Notes on a cultural theme

摘要

Here's an analogy that will live with me for ever ― the comparison of the finale of Beethoven's ninth symphony to a troop of baboons. This striking idea is to be found in Beethoven's Anvil, which describes "the workshop in which human culture was first forged and which continues to sustain us as we evolve into the future". William Benzon, a cognitive scientist and musician, draws on research from a wide range of disciplines. Although his preface describes the book as "an exercise in speculative engineering", with the caveat that many of his speculations "must surely be wrong", he succeeds in building a convincing, though not compelling, case.