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 ( 7356 )
-
The Tree of Life, and a Note on Job
This is from 11 years ago. I'm bumping this to the top of the queue because, Why not? I like it. More or less on Michael Sporn’s recommendation, I’ve just seen... Read more
Posted on 31 August 2023 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Why I Hang out at LessWrong and Why You Should Check-in There Every Now and Then
The first two sections are a background, first a bit on cultural change to set the general context. Then some general information about LessWrong. Read more
Posted on 30 August 2023 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Let a Thousand Flowers Bloom
Posted on 30 August 2023
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
-
BrainGPT: A Large Language Model Tool to Assist Neuroscientific Research
BrainGPT aims to tame the vast neuroscience literature to assist scientists in their research. Sign-up at https://t.co/YOhCmQlJsu to get involved. The video... Read more
Posted on 30 August 2023 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
How AI Will Change Governance: "Preparing for Regime Change"
AI and Leviathan: Part II, by @hamandcheese https://t.co/QstJ5NW4za This is mostly a reminder to myself to check this out when the pressure of other things... Read more
Posted on 30 August 2023 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
The Death of Burning Man
Daniel Pinchbeck, How Burning Man Failed, Daniel Pinchbeck's Newsletter, Aug. 29, 2023. I've known about Burning Man for a long time. Read more
Posted on 29 August 2023 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Krugman on the Rise of Wealthy Cranks
Paul Krugman, The Paranoid Style in American Plutocrats, NYTimes, Aug. 28, 2023. From the article: If you regularly follow debates about public policy,... Read more
Posted on 29 August 2023 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Fables of Identity, European and American
I'm bumping this piece, from August 2012, to the top of the queue on general principle. Plus, it's about American identity, which is a vexations and trying... Read more
Posted on 29 August 2023 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
The Fragility of Artists’ Reputations from 1795 to 2020
Letian Zhang , Mitali Banerjee, Shinan Wang, and Zhuoqiao Hong, The fragility of artists’ reputations from 1795 to 2020, PNAS, August 21, 2023, Vol. 120 | No.... Read more
Posted on 29 August 2023 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Coming to America [Media Notes 93]
I believe I saw this when it came out in 1988 and I’ve watched in on line since, most recently yesterday. Meh. The Wikipedia entry quotes Shelia Benson of the... Read more
Posted on 28 August 2023 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Flowers | The Street Where I Used to Live
Posted on 28 August 2023
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
-
The Mind as a Polyviscous Fluid
About a year ago I uploaded a post with a typically ungainly title, The structured physical system hypothesis (SPSH), Polyviscous connectivity [The brain as a... Read more
Posted on 28 August 2023 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
A New Park and Playground in Hoboken
Posted on 27 August 2023
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
-
Xanadu, GPT, and Beyond: An Adventure of the Mind
I've posted a new working paper. Title above; links, abstract, table of contents, and introductory material below. Download at: Academia: https://www.academia. Read more
Posted on 27 August 2023 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Friday Fotos: May Flowers
Posted on 25 August 2023
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
-
Ramble on STUFF: Intelligence, Simulation, AI, Doom, Default Mode, the Usual
Time for another one of these. Lots on my mind. Difficult to sort it out. So, some quick hits just to get them all into the same space. Read more
Posted on 25 August 2023 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
On the Street Where I Used to Live (11th St. in Hoboken)
A remark on symmetry and balance: The second photo is roughly symmetrical around the central vertical axis. The third photo is divided in half horizontally,... Read more
Posted on 24 August 2023 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
New Posts at 3 Quarks Daily [AI, Mind Hacks, Blues&Jazz, Kids&Dance]
I’ve posted some articles at 3 Quarks Daily in the last few months: Beyond Artificial Intelligence From the opening: I’m stumped. I’ve hit a wall. More than... Read more
Posted on 24 August 2023 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Is This the Beginning of the End for LLMS [as the Royal Road to AGI, Whatever...
It’s hard to tell, but it sure is...shall we say...interesting. Back in the summer of 2020 when GPT-3 was unveiled I wrote a working paper, GPT-3: Waterloo or... Read more
Posted on 24 August 2023 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Steven Wolfram on AI Alignment
Joe Walker has a general conversation with Wolfram about his work and things and stuff, but there are some remarks about AI alignment at the very end: WALKER:... Read more
Posted on 20 August 2023 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY
