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 ( 7846 )
-
Navigation Turing Test – Evaluating Human-Like Navigation
Many algorithms pass benchmarks, like navigation from a given location to a goal location in 3D games. But passing benchmarks doesn't guarantee human-like... Read more
Posted on 28 May 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
AI in Ethiopia
Inventing Artificial Intelligence in Ethiopia @tylercowen https://t.co/qcgjXBzNgd— Bill Benzon, aka The Danish Space Laser (@bbenzon) May 28, 2021 Alan F. Read more
Posted on 28 May 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Friday Fotos: Blossoms and Flowers
Posted on 28 May 2021
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
-
Getting in the Mood for Writing [brings Back Memories]
When I was in my mid-teens I read an article about self-improvement through self-hypnosis. It was in Mechanix Illustrated (yes, that's how it was spelled),... Read more
Posted on 28 May 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Time After Time: Miles in the Studio and on the Road
As I noted in a post from 2011, I was knocked out by and 1987 performance where Miles Davis played “Time After Time” (immediately following “Human Nature”) in... Read more
Posted on 27 May 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
You Think It, the Computer Writes It (sorta' – It's NOT Reading Your Thoughts,...
#AINews #AI #SwissCognitiveAI decodes neural signals to convert mental handwriting to text, enabling communication for patients with spinal cord injuries,... Read more
Posted on 27 May 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Models of the Mind @ 3 Quarks Daily [fundamentally a Work of Philosophy]
I’ve got a new post at 3 Quarks Daily: To Understand the Mind We Must Build One, A Review of Models of the Mind – Bye Bye René, Hello Giambattista. Read more
Posted on 27 May 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Analyze This! Your Smart Phone Thinks You’re Dumb. [The Mitchells Vs. The...
I watched The Mitchells vs. the Machines the other night. Well, to tell you the truth, I didn’t watch it in a single sitting. It took two sittings, two nights.... Read more
Posted on 26 May 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Henry Farrell on Democracy [it's Messy]
Sean Carroll interviews Henry Farrell: Democracy as problem solving: 0:06:11.0 Sean Carroll: ... So let’s start with this idea of democracy and other kinds of... Read more
Posted on 26 May 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Spherical Flowers in Hoboken's 11th St. Flower Beds
Posted on 25 May 2021
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
-
Synchrony and Sociality Observed in Mouse Brains [neuroscience Beyond the...
Virginia Hughes, Scientists Drove Mice to Bond by Zapping Their Brains With Light, The NYTimes, May 25, 2021. Late one evening last March, just before the... Read more
Posted on 25 May 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
A Neighborhood Pizza Joint in Hoboken
Posted on 25 May 2021
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
-
On the Hoboken Waterfront
Posted on 24 May 2021
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
-
There Are Two N-words. The Difference is Subtle. Don’t Confuse Them. [John...
For the purposes of this post I am going to spell them out in full, both of them: “nigger” and “nigga.” In so doing I am only mentioning them, I am not using... Read more
Posted on 24 May 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Population Growth is Slowing Down
Damien Cave, Emma Bubola, Choe Sang-Hun, Long Slide Looms for World Population, With Sweeping Ramifications, NYTimes, May 22, 2021. Read more
Posted on 23 May 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Dictionaries, Encyclopedias, and the Word Illusion
Something has been bugging me about my use of the term “word illusion.” Though I know how I mean to use it and why, it always seems a bit awkward and roundabout... Read more
Posted on 23 May 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Large-scale Cooperation in Ancient Fission-fusion Societies
Robert Boyd, Peter J. Richardson, Large-scale cooperation in small-scale foraging societies, preprint: Abstract: We present evidence that people in... Read more
Posted on 23 May 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Stump the Machine [chess]
10 Positions Chess Engines Just Don't Understand https://t.co/GG4NQbhJtO— Bill Benzon, aka The Danish Space Laser (@bbenzon) May 22, 2021 H/t Tyler Cowen. Read more
Posted on 22 May 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Three Views of Little Island [the Thing up on the Mushroom Stalks]
Posted on 22 May 2021
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
-
Do Computers Do It Like Humans? [speech Recognition]
Are deep nets good brain models? Psychometric testing of automatic speech recognition systems shows they're not like humans, yet. Newer ones getting closer,... Read more
Posted on 21 May 2021 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY
