The Browser - Nomen Manifesto

Nomen Est Omen

Roger's Bacon | Secretum Secretorum | 19th May 2022

Notes on the power of names, and on nominative determinism, which holds that people are drawn to jobs that fit their names — a person called Baker is a tad more likely to become a baker. But if so, why so? Perhaps because early surnames were often job-related. John the Baker became John Baker. Might some genetic attributes suited to the job still be heritable along with the name? (4,200 words)

A Retractable Manifesto

George Saunders | Story Club | 12th May 2022

Discursive essay from one of America's great short-story writers about the uses of fiction. Why read Isaac Babel's stories about war in Ukraine in the 1920s when real war is ravaging Ukraine in the 2020s? Will fiction not always be "outgunned by reality"? Yes; and the writer's job is to suggest a response to reality. The writer says: “What if we thought about reality like this?  Might that help?” (2,700 words)

Reality: how to think through it?
Well, might we provide help to do it?
With five reads a day
Each with something to say
That will offer a new angle to it....

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