Robert Sharp

Pupil Barrister

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My Introduction to 'A Thousand and One Recaps'

8 April 2020 / / 1 Comment

Re-posted from 1001.recaps.org

So long as you are prepared to admit it, ignorance is an opportunity rather than a weakness.

— Ann Morgan, 31 December 2019

Why this book and why now?

Why do any of us read anything? I have been meaning to read the Arabian Nights, or The Thousand and One Nights, for many years. Whenever I tell anyone that I have an interest in non-linear fiction, they usually mention the nested, story-within-a-story structure for which the tales are famous. In response, I have always said that I would get around to reading the collection “at some point.” Continue reading

A Thousand and One Recaps

7 April 2020 / / 0 Comments

During the COVID-19 lockdown, I’ve finally got around to a project I have mean meaning to do for a while, which I hope will prove an ongoing diversion while normal social life is on pause.
It’s called A Thousand And One Recaps.
The idea is very simple: I’m reading The Arabian Nights, or The Thousand and One Nights, the famously rich collection of stories that originate in Asia and the Middle East. Continue reading

Will the #COVID19 Antibody Test Break Our Discipline and Make Things Worse?

4 April 2020 / / 2 Comments

We’re all in this together. But what happens when we’re not?

Earlier this week I posted a tweet that got plenty of attention.

When the COVID-19 antibody test becomes available, it will split the country – and the world – into two types of person: those who are immune to the virus, and those who are still susceptible.

In the long term, when we have established ‘herd immunity,’ this won’t matter.1 But in the short term it could prove incredibly divisive, and cause the disintegration of solidarity and co-operation that our country has demonstrated so far.

Continue reading

Banter, Tragedy and the 'Healthy Dissonance' of #COVID19

1 April 2020 / / 2 Comments

This afternoon, as I was hunched over my phone composing a draft of a tweet, I paused over what word I would use to describe the COVID-19 events of the past few weeks.
Shenanigans? Malestrom? Crisis? Hilarity? Tragedy? Nonsense? “This COVID19 business”?
I began to realise that, in our discussions about the virus, we all seem to be able to slide effortlessly between gravity and frivolity. We can at once be deeply affected and concerned by the death, illness, and risk to our frontline workers on the one hand; and sharing memes about day-drinking and homeschool #fails, on the other. We all seem to be experiencing a sort of mass cognitive dissonance. Continue reading

Video-Physiognomic Dysphoria

28 March 2020 / / 0 Comments

Jillian C. York writes a short thread on looking presentable for video calls.


This reminded me of a passage in Infinite Jest where David Foster Wallace describes the phenomenon of Video-Physiognomic Dysphoria, the anxiety at having to present yourself on a video call. Continue reading

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