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 ( 7828 )
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Virtual Feudalism in the Twenty-First Century
A new working paper by me and Abbe Mowshowitz. Title above and abstract below. Download at Academia.edu:... Read more
Posted on 04 September 2019 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Marianne Williamson on the Road – On Trump: “We’re Going to Get Him Right Betwee...
Taffy Brodesser-Akner, The Gospel According to Marianne Williamson, NYTimes Magazine, Sept. 3, 2019: There she stood, tiny and regal, on the breathtaking porch... Read more
Posted on 03 September 2019 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Toward the Common GOOD (Global Organization Of Democracies)
by Charlie Keil The big world conferences on climate every 20 years (1972 Sweden, 1992 Brazil, 2012 Denmark) have failed. Bill McKibben and 350. Read more
Posted on 03 September 2019 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Denmark Has Appointed an Ambassador to Silicon Valley...
... and Silicon Valley, of course, is not a sovereign country. It is a loose collection of powerful tech companies in Northern California. Read more
Posted on 03 September 2019 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
The Decline of Ideology as a Political Force [China, Hong-Kong]
From an interview with Martin Gurri on the Hong-Kong protests: One of the most remarkable developments of the 21st century has been the decline of ideology as... Read more
Posted on 02 September 2019 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
The Medium of Exchange in Prison, from Tobacco to Dots
Richard Davies, From pecan pralines to ‘dots’ as currency: how the prison economy works, The Guardian, August 30, 2019. Though barter does happen in prison, it... Read more
Posted on 02 September 2019 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
What Recent Event Gets Replayed in Kisangani 2150 to a Different Effect?
“We Are the World”, the 1985 charity song/event orchestrated by (well-off) pop musicians to benefit African famine relief. Before going any further, however,... Read more
Posted on 02 September 2019 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Extreme Ritual and Psychophysiological Well-being
Dimitris Xygalatas, Sammyh Khan, Martin Lang, Radek Kundt, Eva Kundtová-Klocová, Jan Krátký, and John Shaver, "Effects of Extreme Ritual... Read more
Posted on 02 September 2019 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Billionaire Ray Diallo Calls for Economic Reform
Lance Darmiento, Reform capitalism or face revolution, billionaires are told at Milken Conference, Los Angeles Times, May 2, 2019: Dalio made a reported $2... Read more
Posted on 01 September 2019 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
When the Periphery is Central
Hugh C. O’Connell reviews Luna (2015) by Ian McDonald. McDonald’s worlds, whether grim, hopeful, or — as is often the case — both, feel lived in rather than... Read more
Posted on 01 September 2019 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Mindfulness and Time Management
Jenny Odell, Can We Slow Down Time in the Age of TikTok? NYTimes, 31 August 2019. My students are growing up in a culture that is even more intensely... Read more
Posted on 01 September 2019 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Maslow in the Corporation
Why was Maslow's hierarchy of needs so enthusiastically embraced by corporate America? @kiralussier's fascinating history just published in @WileyPsychology's... Read more
Posted on 01 September 2019 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Thinking About Kisangani 2150, a Possible Style
If I’m going to write Kisangani 2150 I’m going to need a voice to do so, a style. I was looking around on my hard drive and came across this fragment from an... Read more
Posted on 31 August 2019 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
By 3,000 Years Ago the Planet Had Been “largely Transformed by...
James Gorman, Humans Dominated Earth Earlier Than Previously Thought, NYTimes, August 29, 2019: Humans substantially altered the planet much earlier than... Read more
Posted on 30 August 2019 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Some New Savanna Stats, Top Posts, and a Mystery
Of course, I do keep track of stats here at New Savanna. This is a graph of all time views: Notice GINORMOUS spike for (roughly) 2018. Read more
Posted on 30 August 2019 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Lessons Learned at Sea: Compromise, Tolerance, Mutual Aid [NY2140]
Andrew Revkin had an interesting oped in the NYTimes yesterday (29 Aug 2019), Greta Thunberg and the Lessons of the Sea. He explains: "n 1978, when I was 22, si... Read more
Posted on 30 August 2019 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Friday Fotos: Experiments in Purple
But I tell you, I REALLY like this one: That's the one that got me thinking about purpling photos. Read more
Posted on 30 August 2019 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Social Change in New York 2140 [revolution Revised and Revisited]
I’ve been thinking about New York 2140 and about social change, as that’s what’s at the heart of the book. How’d Kim Stanley Robinson engineer it? Read more
Posted on 29 August 2019 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
A Call for the Study of Machine Behavior
Iyad Rahwan et al., Machine Behavior, Nature 568, 477-486 (2019). Abstract: Machines powered by artificial intelligence increasingly mediate our social,... Read more
Posted on 29 August 2019 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Dave Chappelle is a Genius [Media Notes 10]
I just watched another Dave Chappelle special on Netflix: The Age of Spin: Dave Chappelle Live at the Hollywood Palladium. It was of course brilliant. Among... Read more
Posted on 28 August 2019 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY
