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 ( 7808 )
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AIs to Simulate Human Agents and Societies
Joon Sung Park, Joseph C. O'Brien, Carrie J. Cai, Meredith Ringel Morris, Percy Liang, Michael S. Bernstein, Generative Agents: Interactive Simulacra of Human... Read more
Posted on 09 December 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Claude 3.5 Sonnet Visits Times Square, Waxes Philosophical (after Being Prodded)
I wasn’t sure whether or not Claude would be able to recognize this picture. I’m not even sure that I’d recognize it. It’s very busy. It’s Times Square. Read more
Posted on 09 December 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
I’m Four Degrees of Separation from Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Russell taught Ludwig Wittgenstein, who in turn taught Margaret Masterman. Masterman is one of the founders of computational linguistics, as is my... Read more
Posted on 08 December 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Fred the Heretic Goes to New Orleans and Appropriates Some Culture [Shine on...
Here’s some more poetry by FTH (aka Fred the Heretic), a GPT based on the poetry of Frederick Turner. But first, I give your a recitation of “Titanic,” though... Read more
Posted on 08 December 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Claude Tells a Cute Story and Translates It into Japanese
Tell me about this picture. This image presents an artistic and whimsical scene featuring two toys arranged on what appears to be a concrete structure or wall. Read more
Posted on 08 December 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Color Games
Posted on 08 December 2024
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
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Claude Becomes an Art Critic
This is from the Demotion Exhibition (#GVM004) in Jersey City which took place in the summer of 2015 in and on a building that once held a Pep Boys store. You... Read more
Posted on 07 December 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
They Say It's My Birthday, and It Is. [+ Bertrand Russell]
77 Here’s what I posted on my 76th birthday, an update of a long post I did on my 70th: Reflections on entering my eighth decade and why it portends to be the... Read more
Posted on 07 December 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Progress Ain’t What It Used to Be
Virginia Postrel, The world of tomorrow, Works in Progress, Issue 17, Dec. 5, 2024. My favorite line: “Today’s techno-optimism is infused with nostalgia for... Read more
Posted on 06 December 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Friday Fotos: Food!
Posted on 06 December 2024
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
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Claude Goes to Burger King, Virtually
I've decided to see how good Claude is at describing photos. This is my first such "experiment." I used to live around the corner from there and would eat dinne... Read more
Posted on 06 December 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
The Daily Routines of Creative People
Yesterday I posted about my daily routine – posting and sleep habits – upon coming out of the slump I’d been in for the past couple months. (It looks like... Read more
Posted on 06 December 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Probabilistic Weather Forecasting with Machine Learning
Price, I., Sanchez-Gonzalez, A., Alet, F. et al. Probabilistic weather forecasting with machine learning. Nature (2024). https://doi.org/10. Read more
Posted on 05 December 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Coming out of a Melancholy Period [down Phase]
I’m want to continue investigating my blogging pattern as I’ve discussed it in my recent 3 Quarks Daily article, Melancholy and Growth: Toward a Mindcraft for a... Read more
Posted on 05 December 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
The Family Man & Work-life Balance [Media Notes 146]
I watched The Family Man the other night. Here’s what Claude (Anthropic’s chatbot) said about it when I asked it for five examples of films involving the... Read more
Posted on 05 December 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Will Trump Go to the Mattresses for RFK and Tulsi Gabbard?
Marc A. Caputo, The Two Nominees for Whom Trump Is Prepared to Go to War, The Bulwark, Dec. 5. 2014. But the most critical fights for the president-elect, at... Read more
Posted on 05 December 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
On My Politics
I view of the recent election I’ve been thinking about my politics. Here’s an edited version of note I recently sent to my friend Frank Munley, whom I’ve known... Read more
Posted on 04 December 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
More Growth, Melancholy, and MindCraft @3QD
I’ve got a new article at 3 Quarks Daily: Melancholy and Growth: Toward a Mindcraft for an Emerging World. I’m of two minds about it: On the one hand, I think... Read more
Posted on 03 December 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Are the Justices of the Supreme Court Above Justice?
Jodi Kantor and Abbie VanSickle, Inside the Supreme Court Ethics Debate: Who Judges the Justices? NYTimes, Dec. 3, 2024. President Biden and Democratic lawmaker... Read more
Posted on 03 December 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Biden Pardons Hunter: Whether You Call It Nepotism Or Old Boys Or Even White...
Shaila Dewan, After Biden Pardons His Son, Prison Inmates Hope They’re Next, NYTimes, Dec. 2, 2024: Andrea James, who runs an organization that helps... Read more
Posted on 03 December 2024 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY
