Sunday, April 27 2008

What can a 17^th Century painting by the Dutch artist Vermeer tell us about the aesthetics of the rich and powerful in China? Our guest tonight is TIMOTHY BROOK, who has written a unique history of the 17^th Century, a time when commerce and culture from all around the globe collided in unexpected ways to form the beginnings of the modern world, entitled VERMEER’S HAT: THE 17^TH CENTURY AND THE DAWN OF THE GLOBAL WORLD.

Have you ever smelled a color? Or heard the song of a day of the week? If so, you may be a synesthete. CRETIEN VAN CAMPEN's discoveries open up an amazing world beyond our basic five senses and look at how synesthesia, far from being a problem that should be cured, may actually aid our creativity. Cretien van Campen’s book is THE HIDDEN SENSE: SYNESTHESIA IN ART AND SCIENCE.