Contributions to 'On Human Excellence'

This post is a collection of contributions from friends of mine to my earlier essay "On Human Excellence". As I noted in that essay, there is some peculiar utility in using others as evidence of this phenomenon. This is because, more often than not, human excellence as I have defined it is not even perceptible by some, or even most, unless you have some specific expertise or discernment in any given field of practice. Spending hours of one's life dedicated to studying and immersing yourself in some field or craft allows you to get inside its peculiar technical contours. It allows you to better see the excellence in the first place.

Thus, I had the thought that I could solicit those smart and interesting people around me as to whether they had their own thoughts about, or examples of, human excellence. What follows are their ideas and interpretations, meant as an accompaniment to the ideas sketched out in my original essay. 

If you read the original essay and these others' essay's and have your own ideas for examples of human excellence, reach out to me and I'd be happy to publish anything here alongside these pieces!

Follow the link provided to read each piece. Here they are, in the order I received them:

Mr Paul Desmond
By Liam Scrivener

Liam discusses the great jazz saxophonist Paul Desmond (and some Coltrane for good measure). He does an excellent job of describing the cool craft on display in his playing. Plus, some excellent musical observations and recommendations too. Check it out!


Mr O'Hara
By Sophie Rae-Jordan

Sophie discusses Frank O'Hara's great poem, Animals. We've had many long discussions picking this thing apart, and here she gives an incisive analysis of its excellent craft. If this doesn't get you to appreciate his craft, nothing will.


Adam Curtis and The Artistry of Good Storytelling
By Henry Valentine-Ramsden

Henry discusses documentary-maker/journalist Adam Curtis and his impressive skill of weaving seemingly disparate elements of history, culture, and media into an impressive synoptic narrative—almost singlehandedly. A real bounty of good stuff to check out here.

Shokunin
By Ben Stubbing

Ben discusses a case of human excellence in food. He tells us about sushi chef extraordinaire Jiro Ono. A man who insists on massaging his octopi for 50 minutes is no doubt a man to be taken seriously! Take a look.


Hilary Hahn’s Performance of Der Erlkonig
By Timothy Avery

Tim discusses the incredible violinist Hilary Hahn and her performance of Der Erlkonig, the famous Schubert song. However, this is not just any performance of the old Schubert song. Rather, it is the version transcribed for solo violin, which, according to Tim, makes all violinists familiar shake in terror. He expertly outlines why this is the case and how Hahn seems to effortlessly surpass its almost unrivalled difficulty.