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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What's It Like to Go to Battle Wearing 51 Pounds of Bronz Armor?
Have Wine for Breakfast, Put On a 51-Pound Suit and Get to the Battlefield https://t.co/xwkPY9I79i— Bill Benzon, BAM! Bootstrapping Artificial Minds (@bbenzon)... Read more
Posted on 07 June 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
That Shakespeare Thing
I'm bumping this to the top of the queue for several reasons, general principle among them. The opinion I offer in the last half or so requires a proper argumen... Read more
Posted on 07 June 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous [Media Notes 128]
Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous is the prequel series to Jurassic World: Chaos Theory, which I’ve already blogged about. It consists of 49 episodes over five... Read more
Posted on 06 June 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Starburst in the Evening
Posted on 06 June 2024
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
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Reading as Both a Passion and a Pose
“Reading was a passion in early modern Italy,…but it was also a pose, an emblem of ‘aristocratic detachment’ from the pursuits of wealth, power, and social... Read more
Posted on 05 June 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Blue Pink Purple [iris]
Posted on 05 June 2024
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
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AI and Democracy
Thomas B. Edsall, Will A.I. Be a Creator or a Destroyer of Worlds? NYTimes, June 5, 2024. The first 2/3s is about AI and work. I'm appending the last third,... Read more
Posted on 05 June 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Why is Rachmaninoff So Difficult for Pianists?
The first Rachmaninoff I ever heard is his Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. Here's a performance by Yuja Wang: Vladimir Pleshakov has some interesting remarks o... Read more
Posted on 05 June 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Crazy Lights
Posted on 04 June 2024
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
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Godzilla Vs. the Pansies (just Kidding About Godzilla)
Posted on 03 June 2024
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
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Godzilla Minus One [Media Notes 127] {opsis & Vibe}
Godzilla Minus One is the 37th film in the Godzilla franchise, which is, I believe the longest running franchise in film. I’ve seen, perhaps, a half dozen of... Read more
Posted on 03 June 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Fashion and Music Meet Gymnastics
https://t.co/hEnzN4Nd6D— Bill Benzon, BAM! Bootstrapping Artificial Minds (@bbenzon) June 2, 2024 From the article: The result was an attention-grabbing blend o... Read more
Posted on 02 June 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Before Setting out on a New Venture You Should Always Eat Breakfast
Posted on 02 June 2024
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
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Some Notes on How I Discovered Formal Structure in Some Literary Texts, Part 1:...
What is intelligence? How does it work? Those and related questions have been with us for a while, but their salience has been amplified in the wake of... Read more
Posted on 02 June 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
More of My Beloved Irises [urban Pastoral]
Posted on 01 June 2024
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
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Jurassic World: Chaos Theory [Media Notes 126]
More or less on impulse I decided to watch Jurassic World: Chaos Theory. I had no particular expectations beyond being a bit dubious about the quality of the... Read more
Posted on 01 June 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Why Don't We Dream of Building Perfect Societies Anymore?
Rohit Krishnan asks that question at Strange Loop Canon. He starts with a story: Robert Owen was a Welsh industrialist. Born in Newtown, Owen moved to Mancheste... Read more
Posted on 31 May 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Friday Fotos: Through the Window
Posted on 31 May 2024
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
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Nationalism in Online Games During War
Bilen, Eren and Doghonadze, Nino and Khubulashvili, Robizon and Smerdon, David, Nationalism in Online Games During War (May 20, 2024). Available at SSRN:... Read more
Posted on 31 May 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Culture, Religion, and Identity: Can't We All Get Along? [Walter Benn Michaels o...
This is from the ancient days, at The Valve (now defunct). It's an extended footnote to: Politics Beyond the Personal: Diversity, Identitarian Rhetoric, and... Read more
Posted on 31 May 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY
