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 ( 7809 )
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Weekly Ramble: Miyazaki, Description, Computing, Carroll, Whatever
I’m considering writing a weekly post in which I ramble over what I’ve been up to in the past week and perhaps think about the week to come. That’s what I’m... Read more
Posted on 07 November 2015 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
More Shots with the Lumix
I went out Thursday evening for a stroll around the block and immediately went back to fetch may camera. It was foggy and I like to take pictures through the... Read more
Posted on 07 November 2015 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Talking Drums
I don't know just when or how I first heard of talking drums. It was likely in my childhood and quite possibly in some African adventure TV show or movie where... Read more
Posted on 07 November 2015 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Two Thoughts About Computation and Narrative
These notes are quick and dirty, and likely a bit obscure. In truth, they’re more for my use than for public consumption. Still, they might suggest something... Read more
Posted on 06 November 2015 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Friday Fotos: Wayquay's Monolith and Other Strange Objects
Posted on 06 November 2015
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
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Linus Pauling and the Use of Physical Models in Investigating the Structure of...
From Algis Valiunas on Linus Pualing in The New Atlantis: By the early 1950s Pauling had been stalking the secret of life for a good long time. Read more
Posted on 05 November 2015 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Addendum: The Wind Rises
I've modified yesterday's post on The Wind Rises to include the following paragraphs: Moreover, by choosing Horikoshi as his protagonist, Miyazaki was able to... Read more
Posted on 05 November 2015 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Revised Edition: Prospects: The Limits of Discursive Thinking and the Future of...
I've posted a new version of the Prospects working paper in which I've fixed more glitches. More substantially I've added five paragraphs to the introduction, i... Read more
Posted on 05 November 2015 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
KAOS: Graffiti Climbing the Charts on Flickr
I posted this to Flickr two days ago (Monday) and it's now gotten over 2000 views, making it my fourth most popular photo. And it's gotten 34 favorites (that is... Read more
Posted on 04 November 2015 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Miyazaki’s The Wind Rises, Some Observations on Life
How do you make sense of a life? The Wind Rises is Hayao Miyazaki’s most recent animated feature film and, since he has once again announced his retirement, it... Read more
Posted on 04 November 2015 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
The Conduit Metaphor and the Intentionalist Debate in Literary Criticism
In thinking about Joseph Carroll’s literary theorizing I’ve found myself thinking about authorial intention, interpretation, and the meaning of literary texts. Read more
Posted on 03 November 2015 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Puppets: Día De Muertos
From Wikipedia: Day of the Dead (Spanish: Día de Muertos) is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico, in particular the Central and South regions, and... Read more
Posted on 03 November 2015 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
The Death Rate of Whites with Only a High School Education is Rising in America
The New York Times reports: Something startling is happening to middle-aged white Americans. Unlike every other age group, unlike every other racial and ethnic... Read more
Posted on 03 November 2015 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
How Failure Led Me to Appreciate the Importance of Description in Literary Study
That one learns from failure is a well-worn cliché in the business world, but that shouldn’t blind us to the fact that it is true. Or can be. For learning... Read more
Posted on 02 November 2015 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
What Do Race Horses 'think' About Racing?
From the NYTimes about American Pharaoh, by Joe Drape: Usually I want tension, I want drama in a horse race, especially one as important as the Breeders’ Cup... Read more
Posted on 01 November 2015 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Tinker Bell and Fairy Dust: Joseph Carroll Doesn’t Know What He Doesn’t Know
Several years ago the journal Style devoted a double issue to evolutionary criticism. It had a target article by Joseph Carroll, responses from 10 or 20 other... Read more
Posted on 31 October 2015 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Friday Fotos: Running with My New Toy, Part 2
Continuing from yesterday, I set my new camera (a Lumix used DMC-ZS7) to shoot in a 4 by 3 aspect ratio and went out for some evening and night-time shooting,... Read more
Posted on 30 October 2015 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
How Does Discursive Thought Maintain a Sense of Reality?
This isn’t about mundane reality, e.g. is that lake in the distance real or a mirage? This isn’t about the reality that stage magicians fool around with. Read more
Posted on 30 October 2015 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Our "experience of Duration is a Signature of [...] Coding Efficiency"
David M. Eagleman, and Vani Pariyadath, Is subjective duration a signature of coding efficiency? (PDF) Phil.... Read more
Posted on 30 October 2015 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
The Bass is the Place
@ Open Culture: Trainor and her colleagues have recently published a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggesting that perceptions... Read more
Posted on 30 October 2015 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY
