Stephen Henderson

“I was struck by the graphic quality, the fullness of her descriptions. Her parents spoke too of this fullness: “All the characters or creatures or objects Charlotte talks about are placed,” her mother said; “spatial reference is essential to ASL. When Charlotte signs, the whole scene is set up; you can see where everyone or everything is; it is all visualized with a detail that would be rare for the hearing.” This placing of objects and people in specific locations, this use of elaborate, spatial reference had been striking in Charlotte, her parents said, since the age of four and a half—already at that age she had gone beyond them, shown a sort of “staging” power, an “architectural” power that they had seen in other deaf people—but rarely in the hearing.”
― Oliver Sacks, Seeing Voices

“Records made ‘at one sitting’ sound so fresh now – because the rate of discovery and the emotional tempo match those of the listener. What’s infuriating, though, is how fragile those fabrics are. I’ve noticed that, trying to work on improvisations that have ‘something’, they very quickly dissolve into nothing the more attention they get. It’s almost like trying to reconstruct a very funny dinner party – you had to be there, and it’s impossible to isolate the chemistry of what really made it work.”
― Brian Eno, A Year with Swollen Appendices: Brian Eno's Diary

“The controls of a skilled activity generally function below the level of consciousness on which that activity takes place. The code is a hidden persuader. This applies not only to our visceral activities and muscular skills, but also to the skill of perceiving the world around us in a coherent and meaningful manner.”
― Arthur Koestler, The Act of Creation

“Questions for U2: ‘What record would you like to make – i.e. how would you like this to be read? How would you like to get there? Does it bother you if the result is ‘undemocratic’? How much cheating is allowed? How much me?’ Lincoln’s axe: ‘This is Lincoln’s original axe. The head has been replaced three times and the handle twice.”
― Brian Eno, A Year with Swollen Appendices: Brian Eno's Diary