Steven Connor is Professor of Modern Literature and Theory at Birkbeck College London. His talk was part of the Touched Talk series for Liverpool Biennial.
His Philosophy of Fidgets talked in-depth about the small little things that we do on a daily basis without even thinking about it.
if i was reading the book myself, i would probably have got bogged down in the metaphorical analysis' used, however Connor spoke with such enthusiasm and conviction i found myself really connecting with the words and seeking out personal experiences that related to what Connor was referencing in his talk.
Connor talked at length about the philosophical properties of sellotape, mentioned the “timbre of pulling sellotape off a roll” , and the “ambivalent delight of pulling sticky tape from itself”. Although on first hearing the idea of sellotope as a "philosophical machines" seems quite ridiculous. However on listening to him for a while i actually thought he had some very valid points. There is something very pleasurable about the sensation of messing with sticky tape, which, until Connor pointed it out, i had never realised thought about.
Again, although connors practice is not in the sam vain as my own, i did, in this instance, take some positive things away from this lecture. The ability to break things down into simple, understandable metaphors are think more creatively about the mundane everyday things in life, in order to make them relevant to myself.
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