Here are some writings that I’ve read and enjoyed over the last month or so.

• Mozart’s music does not make you smarter | Science Daily (Link)
• Listening to Mozart won’t make you smarter | John Terauds (Link)

Merely listening to Mozart has the same effect as merely doing nothing.  We learn things when we can translate those experiences to other forms of reality; when we can recognize patterns in certain stimuli and develop the capacity to react to them.

• Composition Master Class | John Adams, Hell Mouth (Link)
• Do What I Say, Not What I Do! (Or maybe not….) | John Adams, Hell Mouth (Link)
• Marcel Proost, Laptop Composer | John Adams, Hell Mouth (Link)

I’m a huge John Adams fan and was happy to discover his blog this month. Some of his posts are good for a chuckle!

• Shanghai Is Trying to Untangle the Mangled English of Chinglish | NYTimes.com (Link)
• How English erased its roots… | The Observer (Link)

This is cultural evolution right before our eyes!

When it comes to culture, habits and ideas, I think people are content when these things can withstand change.  It’s only when those things are changing right before our eyes that we really cherish the past.  Some people will even raise a stink about progress and innovation.

I always try to remind myself that evolution is inevitable; eventually, everything will change!