Some modern scientists feel a powerful affinity with their ancient intellectual forebears. While Anaximander’s understanding of the apeiron  may be hard to grasp, some 20th-century physicists found it a helpful concept. In the 1930s and 1940s, physicists worked to turn quantum mechanics (a theory of particles and their interactions) into a theory of particles and fields (i.e. quantum field theory). But they encountered difficulties, as attempts to do so often led to the appea

Little c went to visit the Great Zambesi-Chartel in his cell. “It is time we had a talk,” he said. “No, no, it's too late for talk,” said Charles Chartel. “You have disgraced us both, Charles,” said celach. “It goes very deeply when it touches me.” “I never even knew who you were, little c. You are protean and you are not at all plausible.” Advanced Lafferty. Charles Chartel is our main character, a professional magician who performs under the name the Great Zambesi. He is kn

Goethe's "Erlkönig" (1782) is a classic of weird poetry. It tells a story about a father riding through the night with his child. The child believes he is being lured away by the supernatural Erlking. The poem has two obvious readings: on one, the child is seeing a real supernatural presence; on another, he may just be sick, fevered, frightened, and dying while the father keeps explaining everything away as fog, rustling leaves, and wind. The child is having a visionary exper