Comments on: A Bit Of Literature – Eyes Do More Than See

By: Vivien

Vivien — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 04:43:24 +0000

of course, I’m curious. Thanks for those links.
Wow, turns out that at the beginning Hugh Hefner’s goal was to establish Playboy as a serious magazine. “Playboy contributors have included John Steinbeck, P.G. Wodehouse, W. Somerset Maugham, Vladimir Nabokov, Ray Bradbury, Gore Vidal, and John Updike.”

… now I’m curious why did the magazine reject Asimov’s story?

By: Paul Enderson

Paul Enderson — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 02:17:00 +0000

Playboy has always been a ‘gentleman’s journal’ – but the definition of that has changed seemlessly over the decades to reflect whatever the current generation of ‘gentlemen’ are looking for! ;)

If you’re curious:
http://www.trivia-library.com/.....part-1.htm
http://www.trivia-library.com/.....part-2.htm
http://www.trivia-library.com/.....part-3.htm

By: Vivien

Vivien — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 02:11:55 +0000

Lauren, thanks for those math+art links. It’s truly amazing to see what human mind can produce, and how artists can express themselves in every possible way.

he-he, Paul, that’s one of the goals of this bit of literature – trying to feature not so well-known but brilliant stories by celebrated writers.

To be honest, I was actually surprised to find out that Asimov would even consider writing for Playboy. But then I guess Playboy in 1965 was quite different from what it became now (not that I read it, but mainly suspect :-) )

By: Paul Enderson

Paul Enderson — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 01:57:11 +0000

Wow. I thought I’d read all of Asimov’s works, but I must have missed that one somehow. It’s amazing how such a talented writer could ever be turned down for anything, but I guess it shows how those making the judgements aren’t always right. ;)

By: LaurenMarie - Creative Curio

LaurenMarie - Creative Curio — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 20:21:11 +0000

Whoops, I got the title slightly wrong. It's How to Have Creative Ideas by Edward de Bono (not How to Think Creatively, though imho that would've been a better title because that's more what the book is about). Mathematician-turned-artist. Yup, me too! I shared Richard Sweeny's work and Jen Stark's portfolio with David awhile ago. Truly math + art.

By: Vivien

Vivien — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 20:09:32 +0000

I was as surprised as you’re, Lauren, when I found out that Escher was bad at math. When I first saw his works I thought they’re done by a Mathematician-turned-Artist.

Oh, I’m so glad that you’ll be posting on How To Think Creatively. I was about to ask you that myself. Perhaps you can even do it in a form of a group project?

By: LaurenMarie - Creative Curio

LaurenMarie - Creative Curio — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 20:00:31 +0000

Really? I didn’t know that Escher was bad a math. His stuff seems very mathematical to me!

I’m planning on writing a little review of How to Think Creatively (per a request from David Airey!) over on my blog in a bit, possibly next week. I’m going to give an example of one of the games and my solution to it. It should be fun to see what other people come up with!

By: Vivien

Vivien — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 19:52:12 +0000

That’s why Playboy rejected this story – I guess it was too pure and surreal for them.

As soon as I started looking for an image to go along with this story, Bond Of Union came immediately to my mind. That site I linked to M.C. Escher has all his illustrations, I think. Did you know that Escher was very bad with Math, but his work is often referred to in different math books and displayed on various Math conferences.

That de Bono’s game sounds very mind-empowering. I should give it a try one day.

By: LaurenMarie - Creative Curio

LaurenMarie - Creative Curio — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 19:29:41 +0000

That picture is really fitting to the story, Vivien. I like Escher’s work and I’m surprised I’ve never seen it before!

Maybe I totally missed it, but I don’t think that story would fit in Playboy at all! It’s too… emotional? This doesn’t strike me as a story that guys would like.

Interesting how Asimov came up with this story based on a clay head without ears. It reminds me of how de Bono’s “games” work in How to Think Creatively. You have to take random words and apply them to a problem that needs to be solved. It really expands your thinking beyond your normal capacity!