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 ( 7799 )
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Authoritarianism in the US and Abroad | Robert Wright & Almut Rochowanski
0:00 Almut’s first-hand acquaintance with authoritarianism 2:00 Trump 2.0’s authoritarian hallmarks 19:13 What should worry us most about Trump 2.0? 25:51... Read more
Posted on 02 April 2025 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
A Selection of Recent Photos
Posted on 01 April 2025
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
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Superforcasting the Future of AI [is the Methodology Appropriate? – a...
Superforcasting is a technique for making predictions about world events that originated in The Good Judgment Project. I’ve known about it for a while and read... Read more
Posted on 01 April 2025 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
We've Got Liftoff...on a Rebuilt and Highly Modified McLaren P1.
I've been following this saga for two years or so. Tavarish bought an almost new Mclaren P1 that had been submerged in a flood. So he got it, cheap. Could he... Read more
Posted on 01 April 2025 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
The Implosion of American Culture and Society: No Way Back?
Over at Linkedin futurist Bryan Alexander linked to this article: FBI raids home of prominent computer scientist who has gone incommunicado. Read more
Posted on 01 April 2025 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Along the Hudson River
Posted on 31 March 2025
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
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On the Role of Play in Cultural Evolution, a Conversation with Claude 3.7
I’ve got two posts on the subject where I use passages from David Hays’s book on the history of technology: The Evolution of Technology Through Four Cognitive... Read more
Posted on 31 March 2025 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
The Color Purple [flowers]
Posted on 30 March 2025
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
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Breaking Down Monogamy in Baltimore in the Early 1970s
Was it the best of times? It certainly wasn’t the worst of times. They were for damned sure interesting times. But no, “breaking down monogamy” probably didn’t... Read more
Posted on 30 March 2025 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Talking with the Virtual Dead Through AI
Cody Delistraty, We’re In a New Age of Techno-Spiritualism, NYTimes, March 30, 2025. Several paragraphs in: A little over a century ago, Thomas Edison... Read more
Posted on 30 March 2025 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Those Huge Structures Recently "discovered' Beneath the Pyramids Are Probably...
Sabine doubts those amazing findings of huge structures supposedly beneath the pyramids. Read more
Posted on 29 March 2025 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
The Cat Prince Assumes His Place
俥ĺˇăŻć¨éŤăéŤăçşăŤ... Read more
Posted on 29 March 2025 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
The Signal Fiasco: People Without Character Cannot Be Trusted [Trump...
Phil Klay, Security Breaches Can Be Fixed. People Without Honor Can’t Be Trusted. NYTimes, March 28, 2025. So now it’s clear: The Trump administration has not... Read more
Posted on 29 March 2025 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Kisangani 2150: Homo Ludens Rising
I've posted a new working paper. Title above, links, abstract, contents, and introduction below. Academia.edu:... Read more
Posted on 28 March 2025 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Friday Fotos: Drowning in Forsythia
Posted on 28 March 2025
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
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My Father’s Most Important Lesson: Fundamental Change is Difficult
Perhaps the most important lesson my father gave to me explicitly is that people resist change. I forget this exact wording – for I’m thinking about a specific... Read more
Posted on 28 March 2025 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Archaeologists Find Huge Tomb of Unknown Pharaoh
Alan Yuhas, Archaeologists Find Huge Tomb of Unknown Pharaoh in Egypt, NYTimes, March 27, 2025. Archaeologists have unearthed the huge tomb of an unknown pharao... Read more
Posted on 27 March 2025 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Some Cherry Blossoms for Sakura Day
Posted on 27 March 2025
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
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Jacob Collier, Anoushka Shankar, and Varijashree Venugopal • A Rock Somewhere...
I had just finished listening to Jacob Collier improvise with the National Symphony Orchestra, when YouTube presented me with another video before I could stop... Read more
Posted on 27 March 2025 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Today is Sakura Day 🌸 #SakuraDay
äťćĽăŻăăăăŽćĽăŞ... Read more
Posted on 27 March 2025 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY
