December 2024

Letters, Oliver Sacks (ed. K. Edgar)

December 2024 – …

This is book # XXXX in the no-longer-very-aptly named Essays Project. Though perhaps, having detoured into the wilds of Shakespeare, a tour of the letters of Sacks, who is a formidable essayist, is steering us back towards the main track. Of course, letters are not essays, but their relative brevity and personal cast, as well as the wide-ranging nature of Sack’s epistles, give them a familial resemblance.

The book is edited by Kate Edgar, Sacks’ assistant and editor of several decades; she also contributes a brief preface which offers her perspective on Sacks’ compulsive writing process. Alas for her brevity; I believe she could offer a lot of insight on Sacks. But perhaps his letters will serve. Onward!

Preface and Editor’s Introduction

Sacks loved correspondence. He felt one ought to reply to letters, immediately if possible. He corresponded with, literally, thousands of people, from school children to Nobel laureates. Sacks took pains to preserve his letters with carbon sets, drafts, or later, photocopies, though by no means does all his correspondence survive. But that part which does runs to about 200,000 pages, or about 70 bankers’ boxes.

Letters were an important way for Sacks to connect to the larger world, possibly a way to do an end-run around what he described as his ‘crippling shyness.’ Certainly they opened him to a vast range of ideas and stimulation; as Edgar says: “Often a serendipitous letter, totally unexpected, would launch him on a new essay or even a book. (p xiii) The letters are also important for understanding Sack’s development, both personally and intellectually.

Edgar offers interesting insights on Sacks’ approach to writing. “[Sacks] had difficulty […] editing his own work. Thus, when one editor or another asked him to clarify something or boil it down, he would simply crank a new piece of paper into his typewriter and start over. Voilà, a new draft. Eventually, the editor would have a pile of drafts, to say nothing of a sheaf of follow-up letters with new footnotes and addenda. It was difficult to choose the best among these, since most versions contained wonderful passages, but each headed in a different direction.” Edgar dealt with this by cutting and pasting among the many draftsand stitching together his various trains of thought.

In the longer term, they developed a more interactive way of working : “Oliver, on the other hand, wanted me actually sitting by his side as he tore each finished page out of the typewriter: “Here! What do you think?” I began referring to this as “combat editing.” I would arrive home after a day with Oliver, exhausted from the nonstop effort of trying to keep up with his restless intellect for eight hours. But it was also exhilarating work, and when he phoned me an hour or two later with new thoughts, I was ready to dive back in. What started for me as a freelance job, occupying a day or two a week, soon became a full-time vocation-and then some.”

1. A New World: 1960-1962

The letters begin with Sacks’ arrival in North America at the age of 27. He had finished four years of medical school and two years of internship, and left England in part to escape the draft, and in part to re-invent himself at a more comfortable distance from his large and opinionated extended family. It is easy to imagine that a significant motivation was his family’s non-acceptance of his homosexuality, but a first-hand assessment is not part of the record. It is clear that, in addition to continuing in medicine and specializing in neurology, Sacks pursued other interests including motorcycling, weight-lifting, and clandestine sexual encounters.

2 August 1960: To ] parents & Aunt Len: Arrival and travels in Canada.

24 August 1960: To parents: Arrival in San Francisco

29 September 1960: To parents: First days at Mt Zion

3 October 1960: To parents: More on Mt Zion, SF, and friends

11 October 1960: To Jonathan Miller: Job, plans, impressions

15 October 1960: To parents: Recreation, social life

28 November 1960: To parents and Aunt Len: Work at hospital; motorcycling

2 February 1961: To parents: Family news; neurology conference

22 April 1961: To parents and Aunt Len: Account of his motorcycle trip around US

24 June 1961: To parents: Complaints about intern work at Mt Zion

6 July 1961: To parents. More complaints; speculation about what he will become

16 October 1961: To parents: Visit to new UCLA medical school / conference

4 February 1962: To parents: Brief letter about depression & upcoming Mexico trip

23 February 1962: To parents: Account of his Mexico trip (and ref to truckers essay)

25 March 1962: To parents: Weight lifting and work, which he still dislikes

2. Los Angeles: 1962 – 1965

Sacks is now 29. So far, most of the correspondence — at least that covered in the book — has been with his parents.

…reading break…

Cymbeline

Precis

Act 1: Cymbeline turns against Imogen and Posthumous; as does Iachimo; Queen plots.

Cymbeline, angry that Imogen has wed Posthumos, banishes Posthumos and imprisons Imogen. Posthumos, in Rome, encounters Iachimo who sets out to to prove Imogen unfaithful. Queen requests a poison from her doctor, who gives her a fake one.

Act 2. Cloten and Posthumos both vow revenge on Imogen, for different reasons

Cloten is offended by Imogen and vows revenge; Iachimo deceives Imogen and steals her ring and learns details about her room and body, and uses them to convince Posthumos that she has betrayed him.

Act 3: War with Rome; Pisano warns Imogen as they travel; Imogen disguises herself as Fidelus

Caius Lucius arrives; Cymbeline, influence by Cloten and the Queen, refuses; war is declared. Posthumos orders Pisanio to murder Imogen, and sends her a false letter asking her to meet him at Milford Haven. Pisanio, however, decides not to do so and warned her, and advises the distraught Imogen to disguise herself as a boy and offer herself to Caius Lucius as a Page so that she can get out of Britain and be near Posthumos. Somehow Imogen, disguised as the boy, Fidelus, arrives at the cave in which Belarius and Guiderius and Aviragus are hiding.

Act 4: In cave: all love Fidelus; Cloten killed – Imogen believe’s he’s Posthumous, and Caius Lucius gets a page. Rome invades, and the brothers fight with Britons.

Guiderius and Aviragus meet Fidelus and feel great love for him. Fidelus is not feeling well and takes the portion, and appears to be dead. Aviragus goes out hunting; Cloten arrives in the cave, has words with Guiderius, and kills and beheads him. His body is laid next to Fidelus, who they believe is dead, and later, when Fidelus is awakened by the arrival of Caius Lucius, believes that the dead Cloten (who was wearing Posthumos’ clothes so as to be revenged on Imogen while raping her) is Posthumous; in despair, she agrees to become Caius Lucius‘ Page, as he is smitten with him.

Act 5: Britons triumph; Posthumos and Iachimo repent and confess; Imogen vindicated; Belarus & bros & Queen revealed. Caius Lucius et al. pardoned; Order restored.

Posthumos repents Imogen’s murder and decides to die in battle — there he defeats Iachimo and helps the brothers rescue Cymbeline; not having died, he reverts to his Roman guise, and is captured, imprisoned, and sentenced to death. The defeated Romans (actual and seeming) are brought before Cymbeline, and everything is gradually revealed, beginning with Fidelus‘ interrogation of Iachimo, who regrets his bad actions.

Detailed Notes

Act 1: King, Queen, Iachimo against Imogen/Posthumos

Cymbeline furious because Imogen married to someone other than his stepson. He had planned for her to marry Cloten, his stepson and son of new Queen, so that the kingdom had a clear succession. Cymbeline has ordered Imogen imprisioned, and has banished Posthumos from the city, though in this scene Imogen is not in prison and Posthumos only leaves at the very end of the scene. The Queen has professed sympathy for I and P.
Cloten talks with two Lords, giving an account of a sword fight with Posthumous. P avoided hurting C, but Lord’s flatter C….
Posthumos’ servant, Pisanio, tells Imogen of P’s departure to Rome, and she bewails his leaving.
Posthumos’ arrives in Rome, and is welcomed by his host Philario. Ichiago, a friend of Philario’s draws Posthumos into conversation, and convinces him to accept a bet that he (Iachimo) can seduce Imogen.
The Queen asks her physician and teacher for a poison. He gives it to her, but, not trusting her, gives her a potion that causes sleep rather than death. She gives the supposed poison to Pisanio, telling him that it is a cordial that has saved the King’s life five times; she hopes he will take it and die, leaving Imogen without supporters.
Iachimo arrives and meets Imogen, and tells her that Posthumos is betraying her in Rome with prostitutes. She is furious and does not believe her; he tells her he was only testing her and they make peace. He asks her to keep his trunk – which he says has a valuable gift for the emperor – in her bedchamber so it shall be safe.

Act 2: Iachimo tricks Imogen/Posthumos; Cloten vows revenge

2.1 Cloten, who has just lost at gambling, is informed of Iachimo’s arrival by the two lords, who insult him in asides; Cloten decides he will be introduced to Iachimo and recap his gambling loses. The Lords hope that Imogen will rule Britain…
2.2. As Imogen sleeps, Iachimo emerges from the trunk she has stored for him. He looks about, makes notes on the room’s appearance and furnishings, notices a mole on Imogen’s breast, and steals the bracelet the Posthomos gave her from her wrist.
2.3. Cloten serenades Imogen in an attempt to win her love, but she will have none of it. He presses, and she insults him by saying that she values him less that Posthumus’ meanest garment. He is furious and vows revenge. At this point Imogen also realizes her bracelet is lost
2.4. Iachimo returns to Rome with his ‘proofs’ of Imogen’s infidelity, including the bracelet. Posthumos is taken in and pays off the bet, and vows revenge on Imogene.

Act 3: Tribute refused; Pisanio confesses; Imogen➔ Fidelus

3.1 Caius Lucius, an ambassador from Caesar arrives and demands tribute. With the encouragement of the Queen and Clotus, Cymbeline refuses, and Caius Lucious pronounces a state of war between Rome and Britain.
3.2 Pisanio gets two letters from Posthumos: one commanding him to murder Imogen, which leaves him aghast. Another, to Imogen, uring her to come to Milford Haven.
3.3 We discover that Cymbeline’s sons – Guiderius and Aviragus – are alive, but raised by Belarius who stole them as babies from their father, in revenge for losing his lands due to purported collaboration with the Romans.
3.4 On the journey to Milford Haven Pisanio reveals to Imogen that he is supposed to kill her, and she is so distraught by Posthumos’ lack of trust that she asks him to stab her. He proposes, instead, that she disguise herself as a boy and offer herself to Caius Lucius (the ambassador from Rome) as a servant: this will allow her to be near Posthumos and keep her away from Cymbeline, the Queen, and Cloten. When she agrees, he gives her the potion that he believes is a restorative.
3.5 When Imogen’s absence is discovered, Cloten forces Pisiano to tell him where Imogen is: Pisano gives Cloten the letter summoning Imogen to Milford Haven, and Cloten decides to dress up as Posthumos, soas to kill Posthumos and rape Imogen.
3.6 Imogen, disguised as a boy, stumbles into the cave of Belarius, and is welcomed by Guiderius and Aviragus
3.7 A Roman senator announces that the Roman army attacking Britain will be under the command of Caius Lucius.

Act 4: Guiderius kills Cloten; All love Fidelus; Bros for Britain

4.1 Clotten, dressed in Posthumos’ clothes, delivers a soliliquoy in which he declares that he will behead Posthumos and rape Imogen, and that his mother will make the latter OK with King Cymbeline.
4.2 Imogen, in the cave with Guiderius and Aviragus and disguised as a boy, Fidelus, is not feeling well. She takes the potion, and tells the two brothers to leave her… but Guiderius (I think) refuses, and later says he feels love for the boy. At some point Aviragus leaves, and Cloten arrives and he and Guiderius have words: this leads to a fight, and Guiderius kills and beheads Cloten. After this, Fidelius is discovered rigid and insensible, apparently dead. Cloten’s headless body is placed next to Fidelius. Fidelius/Imogen awakens alone, and assumes that the body is that of Posthumos, because Clotten had dressed in his clothes. She is distraught, and when Caius Lucius arrives, she tells him that the corpse was her master, and laments his death. Caius Lucius asks him/her to become his page, and s/he accepts.
4.3 Cybeline is alone in the face of the Roman attack: Imogen and Cloten are missing, and the queen is very ill.
4.4 The brothers convince Belarius that they should join the war on the side of the Britons.

Act 5: Britons triumph; Posthumous and Iachimo confess; all is revealed and order is restored

5.1 Posthumos reprents Imogen’s murder and decides that he will seek death by joining the Britons, masquerading as an ordinary soldier.
5.2 In battle Posthumos encounters Iachimo and defeats and disarms him; Iachimo also regrets his behavior towards Imogen. In another battle, the Britons free; in a third skirmish, Belarius and Aviragu and Guiderius, with Posthumos, rescue King Cymbeline, who has been captured. In another part of the battle Caius Lucus urges Fidele to fly.
5.3 Posthumos reverts to his previous disguise as a Roman; the Britons capture him, and Cymbeline sends him to prison.
5.4 Posthumos falls asleep in chains, and his family appears to him and implores Jupiter to pay attention and to help him. Jupiter descends, and after saying “who I best love, I cross,” and “the more delayed, delighted,” announces that Posthumos will be OK and will be lord of Lady Imogen. Posthumos awakes, and finds a tablet with Jove’s prophecy, but is unable to interpret it. The jailer arrives and asks if Posthumos is ready for death; he says yes, he wishes it… the jailer is surprised.
5.5 Posthumos is brought before Cymbeline. Cymbeline knights Belarius and the two boys; he laments that the ‘ordinary soldier who aided them cannot be found and orders a search. The doctor enters and tells him that the queen has died, confessing that she hates Cymbeline and her plot of kill Imogen. Caius Lucius is captured and brought before Cybeline, who is told that he and his army will be killed. Caius Lucius asks that Fidelele be spared, and Cybeline agrees and also grants Fidele a wish. Fidele’s wish is to interrogate Iachimo… and Iachimo confesses all. Posthumos, hearing this, comes forward and confesses that he murdered Imogen. But then Imogen comes forwards, and they are reunited, and Cymbeline is overjoyed to have his daughter back. Next, Pisiano reveals that he encountered Clotten, and gave him a false letter that took him to Milford Haven, and then Guiderius announces that the killed Cloten. Cymbeline is going to send him to prision for killing a prince, but then Belarius comes forward and confesses that the two young men are King Cymbeline’s sons. Posthumos is revealed as the soldier who assisted Belarius and the two sons, and the one who defeated Iachimo, and goes on to pardon him. Cymbeline decides to pardon Caius Lucius, and the Roman army, and to pay the tribute to Caesar that there might be peace. The Roman soothsayer is brought forward, and interprets Jupiter’s prophecy, revealing that all that happened was his will.

The Winter’s Tale

An interesting one. The first part is a tragedy; the second transforms it into a comedy. There are a lot of loose ends that are, mostly, tied up in the penultimate scene, in a series of disclosures to Autolycus, offered for unclear reasons.

I find Autolycus are curious character — a villain who morphs into a trickster. Paulina is, in my view, the hero of the story, though it is disappointing that she is married off at the end after she declares she is going to morn for her dead husband. Apparently marrying everyone off is de rigueur for a comedy.

Act 1 – Leonte becomes insanely jealous

1.1. Two courtiers in Sicily, one being Camillo who will feature in the tale, talk about the magnificent hospitality of the Sicilian court towards Polixenes , King of Bohemia, and of the long friendship between Polixenes and Leontes, King of Sicily.

1.2. Leontes and Polixenes converse, with the former urging Polixenes to stay longer, and Polixenes saying he must depart. After a bit – at the bidding of Leontes, I believe – Hermione, the queen, joins in, urging Polixenes to stay. But at some point Leontes becomes disturbed by the queen’s urgings, and grows insanely jealous. He decides the queen has been unfaithful with Polixenes , and orders Camillo to murder Polixenes , even while attempting to pretend that everything is fine.

Polixenes notices that something is amiss and presses Camillo, who very unhappy with Leontes’ orders (and believing in the queen’s faithfulness), finally reveals Leontes’ orders to Polixenes . They decide to hurriedly depart for Bohemia.

Act 2 – Polixenes & Camillo escape; Hermione imprisoned and Perdita born

2.1. The hasty departure confirms Leontes’ paranoid beliefs, and he accuses Hermione of adultery. She defends herself, and the lords speak in her defense, but Leontes will believe no one and has her cast into prison. He announces he has sent messengers to the oracle of Apollo to obtain the god’s advice

2.2. Paulina, a lady in waiting to Hermione and wife to Antigonus a Sicilian courtier, tries to visit Hermione in Prison. Hermione has just had a daughter in prison, and Paulina convinces Hermione to give her the baby to take to Leontes, believe the baby will soften his heart.

[Some time – around 23 days I think – has passed]

2.3. Paulina’s audience with Leontes does not go well. He is further enrages by her refusal to condemn Hermione, and rejects the baby – first ordering the baby to burned, but then changing his mind and ordering Antigonus to take the baby to a remote place and abandon her there. At the end of the scene, news comes that the messengers to Apollo’s oracle have landed and are hastening to court.

Act 3 – Hermione accused; Leonetes does not believe Apollo’s oracle; Maximillus & Hermione die, and Perdita is abandoned but saved.

3.1. The messengers returning with the oracle discuss the ceremony they observed, and express wishes for Hermione’s good fortune.

3.2. Hermione is defending herself in court, but Leontes will not believe her, even when the messengers arrive and the message from the Oracle pronounces her innocent. Then news arrives that Maximillus, Leontes and Hermione’s son – upset by his father’s accusation of his mother – has died. Hermione swoons at the news, and is carried off by Hermione. Leontes repents, and Paulina returns with the news that Hermione has died. Leontes vows to spend the rest of his life grieving for his wife and son.

3.3. Meanwhile Antigonus has arrived in Bohemia with the baby, and abandons her in the wilderness, but leaves her with a chest of gold. Shortly thereafter he is chased and eaten by a bear, and the ship that brought him founders in a storm. As this occurs, a shepherd discovers the baby, and the gold: “We are lucky, boy, and to be so still requires nothing but secrecy.”

Act 4 – 16 years pass; Polixene’s son in love with Perdita; Autolycus appears; many things happen

4.1. Father Time appears and bridges the 16 year gap in the play

4.2. Polixenes and Camillo talk – Camillo is homesick and wishes to return to Sicily; Polixenes, who has favored Camillo for saving his life, does not want him to. Instead, he asks him to join him in donning a disguise and going to investigate what his son, Florizell, is up to at the shepherd’s home where he has been spending time.

4.3. We meet Autolycus, a thief and con artist, and also former servant to Florizell. He encounters the son of the shepherd, and steals him money. He then decides that he will attend the sheep shearing party that the son was buying things for, and engage in further thievery.

4.4. [A huge scene] There is a sheep shearing feast. Polixenes and Camillo arrive, in disguise, and are welcomed as guests and presented with flowers by Perdita, the now-grown child of Leontes and Hermione.

Various conversations ensue:

– Florizell declares his love for Perdita, while Perdita expresses her doubts due to their differences in status (which she can detect, even though he is in disguise as Doricles).
Polixenes and Perdita have a conversation about flowers [4.4.90-120], involving whether certain flower hybrids are bastards or natural. Perdita is suspicious of them, whereas Polixenes is accepting [I don’t really understand this exchange – one would think that Polixenes would be suspicious of such mixing….*]
– Camillo appears to flirt with Perdita, who brushes off his compliments. …Camillo is struck by her beauty and appears to recognize that she seems of higher birth.
– Polixenes asks the shepherd who Perdita’s suitor is, and the shepherd says his name is Doricles, and that they are very much in love.
– Autolycus arrives, and offers various trinkets for sale. The lowborn women are interested and press their suitors to buy them; Perdita is uninterested.
– Florizell and Perdita are about to handfast, but Camillo intervenes and presses Florizell to invite his father to the handfasting, but Florizell resists
– Polixene’s reveals himself and forbids Florizell to marry Perdita, and threatens to disinherit him and have Perdita killed. The shepherd is shocked and frightened

Camillo reveals himself to Florizell, and after discussion they decide Florizell and Perdita should flee to Sicily, where Camillo will provide for them, and hope for a reapproachement with Polixenes.

– Autolycus reappears. “Ha, ha, what a fool Honesty is. And Trust, his sworn brother, a very simple gentleman.” He has stolen most of the purses of the guests, though not all. Camillo notices him, and orders him to exchange clothes with Florizell… now Autolycus has the clothes of someone of higher station, which will enable him to dupe the Shepherd and his son.

– The Shepherd and his son confer, and decide to go to the King and show the bundle of things that was with Perdita when they found her. The believe it will show that she is a changeling, or at least not their child, and that they will thus avoid punishment.

– Autolycus appears convinces the Shepherd and his son that he is a courtier, and says that the Shepherd and his relatives will all be killed because of this. They give him gold to present their case to the king, and Autolycus agrees, both for the gold and because if he turns them over to the king it may regain him favor in the court. “If I had a mind to be honest, I see Fortune would not suffer me. She drops booties in my mouth.” Autolycus decides he will bring the Shepherd and son on board the ship that will bring the prince to Sicily.

Act 5 – Everything is resolved

5.1. Some courtiers urge Leontes to take a wife, but Paulina argues against it – and it is revealed that the oracle said he will not have an heir until his lost daughter is found – and he agrees with her. With more urging from others to marry, Leontes agrees that he will not marry until Paulina approves. News of Florizell’s arrival reaches court; a servant reports that his princess is the fairest woman he has ever seen, and Paulina objects, citing the late Hermione. Leontes wonders about the visit, suspecting that it is forced rather than a visit of state.

Leontes receives Florizell and Perdita, and Florizell pretends that he has been sent by his father. But then, a Lord arrives, bearing a message from Polixenes, who asks him to arrest Florizell, who has fled with a shepherd’s daughter. Leontes seems inclined to accede to Polixenes’ request, but then is persuaded to speak to Polixene’s on their behalf.

5.2. This scene provides a lot of heretofore unknown details that ius useful in tying up lose ends. Autolycus, who is now in Sicily, interviews several courtiers. From the first gentlemanhe learns that the meeting between Polixenes and the Shepherd was momentous: “There was speech in their dumbness; language in their very gesture. They looked as if they had heard of a world ransomed, or of one destroyed.” From the second gentleman he learns that the King’s daughter has been found. Then Paulina’s Steward arrives, and explain the bundle left with baby Perdita included Hermione’s mantle, her jewel, and Antigonous’ letters. Then he describes the reunion between Leontes and Polixenes and Perdita. Further talk reveals Antigonus’ death and the founder of the ship that brought him. Further discussion reveals the existence of Hermione’s statue, its being in the possession of Paulina, and that she has visited in thrice a day… Autolycus also reveals that he brought the Sherperd and his son on board the ship that came to Sicily…. Then the Shepherd and his son arrive, now elevated to being gentlemen, and promise that they will recommend Autolycus to the Prince….

5.3. In the last act, Leontes, Polixenes, Perdita and Florizell, Paulina and Camillo visit the ‘statue’ of Hermione. She comes to life, after an increasingly broad hints reveal that she is not a stature. She embraces Leontes, and then she blesses her daughter. Paulina declares she will lament her dead husband, but Leontes declares that she will marry Camillo

ChatGPT’s answer to my question about why Polixene’s is OK with hybrid (bastard) flowers, whereas Perdita is opposed:

See [4.4.90-120]

*GPT: “Polixenes, an older, more worldly character, admires the “streaked gillyvors” and is impressed by their beauty. However, Perdita, who is more idealistic and morally conscious, rejects these flowers, explaining that they are unnatural. She associates them with “artificial” practices, implying that they are “streaked” or “painted” in a way that corrupts their natural purity. Her response reflects a belief in the superiority of natural beauty and the authenticity of the wild, unadorned flowers she prefers.

Polixenes, on the other hand, is less concerned with the idea of natural purity. His acceptance of the streaked gillyvors can be seen as a symbol of his pragmatism and his understanding of the world, which includes the acceptance of human intervention and artifice. Polixenes is from a more sophisticated, courtly environment, where such artificiality might be more common or even valued. In contrast, Perdita’s rejection of the flowers represents her desire for simplicity and her connection to the pastoral, natural world.

The conversation touches on larger themes in the play, such as the tension between nature and artifice, authenticity and deceit. This dynamic is central to the plot of The Winter’s Tale, where the themes of jealousy, deception, and reconciliation play out. The contrast between Perdita’s natural idealism and Polixenes’ acceptance of human influence on nature can be seen as a reflection of the broader conflict between the innocence of youth and the complexities of adult experience.”

Quotes I like

my desires
Run not before mine honor. nor my lusts
Burn hotter than my faith. [4.437-39]

I should leave grazing, were I of your flock,
and live only by gazing. [4.4.130]

When you do dance I wish you
a wave o’ the sea, that you might ever do
nothing but that, move still, still so,
And own no other function. [4.4.166-168]

From my succession, wipe me, father. I
am heir to my affection. [4.4.569-570]

A course more promising than a wild dedication of yourselves
to unpathed, undreamed shores. [4.4.672-674]

AUTOLYCUS: Ha ha! What a fool honesty is,
And trust, his sworn brother, a very simple gentleman. [4.4.711-712]

The stars, I see, will kiss the valleys first
The odds for high and low’s alike

AUTOLYCUS: Though I am not naturally honest, I am so sometimes by chance. [4.4.838-839]

AUTOLYCUS: If I had a mind to be honest, I see Fortune would not suffer me. She drops booties in my mouth. [4.4.964-965]

Snow Crystals, Kenneth Libbrecht

Snow Crystals: A Case Study of Spontaneous Structure Formation, Kenneth Libbrecht, 2022

This is Libbrecht’s magnum opus, at least on snow; this goes deep into the science. …and I love that he has ordered the references by date, so you can see the history of the science leading up to Libbrecht’s work.

C1: Snow Crystal Science

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The most basic shape of a snow crystal is a hexagonal prism — think a hex nut but without a hole in the middle. Made up of molecules, this prism shape tends to be ‘rougher’ at the angles of the hexagon, and the roughness offers more and more favorable opportunities for H₂O molecules to attach (this is in contrast to ‘flat’ or planar surfaces which do not offer such opportunities). Libbrecht refers to this as a growth instability, and it means that the prism tends to grow a projection from each angle leading to a six-pointed star and, as growth continues, a conventional snowflake shape.

The particular form of a snowflake is finely dependent on the humidity (degree of supersaturation) and temperature. The Nakaya diagram shows the general morphologies of snowflakes that form at particular temperatures/supersaturations. Snowflake shapes are diverse, and for practical purposes, unique, because the falling flake moves through regions of the cloud that differ in humidity and temperature. Nakaya liked to remark that snowflakes are “hieroglyphs from the sky,” because their forms describe the changing conditions through which they fell as they formed.

Generic diagram of how a snow crystal forms, and the Nakaya diagram that shows the morphology of snow crystals as a function of supersaturation and humidity. — Nakaya diagram of snow flake morphology

Mullins and Sekerka realized that growth instabilities are often associated with pattern forming systems, with solidification being a specific example (See 1964Mull). In particular, a dendritic branching process, now called the Mullins-Serka instability, occurs whenever diffusion limits the solidification of materials.
Studies of dendrite formation often involve succinonitril, because it is transparent and has a freezing point near room temperature. (See Glicksman 1976Gli.)
Eventually work on the Mullins-Serka instability grew into an area called solvability theory, which explains many of the defining characteristics of dendritic crystal growth.

A short tour of the book

C2: Ice Crystal Structure. Examines the properties of ice in equilibria, with special attention to “terrace step energies” in the basal and prism facets of ice crystals. Another factor called “surface premelting” is also discussed.
C3: Diffusion-Limited Growth. The formation of elaborately branched snow crystals results from the Mullins-Sekerka instability, which arises from the slow diffusion of water vapor molecules through air. Thus particle diffusion and surface attachment kinetics are the primary physical processes guiding snow crystal growth. This line of work also shows that heat diffusion and surface energies play relatively minor roles.
C4: Attachment Kinetics. This chapter describes the Suface Dependent Attachment Kinetics (SDAK), which along with Terrace Nucleation Theory and Terrace Step Energies can explain most of the morphological transitions seen in the Nakaya diagram.
C5: Computational Snow Crystals. This chapter discusses work on computational models of snow crystals — this is work in progress.
C6: Laboratory Snow Crystals. Examines various approaches to creating snow crystals in the lab.

I am going to pass on describing the other chapters… I believe that chapter 1-4 will cover most of what I’m interested in.

C2: Ice Crystal Structure

C3: Diffusion-Limited Growth

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C4: Attachment Kinetics

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C5: Computational Snow Crystals

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C6: Laboratory Snow Crystals

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C7: Simple Ice Prisms

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C8: Electric Ice Needles

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C9: Designer Snow Crystals

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C10: Natural Snowflakes

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C11: Snowflake Photography

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Macbeth

See course notes for general material about Macbeth.

I continue (post Othello) not to be terribly keen on the tragedies, but liked this more than Othello.

Precis of Macbeth

Macbeth encounters three witches who prophesy that he will become Thain of Cawdor and King of Scotland, and that Banquo’s descendants will be kings as well. Shortly thereafter Duncan appoints Macbeth as Thain of Cawdor, but announces that he will appoint his own son as crown prince. Macbeth is ambitious, and toys with the idea of murdering King Duncan. However, he has reservations – Duncan is his lord, a kinsman, and a guest in his household. However, Lady Macbeth – who appears to have summoned evil spirits to give her resolve – shames Macbeth into going forward with the plot. So Macbeth murders Duncan, and pins the murders on drunken watchmen (whom Lady Macbeth has used a potion to put to sleep), and then has them killed, and blames Duncan’s sons for the murder.

Macbeth is crowned, but becomes increasingly unstable (as does Lady Macbeth( and paranoid). He seeks out the witches, who warn him to be wary of MacDuff, but assure him that no man borne of woman can kill him, and the he will not be defeated until Birnam Wood moves to Dunsinane Hill. After this, Macbeth goes on a bit of a killing spree, arranging the murder of his friend Banquo (to eliminate his descendants the witches said would inherit the throne – except Banquo’s son escapes) and the family of the nobleman Macduff. Plagued by ominous visions—such as Banquo’s ghost appearing at a royal banquet—Macbeth’s grip on power loosens.

Meanwhile, Macduff and Duncan’s heir, Malcolm, raise an army in England and return to overthrow the usurper. Macbeth tries to avoid fighting Malcolm, but upon Malcolm’s pronouncement that he will take Macbeth captive and parade him about, Macbeth fights, and is slain and beheaded. Order and justice is restored.