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
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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 ( 7356 )
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From the Old Neighborhood
Posted on 05 July 2020
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
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"If I Were Starting Grad School" – One Person's View About the State of Machine...
If I were starting grad school now I would not do a PhD in ML. It's not the competition that would steer me away though, I think it's a bad idea for other... Read more
Posted on 05 July 2020 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Red, White, and Blue
Posted on 05 July 2020
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
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Cycles of Technology Panics
Orben, A. (2020). The Sisyphean Cycle of Technology Panics. Perspectives on Psychological Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691620919372 Abstract:... Read more
Posted on 04 July 2020 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Ada Palmer, a Historian, Takes a Look at Both the Idea and Reality of Progress...
Ada Palmer, On Progress and Historical Change, Ex Urbe: History, Philosophy, books, Food Fandom. From Part 6 (of 6): Few things have taught me more about the... Read more
Posted on 03 July 2020 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Friday Fotos: Some of My Favorites from a Recent Look-through
Posted on 03 July 2020
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
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Deidre McCloskey on the Importance of Ideas for Economic Growth [Note: Science...
Here's Jason Crawford's interview with economist Deidre McCloskey for the Torch of Progress Series: At about 18:23 she expresses at idea that's important to... Read more
Posted on 03 July 2020 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
GPT3 Writes Code (!?) [singularity Alert]
GPT3 writing code. A compiler from natural language to code. People don't understand — this will change absolutely everything. We're decoupling human... Read more
Posted on 03 July 2020 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Sunset on the West Side as Seen from Hoboken
Posted on 02 July 2020
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
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Will the Real Singularity Stand up [we Need a Software Revolution]
We all know about the coming of the Technological Superiority, that magical moment in the future when machine intelligence will outstrip human intelligence –... Read more
Posted on 02 July 2020 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
75% of US Venture Capital Goes to Software [are VCs Betting on the Wrong Future?]
In the United States, 75% of venture capital goes to software. Some 5 to 10% goes to biotech. The other sliver goes to everything else—transportation,... Read more
Posted on 01 July 2020 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
It's a Slow Day [sky, Rock/wood, Dog]
Posted on 01 July 2020
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
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Piano Sales Are Up! [lockdown Hoedown!]
Piano retailer boasts: “It’s actually been the best three months that I’ve seen in retail.” https://t.co/FXCO4KaE6G People in lockdown have apparently... Read more
Posted on 01 July 2020 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Cecilia Chiang, “the Julia Child of Chinese Food”, Turns 100
Jeanne Lawrence, San Francisco Social Diary: A Century Of Good Taste — The Life of Culinary Icon Cecilia Chiang, New York Social Diary, June 30, 2020: EARLY... Read more
Posted on 01 July 2020 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
So You Want to Be an Auctioneer [the Art of the Chant]
Katy Vine, Do You Have What It Takes to Be a Master Auctioneer?, Texas Monthly, June 24, 2020. The auctioneer's chant: Live bid-calling is like a series of... Read more
Posted on 30 June 2020 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Music Therapy, Synch, and Biorhythms
At YouTube: Equipped with both the skills of a computer engineer and the artistry of an accomplished musician, Grace Leslie has developed a technique to use... Read more
Posted on 29 June 2020 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
If You Want to Be Happy, It Helps to Be Rich
Twenge, J. M., Cooper, A. B. (2020). The expanding class divide in happiness in the United States, 1972–2016. Emotion. Advance online publication.... Read more
Posted on 29 June 2020 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Different Though They Are, David Graeber and Peter Thiel Share a Great Deal of...
This conversation took place in 2015. Peter Thiel is, as I'm sure you know, a venture capitalist (first outside investor in Facebook), a libertarian, a... Read more
Posted on 28 June 2020 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Has Žižek Lost His Mind Or is He Just Lost in Space? [the Singularity Strikes...
Neither, actually. He’s just trying to make sense of nonsense. It’s not clear whether he’s managed to work his way free or remains entangled. Read more
Posted on 28 June 2020 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
David Graeber on Fun at the Heart of Being [common Glad Impulse]
Except for the addendum, which is new, this post is from 2014. I'm bumping it to the top on general principle. David Graeber, most widely known as the author... Read more
Posted on 28 June 2020 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY
