Sometimes it is easy to find a good metaphorical context for a magic trick. The “cut and restore rope trick” deals clearly with the archetype of restoration. “Cups and Balls” involve all the basic mag…
The Mole Antonelliana is the architectural symbol of Turin, my city. In 1873, at a height of 167 metres (556 ft), it was the tallest building in Europe.
It is impossible to count the vast number of methods of finding God. One path deals with mathematics.
In his books Mutants and Mystics, Jeffrey J. Kripal offers an insightful account of how comic book heroes have helped their creators and fans alike explore and express a wealth of paranormal experienc…
Some years ago I have been diagnosed a mild form of cyclothymia, a chronic mood disorder characterized by periods of hypomanic symptoms alternating with periods of depression. Long before recognising…
Are there places acting like magnets, which attract artists under the curse of a fatal number?
On May 9, 2012 Mark Frauenfelder publishes on BoingBoing the photograph of a strange coin. He received it during a visit to the Stupid Fun Club in Berkeley.{Tnx to Ferdinando Buscema.} Assuming that i…
A magical book of the 16th century (discover it here) can be used as a tool for funny mathematical puzzles. The letters on the tables of the “Book of Soyga” are not distributed at random, and a study…
There is a book which is a faithful representation of the Universe.Borges would have loved its story. Here it is.
Wait some seconds and…
I have just completed the Bérenger Saunière Museum Virtual Tour, a multimedia website offering the visitor insights, documents and historical material related to the mystery linked to Da…
A lot of banknotes have had a troubled life. Part of their stories are hidden in their serial numbers.
Pietro Millioni was an Italian composer and author lived in 17th century. In 1649 he published a book of secrets entitled Gratioso pensiero (Graceful Thought){Pietro Millioni, Gratioso pensiero, per m…
During an interview Salman Rushdie introduced the role of storytelling in defining a human being:
Edge is an online magazine whose purpose is to explore scientific and intellectual ideas, inviting “sophisticated minds” to answer profound questions in a manner readily accessible to non-specialist p…
What is the relationship between Art and Content? Banksy wrote that
On the occasion of the death of Wislawa Szymborska (1923-2012) here is an excerpt from her Nobel Lecture (1996). The Polish poet addresses the issue of Wonder, challenging the cynical biblical lament…
Paris. Louvre Museum. Richelieu wing. Second floor. Room fourteen. “The Sheperds of Arcadia”, the representation of four shepherds in front of a tomb, was created by Nicolas Poussin around 1640. Its s…
I love the idea of a redemption consisting in the construction of beautiful narratives. Here, the idea expressed at its best by Umberto Eco in a novel (The Mysterious Flame Of Queen Loana) and in a le…
This page from Umberto Eco’s The Mysterious Flame Of Queen Loana has always (nostalgically) reminded me of my grandfather’s Nativity scene, also using a mysterious “big bottle with no neck” to a…
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