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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Ancient Myths in Modern Movies
By Dr. Cora Angier Sowa. Here's her summary:Ancient and mediaeval epic tales like the Iliad and Odyssey, Gilgamesh, and the Chanson de Roland had plots made up... Read more
Posted on 07 November 2013 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
The Ring-Form Challenge
The challenge is simple: for any given text – poem, drama, novel, film, what have you – is it a ring or not? That is, does it have the form:A, B, … X … B’,... Read more
Posted on 07 November 2013 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
“This Lime-Tree Bower” – A Brief Anatomy
“This Lime-Tree Bower My Prison” is one in a series of poems in which Coleridge explored his love for a small circle of intimates. Read more
Posted on 07 November 2013 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
A Baby’s Gaze May Signal Autism, Study Finds
So reports Pam Belluck in the NYTimes:Scientists are reporting the earliest behavioral sign to date that a child is likely to develop autism: when and how long ... Read more
Posted on 06 November 2013 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
A City on the Move, Literally
Here's a real "blue sky" urban design. A small city mounted on huge caterpillar tracks allowing it to move around:In a world where people live more mobile... Read more
Posted on 06 November 2013 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
The Jasmine Papers: Notes on the Study of Poetry in the Age of Cognitive Science
I have now collected my posts on "To a Solitary Disciple" and associated discussions into a single working paper having the above title. You may download it fro... Read more
Posted on 06 November 2013 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Poetry, Science, and Felicity Conditions
I’ve just been looking at Margaret Freeman’s recent paper, The Role of Metaphor in Poetic Iconicity (downloadable PDF). No sooner had I read the intro than I ha... Read more
Posted on 06 November 2013 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
The Disciple Revisited and Revived
Having made some remarks about how Lakoff and Turner have commented on “To a Solitary Disciple” in More than Cool Reason, I would now like to offer some... Read more
Posted on 05 November 2013 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Interlude: Dylan Thomas Constructs a WONDERFUL Chiasmus
Some years ago, before I got a computer, I read. R. G. Peterson, Critical Calculations: Measure and Symmetry in Literature (PMLA 91, 3, May 1976: 367-375). Read more
Posted on 05 November 2013 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Man-Machine Chess
Tyler Cowen:… a striking percentage of the best or most accurate chess games of all time have been played by man-machine pairs. Read more
Posted on 05 November 2013 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
What’s a Global Reading For, Anyhow?
Let me continue my interrogation – as the kids call it these days – of Lakoff and Turner on “To a Solitary Disciple.” As interrogations are aggressive... Read more
Posted on 05 November 2013 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Prose Rhythm, 2 Sentences by Hemingway
I’ve read a great deal of Hemingway, but years ago. He’s noted for his style. Here’s a paragraph from the Wikipedia entry:The simplicity of the prose is... Read more
Posted on 04 November 2013 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
“Kubla Khan” – A Brief Anatomy
I don’t know how many times I’ve mentioned my work on “Kubla Khan” in one context or another and then gone on to cite either of both of my 1985 paper in Languag... Read more
Posted on 04 November 2013 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Mechanical Beings in the Age of Descartes
Riskin, Jessica. “Machines in the Garden.” Republics of Letters: A Journal for the Study of Knowledge, Politics, and the Arts 1, no. 2 (April 30, 2010):... Read more
Posted on 02 November 2013 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Walt Disney, Stephen Miller and the Future of Jersey City
Buildings ... are not discrete objects. They are building blocks of a democratic society. W. H. Auden once proposed that a civilization could be judged by "the... Read more
Posted on 02 November 2013 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Black and White Not Merely Black and White
When we look at black and white photographs, the brain interpolates color:After recording brain responses to the black and white objects, the scientists... Read more
Posted on 02 November 2013 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Extra! Extra! Japanese Government Funds Distance Education on the Rez
No, it hasn’t happened yet. But who knows, stranger things have happened.By “the rez” I mean, of course, the reservation. In this case I have no particular... Read more
Posted on 01 November 2013 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Wonderful Rainbow Aesthetics, off the Top of My Head: An Essay on Musical...
This was originally published in The Valve on January 06, 2007. Examples of performance range from Louis Armstrong, through Joey Ramone, Elvis Impersonators, no... Read more
Posted on 01 November 2013 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Remembering Sandy
Full set on Flickr. Read more
Posted on 31 October 2013 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Dr. Takeshi Utsumi: Globally Collaborative Environmental Peace Gaming
David Hays introduced me to Takeshi Utsumi sometime back in the 1980s. Both of them were members of an on-going seminar convened at Columbia University by Seth... Read more
Posted on 31 October 2013 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY
