ABSTRACT
What is compelling or inspiring in human experience? Great art has the capacity to attract us, and to take us beyond ourselves. Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto and Michaelangelo’s Last Judgement hold our attention. We see a similar effect in political rhetoric, where sound bites and spin are designed to sway voters, and in the addictive power of computer games. We are taken beyond our immediate reality to the promise of a better life or to another world.
