How English Became the Common Global Language

Today, 1.5 billion people speak English. But in the 12th century, the language was almost extinct. So, how did English survive and spread so widely? Is there something about the language itself that played a role in that?

In this clip, Lori Dorn gives a lecture on the fascinating history.

An Admirable Example of the Simple Life

SH sent in this piece about the Bruderhof (German for “Place of Brothers”), a small group of Christian pacifists that were expelled from Germany by the Nazis and migrated abroad.

“Ultimately,” SH says, “they settled in 26 communities on five continents. Today, about half of the roughly 3,000 Bruderhof scattered across the world live in six villages squirreled away in the hollows of the Hudson Valley. Fox Hill is in Walden, an hour and a half northwest of Manhattan. To outsiders, the Bruderhof share a passing resemblance to the Mennonites and the Amish. Like those groups, the Bruderhof see their communities as refuges from the materialism and inequities of the modern world. They live simply and share their wealth.”

More About the Connection Between Music and Numbers… and Just About Everything Else 

As I said on March 21, it’s well known that there is a relationship between music and numbers. So, I shouldn’t have been surprised to discover that many of the people I’ve known who think analytically (e.g., financial analysts) have had an unusually strong interest in music – all kinds of music.

After reading that, JM wrote in to recommend a book that goes much further into the deeper meanings and connections that thinkers throughout history have found in music: Music and the Idea of a World, by Peter Kalkavage. Based on the reviews I’ve read, it sounds fascinating. You can check it out here.