Welcome to the Glass Bead Game

This blog takes its name from a novel by Hermann Hesse, the German writer, and one of the greatest literary figures humanity will ever witness. In the book, the Glass Bead Game is an ascetic game played by cerebral athletes, who find a way of representing all of the threads of human knowledge- literature, science, history, philosophy, music- through a series of symbols. These symbols, represented by glass beads, are then placed by the players in continuing patterns, representing the links between the themes. The game is devised by the intellectuals as a defence mechanism against a superficial and individualistic society, as a way of protecting knowledge and the love of wisdom in the face of relentless dumbing down. Sound familiar?

This blog has no such lofty pretensions- but it takes the spirit of the Glass Bead Game as its starting point: In the context of the 21st century, a Glass Bead player could be anyone who seeks to think, learn, reflect, and share this love of knowledge with others. In the context of our frenzied, advanced and ultra-complex age, a latter day Glass Bead Game player can be anyone who pauses to think, to ask questions, to muse on the ‘why?’ as well as the ‘how?’ You know a Glass Bead game player as soon as you meet them- they’re people who ‘get it’- people who thirst for knowledge and are curious about the physical and metaphysical around them. The dumbed-down vision that Hesse portrayed in his book is arguably more real to us in 21st century than he could ever have imagined- together we must protect our minds and, ultimately, our freedom, through playing our own version of the Glass Bead Game. I provide my own humble views as a starting point, embracing in true Socratic fashion that in attempting intelligence I reflect only my own ignorance. Please contribute as freely as you like- all free thought and examined lives are worthy of record.

A lot of the stuff here I have pouring over in my mind for years, and is influenced by a huge range of sources. People write for different reasons- for expression, for therapy, for clarity. This blog is dedicated to the crazy diamond who inspired me to believe I had something worthwhile to say.