Mansplaining…

This is a two part blog!

After the apparent Men’s day; it is only fitting that the men explain! Rather let me do some mansplaining!

That is a term despised by many! Then again it is interesting about how it came about! Which will be in the blog tomorrow!

For today you must know about a book, a man and a woman author!

The book is called the River of Shadows: Eadweard Muybridge and the Technological Wild West!

As you could understand by now, the book is about Eadweard Muybridge!

Now do not worry! In spite of a bad personal life Eadweard Muybridge has actually not much to do with mansplaining!

Eadweard Muybridge (1830–1904) was a pioneering English photographer and inventor renowned for his groundbreaking work in photographic studies of motion, which was a crucial precursor to the development of motion pictures and cinematography!

The story goes as late as 1872 when Muybridge was commissioned by railroad magnate Leland Stanford to settle a popular debate about whether a galloping horse ever had all four hooves off the ground at the same time!

Through years of experimentation, Muybridge developed a system of multiple cameras triggered by tripwires to capture a sequence of instantaneous photographs that proved Stanford correct!

These images, published in works like The Horse in Motion (1878) and the massive 1887 portfolio Animal Locomotion, provided unprecedented insights into animal and human movement!

To present his findings, Muybridge invented the zoopraxiscope, a device that projected images from rotating glass discs in rapid succession, creating the illusion of motion. This early projector is considered an important predecessor to the modern cinema projector and was featured at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, effectively the world’s first commercial movie theater!

Muybridge’s extensive studies which produced over 100,000 images of humans and animals in motion deeply influenced artists, animators, and scientists alike. His work provided valuable reference material for understanding biomechanics and anatomy, and has been cited as an influence on figures like Marcel Duchamp, Edgar Degas, and even our personal favorite; Walt Disney!

Now do not worry! Once you get this information, the next part will be easy!

That was about the man and the book! The lady in question who wrote the novel about Muybridge is Rebecca Solnit! You can read about it tomorrow!

That’s suspense! What I like though are movies with lots of fun! Like MUNNA Bhai! Directed by Raju Hirani!

Wait for tomorrow but don’t lose your sleep over it!

Shubh ratri!