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 ( 6820 )
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Consciousness, Intelligence, and AI – Some Quick Notes [call It a Mini-ramble]
The subject of consciousness keeps turning up in current discussions of AI and LLMs. Can AIs be conscious? Are current AIs conscious? Maybe a little? What do... Read more
Posted on 12 December 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
The World is Messy. We Can’t Make All Human Behavior Subject to Law Or...
The following Q A turned up on my Quora feed this morning. I’m of two minds about it. “Yes,” the employee lunch break should be inviolable in the sense that it... Read more
Posted on 12 December 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Inference Time Scaling
On the different hues of "Inference Time Scaling" (ITS) in LLMs #SundayHarangueSince the release of đo1, Inference Time Scaling (ITS)... Read more
Posted on 11 December 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Claude 3.5 on the Causes of Depression and SAD
More background material for my Melancholy Project. Notice the variety of causal factors involved in depression. As always, read this information with caution.... Read more
Posted on 11 December 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Pier in Fog Over the Hudson
Posted on 11 December 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Claude 3.5 Sonnet Celebrates Día De Los Muertos
What’s going on in this photo? This appears to be a performance of musicians celebrating Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), the Mexican cultural celebration. Read more
Posted on 11 December 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Conscious Artificial Intelligence and Biological Naturalism
2/ As AI continues to develop, it is natural to ask whether AI systems can be not only intelligent, but also conscious. But is this likely? And what would the... Read more
Posted on 11 December 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
AIs Predict Research Results Without Doing Research
From the YouTube page: Scientific literature is growing rapidly, meaning scientists are increasingly unable to keep up with all of the latest developments in... Read more
Posted on 10 December 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Along the Shore
Posted on 10 December 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Blog Post: Claude 3.5 Sonnet and Literary Analysis
While I read, think, and write about many things, it’s the analysis of literary texts that got me hooked on the intellectual life. And that’s still the center o... Read more
Posted on 10 December 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Claude 3.5 Sonnet Talks About Tiger Lilies
This is on 11th Street in Jersey City. What am I looking at? These are Tiger Lilies (Hemerocallis fulva), also known as Ditch Lilies or Day Lilies. Read more
Posted on 10 December 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
And Now Brett Does Wolfie
Think about it, seriously, the history, the cross-currents. We've got European high-classical from the 18th century being bred with contemporary American... Read more
Posted on 09 December 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
AIs to Simulate Human Agents and Societies
Joon Sung Park, Joseph C. O'Brien, Carrie J. Cai, Meredith Ringel Morris, Percy Liang, Michael S. Bernstein, Generative Agents: Interactive Simulacra of Human... Read more
Posted on 09 December 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Claude 3.5 Sonnet Visits Times Square, Waxes Philosophical (after Being Prodded)
I wasn’t sure whether or not Claude would be able to recognize this picture. I’m not even sure that I’d recognize it. It’s very busy. It’s Times Square. Read more
Posted on 09 December 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
I’m Four Degrees of Separation from Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Russell taught Ludwig Wittgenstein, who in turn taught Margaret Masterman. Masterman is one of the founders of computational linguistics, as is my... Read more
Posted on 08 December 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Fred the Heretic Goes to New Orleans and Appropriates Some Culture [Shine on...
Here’s some more poetry by FTH (aka Fred the Heretic), a GPT based on the poetry of Frederick Turner. But first, I give your a recitation of “Titanic,” though... Read more
Posted on 08 December 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Claude Tells a Cute Story and Translates It into Japanese
Tell me about this picture. This image presents an artistic and whimsical scene featuring two toys arranged on what appears to be a concrete structure or wall. Read more
Posted on 08 December 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Color Games
Posted on 08 December 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Claude Becomes an Art Critic
This is from the Demotion Exhibition (#GVM004) in Jersey City which took place in the summer of 2015 in and on a building that once held a Pep Boys store. You... Read more
Posted on 07 December 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
They Say It's My Birthday, and It Is. [+ Bertrand Russell]
77 Here’s what I posted on my 76th birthday, an update of a long post I did on my 70th: Reflections on entering my eighth decade and why it portends to be the... Read more
Posted on 07 December 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY