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 ( 7846 )
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Roger Ebert on "2001: A Space Odyssey"
A review from 1997: I attended the Los Angeles premiere of the film, in 1968, at the Pantages Theater. It is impossible to describe the anticipation in the... Read more
Posted on 30 May 2020 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Why Are Farmers Destroying Crops and Dumping Milk When Supermarket Shelves Are...
Michael Pollan, The Sickness in Our Food Supply, The New York Review of Books, June 11, 2020. The juxtaposition of images in the news of farmers destroying crop... Read more
Posted on 30 May 2020 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
"The Real Folk Blues" Benefit for COVID-19
Funimation Anime gives back! In collaboration with Sunrise and Mason Lieberman, we are thrilled to share this star-studded tribute to the gorgeous music of... Read more
Posted on 30 May 2020 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Classification of Songs in Disney Feature Animated Films
nobody:me: in the history of disney animated movies there have been exactly 18 types of songs, and i'm going to tell you about each of them — Justin McElroy... Read more
Posted on 29 May 2020 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Cumulative Cultural Learning Among Children
Reindl, E., Gwilliams, A.L., Dean, L.G. et al. Skills and motivations underlying children’s cumulative cultural learning: case not closed. Palgrave Commun 6, 10... Read more
Posted on 29 May 2020 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Is the Law Blind, Or Biased? Special Prosecutors Edition: the Cases of Clinton...
Starting at roughly 32:50 we have a fascinating discussion involving matters of law, character, personal judgement, and politics. The arena is that of... Read more
Posted on 28 May 2020 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Hoboken Irises @3QD – with Thoughts on Iris Dwellers and Iris Galaxies
I’ve got a new piece at 3 Quarks Daily. It’s built around eleven photographs of irises: A Fantasia on Irises. Artists too have been attracted to irises. Here’s... Read more
Posted on 26 May 2020 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
There's a Correlation Between SARS-CoV-2 in Sewage and New COVID-19 Cases
This graph is amazing. It shows that measuring #SARSCoV2 levels in municipal sewage almost perfectly predicts forthcoming #COVID19 cases with a full week's... Read more
Posted on 26 May 2020 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Cumulative Cultural Evolution
New review paper with @amesoudi out in @TrendsCognSci: Cumulative Cultural Evolution within Evolving Population Structureshttps://t.co/C3IxyWpu2I pic.twitter. Read more
Posted on 26 May 2020 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Rhythms of Speech and Rhythms of Brains
On Tuesday May 26, I'm giving an online lecture in the context of the Abralin Ao Vivo Lecture series - excellent initiative by the linguistic societies of many... Read more
Posted on 23 May 2020 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Logistics R Us, But....we're No Match for the Current Corona Virus
David Segal, What Happened to the Great American Logistics Machine? NYTimes, May 22, 2020: It was reassuring to watch leaders of Walmart, CVS, Target and... Read more
Posted on 23 May 2020 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Paul Romer on What's Wrong with Economics [with Coda on What He Learned About...
From a recent conversation with Tyler Cowen (Paul Romer on a Culture of Science and Working Hard): ROMER:...but I think the lesson from the financial crisis,... Read more
Posted on 20 May 2020 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Are We Grappling with Problems Beyond Our Conceptual Means? [counterfeit...
I take the question from the final chapter, of David Hays, The Evolution of Technology Through Four Cognitive Ranks (1993). In section 8. Read more
Posted on 20 May 2020 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Has Joe Rogan Just Made a Deal with the Devil?
As you may know, Rogan has just made a deal to have his podcast distributed exclusively on Spotify. Matt Stoller is worried. Yesterday audio streaming giant... Read more
Posted on 20 May 2020 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Identity Poitics: Robert Wright Talks with Ezra Klein
Quick take: Klein makes a useful distinction between identity and policy as the basis for politics. Policy can be and generally always is negotiated. Identity... Read more
Posted on 20 May 2020 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
May Flowers
Posted on 17 May 2020
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
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What’s Up? Alternative Hollywood History [Media Notes 32]
I watched Netflix’s Hollywood a week ago and enjoyed it; lots of fun, though draggy here and there, and a bit soapy, too, if you catch my drift. It attracted a... Read more
Posted on 15 May 2020 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
We'll Meet Again.... [apocalypse Then and Now?]
Friends and neighbors during the current pandemic on VE Day 2020 in Britain: Following the Queen's address, people were invited to stand on their doorsteps and... Read more
Posted on 15 May 2020 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Technological Change and Leisure Activity
Łukasz Rachel, Leisure-enhancing technological change, VOX, CEPR Policy Portal, 24 May 2019. Our time, attention, and data are central in today’s economy. Read more
Posted on 13 May 2020 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Neural Coordination of Sleep
It’s great to watch science progress. Three years ago, we had a post a bemoaning that no one understood what a brain region called the claustrum actually does. Read more
Posted on 13 May 2020 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY
