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 ( 7356 )
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Patterns Rising
Dan Rockmore and Simon DeDeo have organized a small meeting on the topic of patterns. It's taking place at Dartmouth this coming Monday and Tuesday. Read more
Posted on 10 August 2014 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
“NATURALIST” Criticism, NOT “cognitive” NOT “Darwinian” – A Quasi-Manifesto
Reposted from The Valve, 31 March 2010, this is an informal manifesto for whatever it is I'm up to, and why I'm come to think of it as naturalist criticism. Read more
Posted on 09 August 2014 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Friday Fotos: Shooting Blind
I first started shooting blind, that is, snapping the shutter without looking through the viewfinder to frame and focus the shot, when I wanted to get shots of... Read more
Posted on 08 August 2014 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Reading Macroanalysis 2.1: How Do We Make Inferences from Patterns in Collection...
My previous post, about Jockers’ analysis of metadata from a collection of Irish American texts, got me to thinking about just what kind of inferences we CAN... Read more
Posted on 08 August 2014 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
IBM's Neuromorphic Processor Chip
From MIT Tech Review: IBM’s SyNapse chip, as it is called, processes information using a network of just over one million “neurons,” which communicate with one... Read more
Posted on 07 August 2014 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Looks Like Something out of Miyazaki
But it isn't. It's a night shot of a bodega window that has lighted signage. That's a Corona beer bottle at top and a neon sign for Boar's Head cold cuts at... Read more
Posted on 07 August 2014 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
It Takes a Village to Be Creative
Late last year I wrote a post about five creative communities: Shakespeare’s theatrical troupe, the Duke Ellington bans, Disney studios (back in the day but, I... Read more
Posted on 07 August 2014 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Reading Macroanalysis 2: Metadata and the Emperor’s New Clothes
Once I’d gone through the introductory chapters I decided to skip over Chapter 5, “Metadata”, in favor of the real goods in Chapter 5, “Style”. But I was wrong... Read more
Posted on 06 August 2014 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Travel the World and Get Smart
I want one of these myself: The Royal Explorer's PhD. Offered by The Phd Consultancy, offices in London, Oxford, and Dubai, you have your own handpicked Oxbridg... Read more
Posted on 06 August 2014 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Reading Macroanalysis 1: Framing: Hyperobjects, Objectification, and Evolution
Matthew L. Jockers. Macroanalysis: Digital Methods Literary History. University of Illinois Press, 2013. x + 192 pp. ISBN 978-0252-07907-8 The book arrived... Read more
Posted on 05 August 2014 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Working Paper: Reading Morton’s Hyperobjects
I've collected my Hyperobjects posts into a working paper: Reading Morton's Hyperotucts. Abstract: Timothy Morton’s Hyperobjects: Philosophy and Ecology after... Read more
Posted on 05 August 2014 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Making Sense of IQ: A Crude Analogy
What IS intelligence, anyhow? I’m not talking about “intelligence” as in military intelligence, for example; but as in human intelligence or ‘is it possible to... Read more
Posted on 04 August 2014 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Get On Up with Soul Brother Number One Sex Machine
Go see it, Get On Up, the new James Brown biopic. Yes, it’s a bit long, and a bit disjointed, but see it. It’s got TRUTH leaking out all over. Read more
Posted on 04 August 2014 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Mind-Culture Coevolution: Major Transitions in the Development of Human Culture...
This is revised from the introduction to a website I put up in the old days of web 1.0, all in hand-coded HTML. Where I’ve since uploaded downloadable versions... Read more
Posted on 03 August 2014 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
GV003: MES PFE Meets Sylvester by Jerkface
Sylvester by Jerkface Gotta be seen with Sylvester MES PFE joins the party The big brush Splattt!!! Read more
Posted on 03 August 2014 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Triptych: One World Center as a Ghost Looming Ahead
Posted on 02 August 2014
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
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Reading Hyperobjects 7: Objectification and Objects
Note: I’m counting my 3QD piece as #5 and my introduction to that as #6. Let’s begin obliquely, with something I’ve come to think of as Hartman’s Line. Read more
Posted on 01 August 2014 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Friday Fotos: Shaky Cam and Free Light
This past week I’ve been experimenting with my “shaky cam” technique: point the camera, start shaking it, and snap the photo. Here’s one of the photos that... Read more
Posted on 01 August 2014 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Terence Blake on Latour's Modes of Existence
Terence Blake (Agent Swarm) has been following the online progress of Latour's Modes of Existence project, blogging about the ideas and critiquing the process,... Read more
Posted on 01 August 2014 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Duality: Norm Holland on Princess Mononoke
Norm Holland's been watching Miyazaki. Here's his take on Princess Mononoke: There is no “bad guy” in this anime (unlike the usual Disney scenario). Read more
Posted on 31 July 2014 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY
