Modern Wisdom #1022 - Sheehan Quirke - How Did The Modern World Get So Ugly?
123 snips
Nov 20, 2025 
Sheehan Quirke, a British writer and online educator known as The Cultural Tutor, explores the decline of beauty in modern culture. He discusses how efficiency has overshadowed elegance and critiques today's sterile architecture, arguing for a balance of beauty and function. Quirke highlights the charm of historical infrastructure, the importance of a richer cultural diet, and the need for genuine emotional connections in a world dominated by convenience. He passionately defends the role of art and architecture in enriching public life and suggests we can rediscover beauty in our cities.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Reframe Beauty As Interest And Charm
- Sheehan Quirke defines beauty as love made physical and prefers the terms interesting, charming, and meaningful.
- These words reduce moralizing and make critiques of modern design more productive than calling things 'ugly'.
Why Charm And Interest Matter
- 'Interesting' combats boredom, which drives much human action and revolt.
- 'Charming' signals care from a maker and lifts mood without needing practical purpose.
Drainpipes As Examples Of Lost Detail
- Sheehan shows 19th-century drainpipes and compares them with modern plain ones to illustrate lost detail.
- He argues small decorative choices transform boring infrastructure into sources of daily delight.
