Rescuing Fiction | Herman Hesse | Steppenwolf again |and For Madmen Only

When I had my previous website, The Shy Highway, the most successful thing on that site was the page "For Madmen Only", a short essay on the enigmatic ending of Herman Hesse's 1927 novel, Steppenwolf. Though a committed loner all his life (he is often found on lists of famous people proposed as Asperger candidates),  … Continue reading Rescuing Fiction | Herman Hesse | Steppenwolf again |and For Madmen Only

Good news for shy people | Work stress, you and your telomeres

Let's look again at Elizabeth H. Blackburn's 2017 book The Telomere Effect: a revolutionary approach to living younger, healthier, longer. Dr Blackburn is one of the leading researchers into the genetics of the telomere, that device at the ends of your DNA strands that protects them from deteriorating (often compared with the plasticized ends of … Continue reading Good news for shy people | Work stress, you and your telomeres

I’m back | The trauma of moving and saying goodbye | hope for the future

What would you think of a 74 year-old man who set out on the hardest, longest, most traumatic undertaking of his life? One that would physically and mentally exhaust him, and render him, after it was over, unable to think straight or do anything constructive for days? For the past two months I've been unable … Continue reading I’m back | The trauma of moving and saying goodbye | hope for the future