FREE Bachelor of Liberal Arts: A Nose for the Liberal Arts Questions and Answers
Literature: Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol, a Russian novelist of Ukrainian descent, penned "The Nose" in 1836. Which of these additional pieces did it NOT influence?
In Gogol's satirical short fiction, a nose wanders away from its owner's face and sets out to live its own life. It surpasses its original owner in accomplishment and defies him by refusing to retake its proper position. The nose is captured while trying to flee St. Petersburg and returned to its owner, who cannot reconnect it, but the nose and face are later successfully joined together.
History: Whose life would have been different if her nose had been shorter, according to a popular belief?
The world's face would have altered entirely if Cleopatra's nose had been smaller.
In his 17th-century masterpiece "Pensées," the multi-talented Blaise Pascal stated as much ("Thoughts"). A large nose was supposed to symbolize dominance and strength of character, which were essential qualities for a monarch facing the power of the Roman Empire at the time. Pascal may have meant that a more petite nose would have prevented Cleopatra from interacting with Rome with the same creativity and daring, altering the course of history.
Which of these locations is home to a well-known example of 20th-century architecture that closely resembles a group of overlapping noses?
Official sources claim that the Sydney Opera House, a popular arts complex, was designed with influence from ship sails. Closer inspection of this stunning specimen of contemporary expressionist architecture does, to rhinophilists like myself, imply a cluster of nasal prominences pointing skywards.
Jörn Utzon, a Danish architect, won the competition to build the complex in the middle of the 1950s. Construction on the enormous monument to the nose began in 1958 under the supervision of the engineering company Ove Arup & Partners, and Queen Elizabeth II formally opened it in 1973.
I thought I heard my kids debating a mathematical theory when they said, "This bear on the hippo's nose has sequins from Mum Bear for another two trips," but it turns out that my hearing isn't what it used to be.
Although there isn't much of a connection between mathematics and noses, Pythagoras of Samos' famous theorem does describe the characteristics of a right-angled triangle, which has been compared to a nose in passing: the square on the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares on the other two sides.
There is some doubt that Pythagoras actually formulated this theorem as an original piece of mathematics: the use of the principle it describes predates him in both the Indian and Babylonian cultures. It is possible that he may have constructed the first recorded formal mathematical proof of the principle.
Painting: I recently came upon a painting by the man with the mustache, which was that one with the big-nosed face on sticks. Which artist's name have I forgotten?
The stick painting of a big-nosed face with the official title "El sueo" (Sleep) was created by the Surrealist artist Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dal I Domènech in 1937. In his mind's eye, he imagined sleeping as a monster supported by the sticks (crutches) of reality.
This charismatic Spaniard's artistic endeavours went beyond painting and included furniture design, jewellery, film, set design, fashion, and performance art. Many of Dalí's works have disturbing, controversial or socially taboo subject matter, but are nevertheless objects of great imagination and fascinating wonder.
Which of these nasal-sounding Rationalist philosophers was a well-known fictional valet's go-to pick for reading material?
The Roman Catholic Church at the period forbade the rationalist writings of Dutch philosopher Baruch de Spinoza (1632–1677), perhaps due to his assertion that God and Nature were the same. Without a grasp of the language of the 17th century and how Spinoza utilized it in particular, it is challenging to appreciate Spinoza's philosophy; I do not claim to know it myself or to be able to provide a more thorough explanation.
Which of these Greek terms depicts a nose-related action that is often seen as socially unacceptable?
The prefix "rhino" refers to the nose.
Rhinotillexis, or what you and I know as nose-picking, is the term for removing mucus from the nasal canals with the finger. When practiced in public or around others, it is typically viewed as a disgusting habit, yet it is common and typically not harmful to health until done excessively. The word "tillexis" means "the plucking habit."
Any odd-toed ungulate animals belonging to the Rhinoceratidae family are called rhinoceros. Since "Ceros" is derived from the Greek word "keras," which means "horn," the animal's moniker, "nose horn," is incredibly fitting. The struggles of the unfortunate rhinoceros with "a bodger on the bonce" may come to mind for fans of Flanders & Swann's music.