Chapter 5. Authenticity
The legendary conductor, composer, and pianist Leonard Bernstein was once asked by a photographer to pose for a picture inside an airport while sitting on a motorcycle. ‘I don’t ride a motorcycle,’ Bernstein protested, ‘it would be phony.’ ‘I’m sure you could ride it if you tried’, the photographer replied.
To the amazement of his colleagues Bernstein jumped aboard, shot off at top speed across the airfield, slowed briefly to demonstrate a few tricky manoeuvres and returned to the shoot. ‘Now,’ he proclaimed, ‘you can take your picture.’
We live in a world seemingly accelerating in the opposite direction to being authentic. Globalization, lifestyle technology, spin doctors, advertising, virtual goods and services, online ...
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