February the 18th, 1248 the people of Parma in northern Italy attacked the enemy that had Read More
Speed? What Speed? The Belly-Dance Drummer, by Matthias Rieger (Part 2, of 3)
In 1996, when Ivan Illich agreed to speak at Doors of Perception in Amsterdam, our theme that year was ‘speed’. The philosopher surprised us by bringing along two fellow speakers: Sebastian Trapp, a field biologist, and Matthias Rieger, a musicologist. Their contributions are as fresh today as twhen we heard them in Amsterdam – so we are running them again in three parts. This the second.
Matthias Rieger: Some remarks about speed from a belly-dance drummer’s point of view
When I prepared for this conference about speed, I was somewhat at a loss what to say in front of people who would have come from all over the world by car, train, or plane. This event, so I read in the programme, should give scientists, designers and philosophers a chance ‘to rub their brains’. After a while, I decided to ask my drum teacher Mohammed for help. Read More »