Bbenzon
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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 ( 6555 )
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The Pleasures of Interpersonal Synchrony
Fascinating article from October 2020 by Marta Zaraska @mzaraska on why it feels so good to dance together, march together, sing together, or do just about... Read more
Posted on 04 April 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
All 33 Godzilla Films Ranked
Matthew Chernov ranks them in Variety. Chernov regards the first one, Gojira (1954), as the best. As I've not seen most of them, I can't really say it's the... Read more
Posted on 03 April 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Bernstein and Jazz (sorta')
This is from a rehearsal of West Side Story. They're rehearsing one of the jazzier sections of the score. The strings don't get it. So Bernstein draws their... Read more
Posted on 03 April 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Cultural Negotiations in Jersey City(?)
Posted on 03 April 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY
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Ellington Meets Bernstein, Part II: Cultural Negotiations at the Highest Level
I just had to write some commentary on the Ellington/Bernstein interview that I posted yesterday, it’s such a strange and interesting set of conversations. Read more
Posted on 03 April 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Duke Ellington and Leonard Bernstein Chat About "the Cultural Explosion" [Dick...
You can listen to the full interview (26 minutes) here. He has some interesting remarks on spontaneity and improvisation starting at about 19:30, including how... Read more
Posted on 02 April 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
The Neuronal Population is the Proper Unity of Analysis in Understanding How...
The neural population doctrine (a term coined by @shreyaneuroctrl) is now well established in motor control. In their new review, @BecketEb @NeuroPolarbear... Read more
Posted on 02 April 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Fast Grants in a Time of Pandemic
Here’s a nice video on FastGrants, started by Patrick Collison and Tyler Cowen early in the pandemic to get money out to researchers quickly enough to make a... Read more
Posted on 02 April 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Friday Fotos: I Think We Need Some More Wild Flowers
Posted on 02 April 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY
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Cognitive Science, AI, and Intuition: Or, What’s a Word?
Let’s start with a passage from Douglas Hofstadter, Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies, 1996, pp. 375-375: ...the field of cognitive science... Read more
Posted on 02 April 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Which is Most Like You Current State of Consciousness?
Posted on 01 April 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY
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Wolfram on Consciousness as Narrativity [though He Doesn’t Use the Word]
Stephen Wolfram has some recent remarks on consciousness, What Is Consciousness? Some New Perspectives from Our Physics Project. Read more
Posted on 01 April 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Ted Chiang’s Interesting Thoughts About AI [with Which I Have Some Disagreement]
Ezra Klein recently intereviewed Ted Chiang, perhaps best-known as the author of the story on which Arrival is based. They talked about various things, includin... Read more
Posted on 31 March 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Does Violent Media Trigger Real Aggression? [seems Not, but More Study Needed]
Two long-term studies designed to prove that media-inspired aggression spreads through people's networks like a contagious disease found not a hint of it.... Read more
Posted on 31 March 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Penfield's Homunculus Gone Wild
Penfield's humunculus gone wild. The proportions of various animal body parts as found in their corresponding somatosensory maps in the neocortex. Taken from... Read more
Posted on 30 March 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
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
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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