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 ( 7816 )
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The False Consciousness of the Elite American University(?)
A powerful, vital essay by @PatrickDeneen on the false consciousness of the elite American university: https://t.co/L6PWxcgdhJ — Alan Jacobs (@ayjay) March 24,... Read more
Posted on 24 March 2018 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Enlightenment How? Pinker on Progress: Impressive Evidence, Not So Impressive...
Nick Spencer reviews Steven Pinker, Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress (Viking 2018). ... Read more
Posted on 23 March 2018 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Visual Word Form - "written Words Invaded a Sector of Visual Cortex That Was...
Dehaene-Lambertz G, Monzalvo K, Dehaene S (2018) The emergence of the visual word form: Longitudinal evolution of category-specific ventral visual areas during... Read more
Posted on 23 March 2018 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Talk to the Wood: Animism is Natural
I'm bumping this 2011 post to the top of the queue. At a certain point her recent OOOIII talk, “Powers of the Hoard: Artistry and Agency in a World of Vibrant... Read more
Posted on 20 March 2018 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Nabakov's "Lolita" and an Example of Ethical Criticism
I recently came across an essay by Michael Doliner, Advanced Creepology: Re-Reading “Lolita” (Counterpunch). It struck me as being a very good piece of... Read more
Posted on 20 March 2018 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
The Discipline of Literary Criticism and the Difference Between Graduate and...
Michael Meranze reviews a new book by Geoffrey Harpham,What Do You Think, Mr. Ramirez?: The American Revolution in Education, which centers on the definition an... Read more
Posted on 17 March 2018 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
5003
This is to say, this is my 5003rd post here at New Savanna. I reached 2500 on July 14, 2014, and did a not so long post where I took a quick look at what I've... Read more
Posted on 14 March 2018 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Trump in Korea, and Some More Personal Reflections
There’s no doubt about it, North Korea has been a knotty challenge for American foreign policy, not¬–mind you–that I’m a fan of that foreign policy, which... Read more
Posted on 14 March 2018 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Mnozil @3QD, Plus Notes on Repertoire and Comedy
My latest 3QD piece went up on Monday, A look under the hood through the insane musical genius that is Mnozil Brass. I took some of the pieces I’ve written... Read more
Posted on 07 March 2018 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
The Longue Durée of Human History is Complicated
Conventional wisdom has it that over the course of, say, the last 50,000 years or so, human society evolved from small egalitarian bands of hunter-gatherers... Read more
Posted on 03 March 2018 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Scot Peterson's Reluctance to Go Charging in to Confront the Parkland Shooter...
Joshua Holland, A Former SWAT Operator Says the Cop Who Stood Outside Is Another Victim of the Parkland Massacre, The Nation. First: By all accounts, Scot... Read more
Posted on 02 March 2018 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Turning Schools into Prisons is Not a Good Idea
Here's a note that Alex Tabarrok (Marginal Revolution) sent to the principal of his son's high school before the Parkland shooting: Dear Principal _____, Thank... Read more
Posted on 28 February 2018 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
A Computational Perspective on Mood
Clark JE, Watson S, Friston KJ. What is mood? A computational perspective. Psychological Medicine, February 2018. https://doi.org/10. Read more
Posted on 27 February 2018 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Are We Approaching a Tipping Point on Gun Control?
Tyler Cowen seems to think so. His latest column for Bloomberg View is entitled "Why Gun Laws May Finally Change: Kids Are Leading". Read more
Posted on 27 February 2018 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
The Political Economy of Black Panther's Wakanda
Subrick, J. Robert, The Political Economy of Black Panther's Wakanda (February 25, 2018). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3129750 Abstract: Black... Read more
Posted on 26 February 2018 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Kids Dancing
Posted on 24 February 2018
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
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Dance to the Music: the Kids Owned the Day
You've seen Dancing with the Stars, and such? Well that's the top of a pyramid. this post from five years about is about what's more or less at the base of... Read more
Posted on 24 February 2018 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
What Are the Implications of the 5Pointz Decision?
In the NYTimes: Last week, a federal judge, Frederic Block, may have established legal precedent to the unwritten code. Jerry Wolkoff, the developer who owns th... Read more
Posted on 20 February 2018 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Straying into Mnozil Territory?
From the accompanying article in the NYTimes: Michael Landers and Ariel Hsing, table tennis champions in their early 20s, are featured as the Ping-Pong-playing... Read more
Posted on 20 February 2018 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Kiddie Lit
Back in the middle of 2006 I’d blogged about Kiddie Lit. I’m republishing that post because it’s relevant to my interest in Disney’s Fantasia and, in particular... Read more
Posted on 19 February 2018 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY
