Human intelligence, so slowly evolving, is now irrelevant
Guesstimates about the most intelligent humans – the likes of Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Einstein, Faraday, Shakespeare and Newton – abound. But IQ doesn’t really matter these days.
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There’s nothing worse than a wine snob
I can barely detect the difference between red, white and rosé. Poor eyesight and palate. Chablis? Claret? Don’t ask me. As far as I know it could be vinegar or raspberry cordial.
As someone who knows fashion, I’m appalled by the catwalk
The tyranny of fashion endured by our women is as heavy-handed as forcing Islamic women to don the burqa.
It’s a parent’s choice. But you don’t have to live with it
Gough Whitlam would always cross out one of my l’s on personal or official correspondence, insisting that Philip was suitable only as a prenom, and Phillip was for surnames. But I’m not to blame.
In a world of endless noise, silence is golden
Though I’m deaf, it’s a long time since I’ve heard utter, total, restful silence. Silence in which to think. Or not to. In a world of endless noise and relentless racket, humans seem afraid of it.
Straights, fixers or maddies: which is Keir, Albo and the Don?
‘All politicians, irrespective of place or time in history, come in one of three categories: Straights, Fixers or Maddies,’ once quipped Tony Benn. To which group does a new generation of world leaders belong?
Our world is literally skating on thin ice – get used to the feeling
Thinking back over the perils of a long life, I recall many near-death experiences. All in all my continued survival is a tad, well, miraculous. Odd for an atheist. Thanks, God.
The campaign I’m most proud of from my adman era
With the help of two truly raving geniuses, I was able to give Australians ‘Life. Be In It’, with its antihero Norm, and, soon after, ‘Slip! Slop! Slap!’. But one campaign was closest to my heart.
Vale Ray Lawler, one of our greatest playwrights
Ray Lawler’s death should have been a day of national mourning as many in the know regard Summer of the Seventeenth Doll as one of the 20th century’s finest plays.
The things I’ve collected all my life
Like bowerbirds decorating their sex dens, like squirrels gathering nuts for winter, humans are natural-born collectors. For some of us, the impulse becomes an addiction. I am one of them.
Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/author/phillip-adams/page/3