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
-
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 ( 7846 )
-
Robert Wright Discusses His New Book, The God Test, with Paul Bloom [Awe? Bob,...
Time stamps: 0:00 Whose baby is cuter? 2:49 Bob's new book on AI, The God Test 9:52 Varieties of AI awe 13:23 Geoffrey Hinton’s vision 17:50 How LLMs do more... Read more
Posted on 10 June 2026 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
The Energy Demands of Computing, Human Brains Vs. LLMs
One of the issues that sometimes comes up in the comparison of artificial intelligence with human intelligence is energy requirements. Read more
Posted on 10 June 2026 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Day Lilies, from Yesterday's Walk
Posted on 10 June 2026 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
What About These Upcoming tech/AI IPOs? [Crazy, Man, Crazy]
David Wallace-Wells and Natasha Sarin, Wall Street’s A.I. Bet Is About to Become Yours, NYTimes, June 10, 2026. SpaceX, Elon Musk’s rocket, satellite and A.I.... Read more
Posted on 10 June 2026 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Gen Z Musician First Time Reaction to Chicago - 25 Or 6 to 4
This is a reaction video, a minor interest of mine these days. As the title says, we have a Gen Z musician reacting to a Boomer hit, Chicago's "25 or 6 to 4. Read more
Posted on 09 June 2026 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
I've Not Forgotten [irises]
Posted on 09 June 2026 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Claude’s Further Observations About Evolution [MR-AUX]
Here’s some more supplementary material from my investigation of Tyler Cowen’s recent monograph, The Marginal Revolution: Rise and Decline, and the Pending AI... Read more
Posted on 09 June 2026 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
From July 4, 2025
Posted on 08 June 2026
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
-
A Toy to Think With: The Erector Set
What Happened to the Erector Set? | The Toy That Taught Every Boy in America to Build From the YouTube page: For generations, the Erector Set wasn’t just a toy ... Read more
Posted on 07 June 2026 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Three up Close
Posted on 07 June 2026
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
-
On Steven Spielberg, Three Vignettes
Wesley Morris, Why We Still Need Steven Spielberg, NYTimes, June 7, 2026. The cultural importance of movies: Lately, the idea of a Steven Spielberg has felt... Read more
Posted on 07 June 2026 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Terence Tao Explains The Math Behind AI
On the YouTube page: Terence Tao has read more mathematics than almost anyone alive, and he uses AI tools every day. So when one of the most cited mathematician... Read more
Posted on 07 June 2026 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Demis Hassabis and Yann LeCun on Computational Compressibility
Dædalus currently has a double issue, AI Science: What Is the Future of Discovery?, edited by James M. Manyika. Manyika interviews both Hassabis and LeCu... Read more
Posted on 06 June 2026 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Two Tablescapes (without Food)
Posted on 06 June 2026
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
-
Dealing with the Devil, John Malone and American Business
Matt Stoller, A Billionaire Explains Why American Business Now Feels like the Mafia, BIG, June 5, 2026. The article opens: In 1981, a consultant named Elmer... Read more
Posted on 05 June 2026 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
In the Park Looking out
Posted on 05 June 2026
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
-
The American Way of War
I've got a short series of posts from awhile back on the American way of war. I decided to add to it with this short conversation with Claude. Read more
Posted on 05 June 2026 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Commencement Speakers: Out to Lunch & out of Touch
Molly Jong-Fast, Why Those Commencement Speakers Deserved Those Boos, NYTimes, June 5, 2026. Commencement address season hasn’t been going well — for the... Read more
Posted on 05 June 2026 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
11th St., a Red Flower, and Washington St. [Hoboken]
Posted on 05 June 2026
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
-
Microsoft AI Builds a “hill-climbing” Machine
* * * * * The Microsoft AI Team, MAI-Thinking-1: Building a Hill-Climbing Machine Abstract: Progress in AI is driven not by a single model, but by the ability t... Read more
Posted on 05 June 2026 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY
