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 ( 7640 )
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Friday Fotos: Reuben, Reuben, I've Been....eating [Covid-19 Picnic!]
Posted on 24 July 2020
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
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The Road Ahead, into the Singularity and Beyond [GPT-3]
This is the first in a series of posts where I set out a vision for the evolution of artificial intelligence beyond GPT-3 (GPT = Generative Pre-trained... Read more
Posted on 24 July 2020 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
AOC Delivers a Powerful Speech in Reply to Rep. Yoho's Vile Insults
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) Responds to Rep. Ted Yoho (R-FL): "I do not need Representative Yoho to apologize to me. Clearly he does not want to.... Read more
Posted on 23 July 2020 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Who is That Masked Man? [Covid-19]
Posted on 23 July 2020
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
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UMMI Poet's Cypher
Posted on 21 July 2020
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
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GPT-3 Writes Two Sonnets, Sorta’. The First is Better Than the Second. [digital...
My interview with Hollis Robbins ends with a “contest” in which GPT-3 competes with Marcus Christian in the writing of a sonnet. Read more
Posted on 21 July 2020 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
The Republican Phase Transition
John Quiggin has initiated an interesting conversation over at Crooked Timber. He begins: I’ve been reading the latest (excellent as usual) book from Jacob... Read more
Posted on 21 July 2020 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
There is No Meaning to Be Found in Statistical Distributions Over Bare Naked...
I know the real world is terrible, but, philosophically? the next decade is going to be — so — much — fun. — Ted Underwood (@Ted_Underwood) July 20, 2020 Yes,... Read more
Posted on 20 July 2020 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Advances in Topic Modeling [digital Humanities]
Benefits of SBM:- Clusters words *and* documents- Identifies hierarchical structure- Chooses number of topics through nonparametric inference- More realistic... Read more
Posted on 20 July 2020 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Here Come the Sun
Posted on 20 July 2020
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
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Hollis Robbins and African-American Sonnets @3QD [progress, AI]
My latest 3QD piece is up: An Electric Conversation with Hollis Robbins on the Black Sonnet Tradition, Progress, and AI, with Guest Appearances by Marcus... Read more
Posted on 20 July 2020 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Is Woke-style Anti-racism a Cover for Failed Meritocracy?
Ross Douthat, The Real White Fragility, NYTimes, July 18, 2020: The new anti-racism has a confessional, religious energy that the secular meritocracy has... Read more
Posted on 19 July 2020 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Will the REAL Turing Test Stand Up? [GPT-3}
And again here. At issue is whether computers (or other machines; Turing didn’t limit his interest in means) can be interesting and compelling actors, not as... Read more
Posted on 19 July 2020 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
The Malibu Lives! And the Waffles Are Good. [lockdown]
Posted on 19 July 2020
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
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Rambling in Lockdown: Artificial Beings (jinzo Ningen), Ethics, Cultural...
It’s been a good week, but exhausting. Spent a lot of time working on an interview with Hollis Robbins on her new book, Forms of Contention: The African America... Read more
Posted on 19 July 2020 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Music, the Social Mind, and Language
Working paper of that title now up at Academia.edu: https://www.academia.edu/43655788/Music_the_Social_Mind_and_Language It's PDFs of the presentation I... Read more
Posted on 19 July 2020 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
First Thoughts on the Implications of GPT-3 [here Be Dragons, We're Swimming...
A bit revised from a comment I made at Marginal Revolution: Yes, GPT-3 [may] be a game changer. But to get there from here we need to rethink a lot of things. Read more
Posted on 19 July 2020 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Good Morning! First Sunrise Photos Since Lockdown [Covid-19]
Posted on 18 July 2020
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
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Why is New Savanna Popular in Turkmenistan All of a Sudden?
This shows page views by country for the last month. Notice that Turkmenistan is in second place, a distant second place, behind the United States. But it is... Read more
Posted on 17 July 2020 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Friday Fotos: Manhattan-Hoboken Counterpoint
Posted on 17 July 2020
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
