Bbenzon
Description
Humankind got its start on the African savannas some hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of years ago. At various times in our cultural history we’ve moved to distinctly new cultural ground, as it were. And so we are moving now, and have been for the past half century. This blog is how I see that move. Intellectually, I'm broadly interested in culture and the brain. Within that compass, anything could show up here. Literature and films (including animation), certainly, music as well, and graffiti. But, other things may show up as well. It's a blog, don't you know, it moves.
MY BLOGS
-
New Savanna
http://new-savanna.blogspot.com/
Humankind got its start on the African savannas some hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of years ago. At various times in our cultural history we’ve moved to distinctly new cultural ground, as it were. And so we are moving now, and have been for the past half century. This blog is how I see that move. I'm broadly interested in culture and the brain. Within that compass, anything could show up here. Literature and films (including animation), certainly, music as well, and graffiti. But, other things may show up as well. It's a blog, don't you know, it moves.
LATEST ARTICLES ( 7356 )
-
Performer and Audience, Heartbeat in Synch: Yuja Wang Performs Rachmaninoff
Janet Horvath, Musicians in Sync – What Yuja Wang’s Heartbeats Tell Us, Interlude, December 7, 2023. During the 150th anniversary of Rachmaninoff’s birth,... Read more
Posted on 28 October 2025 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Turning Point in the Early Morning
Posted on 24 October 2025
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
-
Rebuilding Corporate Research for a Stronger American Future
Tsao, Jeffrey, Beyond the Endless Frontier: Rebuilding Corporate Research for a Stronger American Future (October 13, 2025). Available at SSRN:... Read more
Posted on 24 October 2025 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Demand, Supply, and Market Design with AI Agents
Peyman Shahidi, Gili Rusak, Benjamin S. Manning, Andrey Fradkin John J. Horton, The Coasean Singularity? Demand, Supply, and Market Design with AI Agents,... Read more
Posted on 24 October 2025 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Text, Coding, and Knowledge Agents
One critical point made by Karpathy on the Dwarkesh podcast was about the difference between AI coding agents and the rest of knowledge work. It’s clear that... Read more
Posted on 20 October 2025 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Growth in the American Economy is Now Tied to AI
So is it a bubble? If I had a way to reliably forecast financial bubbles I’d be a trading billionaire not writing political columns. https://t. Read more
Posted on 16 October 2025 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Flashback: Fireworks
Posted on 13 October 2025
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
-
Chrysanthemums Bloom
It's the time of year that the chrysanthemum (kiku) comes into bloom: a flower in Japan that's perhaps only 2nd to the cherry blossom, and one with a wide... Read more
Posted on 13 October 2025 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
The Genius Logic of the NATO Phonetic Alphabet (Alfa, Bravo, Charlie...)
YouTube: The NATO phonetic alphabet is not a phonetic alphabet and wasn't invented by NATO. However, it has a fascinating story to tell. Read more
Posted on 13 October 2025 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
The Telegraph, Radio, AI, and Magic
Cody Delistraty, A.I. Isn’t Magic. Lots of People Are Acting Like It Is. NYTimes, Sept. 25, 2025. There’s a word that Sam Altman likes to use when talking... Read more
Posted on 12 October 2025 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Generals See Through the Act [at Quantico]
YouTube: On a special edition of Shield of the Republic, Eric and Eliot break down Secretary of Defense Hegseth and President Donald Trump's speeches to the... Read more
Posted on 04 October 2025 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Hiromi, Interviewed by Rick Beato
YouTube: In this interview, I sit down with Japanese piano virtuoso Hiromi to talk about her playing, her influences, and her approach to improvisation. Read more
Posted on 03 October 2025 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Steven Pinker's Latest Book [and the Limits of Psychology and Beyond]
This is a peculiar and interesting discussion. The first hour and a quarter are about Pinker's latest book, When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows... Read more
Posted on 27 September 2025 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
We Need a New Set of Concepts (ontology) for Talking About AI
I think our entire ontology for how we talk about and conceptualise A[G]I is confused. And I wouldn't be surprised if in ten years we will look back at the... Read more
Posted on 20 September 2025 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
The Lie At The Heart Of Modern Conservatism (w/ Heather Cox Richardson)
YouTube: NOTE: This livestream was recorded on Wednesday, September 17th at 3pm ET. Is Trump and MAGA the inevitable endpoint to conservatism in America? Read more
Posted on 20 September 2025 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Sen. Mark Kelly: Tech Companies Should Help Pay for AI Impact | Pivot
YouTube: In this Pivot Quick Take, Sen. Mark Kelly makes the case for his "AI for America" plan, calling on tech companies to fund job retraining and... Read more
Posted on 19 September 2025 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Kara Swisher Talks Elon Musk, Tim Cook And The 'Non-Capitalist' Behavior Of...
From YouTube page: Sep 10, 2025 In an interview with Forbes Women, editor Maggie McGrath at the 2025 Forbes Power Women's Summit, legendary tech journalist... Read more
Posted on 14 September 2025 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Whoops! A Transformer Doesn't Understand F = Ma
Correct! Just as a reminder: this is what a Transformer found after looking at 10M solar systems https://t.co/cz6MpG2Qtq pic.twitter. Read more
Posted on 12 September 2025 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
The Greatest Night in Pop [Media Notes 174]
Ian Leslie writes about The Greatest Night in Pop, a documentary about the making of "We Are The World." The opening paragraphs: The Netflix documentary, The... Read more
Posted on 11 September 2025 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Turning Point, Fireworks, Coffee
Posted on 11 September 2025
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
