Bbenzon
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
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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 ( 6520 )
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Practice Makes Perfect [repetition]
Practice “does not consist in repeating the *means of solution* of a motor problem time after time, but in the *process of solving* this problem again and... Read more
Posted on 30 March 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Queen Anne's Lace
Posted on 30 March 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Elizabeth and Elizabeth: The Golden Age [Media Notes 55]
I found these to be strange films. Elizabeth (1998) is set in the late 1550s, and the time of Elizabeth’s rise to the throne and Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007... Read more
Posted on 30 March 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Ann Patchet's True Life Pandemic Story: From Tom Hanks, to Sooki, Chemo, and...
A NYTimes story about Harper's Magazine sent me to a wonderful 20,000 word article by Ann Patchett. It's from the January 2021 issue: These Precious Days. Read more
Posted on 29 March 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Afterthoughts: Religion, Legitimacy, and Government in America @ 3QD
My latest at 3 Quarks Daily: Religion, Legitimacy, and Government in America, A Just-So Story. I DO like it, but I’m not (totally) pleased. It’s becomes a bit... Read more
Posted on 29 March 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Six Core Emotional Arcs Determined by Using NLP on 1327 Stories from Project...
Reagan, A.J., Mitchell, L., Kiley, D. et al. The emotional arcs of stories are dominated by six basic shapes. EPJ Data Sci. 5, 31 (2016). https://doi.org/10. Read more
Posted on 24 March 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
What is Science Fiction? A Quick Note
I stream a lot of science fiction from the web – at the moment I watching Star Trek: Discovery. I find myself asking: What’s this about? Read more
Posted on 23 March 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Drawing is Like Language and Everyone Can (learn To) Do It
If drawing works like language, then it should be learned the same way: by acquiring the visual vocabulary in your environment. So, the whole idea of “learning... Read more
Posted on 22 March 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Depression, Spirituality and Jerry Seinfeld
On the first day of this year I had a post about Jerry Seinfeld at at 3 Quarks Daily: Seinfeld On His Craft, Or: Comedy As A Path To Metaphysical Grace. Read more
Posted on 17 March 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
"Hey Joe" is in the Key of E, with Some Acute Observations on How Instrument...
It seems that there has been some discussion on the internet about the key of Jimi Hendrix's (version of) "Hey Joe." Adam Neely – one of my favorite music... Read more
Posted on 15 March 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Young Korean Trumpeter Plays a Tune by Lee Morgan ("Ceora")
I've now turned this into a PDF file which you can download here: https://www.academia.edu/37815917/Mind-Culture_Coevolution_Major_Trans... In the early 1970s... Read more
Posted on 13 March 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Maybe Quantum Mechanics Is, You Know, Just Quantum Mechanics [and All...
The good folks at 3 Quarks Daily have linked to a useful post about quantum mechanics by Scott Aaronson, The Zen Anti-Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics. Read more
Posted on 12 March 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Lifestyle Adjustments During the Pandemic
Lifestyle and mental health disruptions during COVID-19 https://t.co/4cX7emjUmC pic.twitter.com/UD47OsNUxa— Dr. David L. Katz (@DrDavidKatz) March 11, Read more
Posted on 11 March 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Finland is Happiest Country in the World
Despite bone-chilling winters, Finland is the happiest country on Earth. Slimmer wage gaps and government mandates like long-term paid parental leave and free... Read more
Posted on 06 March 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
The "Dies Irae" in Film
I've now turned this into a PDF file which you can download here: https://www.academia.edu/37815917/Mind-Culture_Coevolution_Major_Trans... In the early 1970s... Read more
Posted on 05 March 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
More Than You Ever Wanted to Know About "The Girl from Ipanema," but...
I've now turned this into a PDF file which you can download here: https://www.academia.edu/37815917/Mind-Culture_Coevolution_Major_Trans... In the early 1970s... Read more
Posted on 03 March 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Hiromi Uehara @ 3 Quarks Daily
My latest post at 3 Quarks Daily is about the Japanese pianist and composer, Hiromi Uehara: Sukiyaki and beyond: Hiromi Uehara, music, war and peace, Chick... Read more
Posted on 02 March 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Evolutionary Psychology and Psychedelics
Great new paper by Winkelman; psychedelics from evolutionary psychology perspectivehttps://t.co/zYIJxIQ5HK— Leor Roseman (@LeorRoseman) February 26, 2021... Read more
Posted on 27 February 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Manhattan from Hoboken at Dusk
Posted on 27 February 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Technological Innovation Over the Long Haul
1840s—70s: Key manufacturing innovations occur (pneumatic process for cheap steel and sewing machine are invented); Transport (improvements in steam-engines. Th... Read more
Posted on 22 February 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY