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 )
-
Are We Poisoning Ourselves with Microplastics?
That's what Mark O'Connel argues in a recent op-ed in the NYTimes, Our Way of Life Is Poisoning Us (April 20, 2023). The article opens: There is plastic in our... Read more
Posted on 23 April 2023 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Some Varieties of the Empire State Building
Posted on 22 April 2023
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
-
Is AI Doom as an Attempt to Hijack Reality?
For some reason I can’t stop thinking about the phenomenon of belief in AI Doom. It’s not that I fear it, not at all. While AI certainly presents challenges,... Read more
Posted on 21 April 2023 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
"The Fox Settlement Reeks of Justice Without Accountability"
David French, Did Fox News Just Pay for the Privilege of Continued Corruption? NYTimes, April 20 2023. The legal system can achieve justice when an aggrieved... Read more
Posted on 21 April 2023 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
キスメット [kisumetto] – Some Japanese Connections in the Internet Age
When I visited my sister over the most recent Christmas holiday, she gave me a book, Lost Japan: Last Glimpse of Beautiful Japan, by Alex Kerr. As the title... Read more
Posted on 19 April 2023 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
This is Crazy Talk About AI Risk
Is AI an Existential Threat? A Debate. | Robert Wright, Roko Mijic, and Alexander Campbell From the program notes: 0:00 How Roko and Alex wound up debating on... Read more
Posted on 19 April 2023 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Plutocracy in America, Liminality in the World
Two opinion pieces in the NYTimes caught my attention. One is about the paradox of plutocracy in America the other is about the future. Read more
Posted on 18 April 2023 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
A Five-year-old's Response to AI X-risk {dum De Dum-dum Doom!]
I give my highest epistemic admiration to five-year-olds who just laugh at me when I bring it up, and say “That’s silly!” They’re engaging in the way I... Read more
Posted on 18 April 2023 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Coffee, Bacon, Waffle, Condiments
Posted on 18 April 2023
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
-
GPT-4 on Doomsday Cults
On April 17 I queried GPT-4 (March 23 version) about doomsday cults. It’s not that I have a particular interest in doomsday cults, but that I think that... Read more
Posted on 18 April 2023 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
A Strange and Interesting Podcast on AI, AI Doom, and the Future
I've seen one prior episode of this podcast, Bankless, and episode in which Eliezer Yudkowsky scared the daylights out of the hosts when he laid out his standar... Read more
Posted on 17 April 2023 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Charlie Wilson’s War [Media Notes 91] Looking for the Irony?
I’m pretty sure that I saw Charlie Wilson’s War when it came out in 2007. But I have no idea what I thought about it. I still don’t, though I watched it the... Read more
Posted on 17 April 2023 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Where's It From? Where's It Go?
Posted on 17 April 2023
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
-
Competition Between Google and Microsoft in Search
I’ve got doubts about competition between Google and Microsoft on artificial intelligence. Setting aside my doubts about competition as a universal economic... Read more
Posted on 16 April 2023 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
More on the Streets Where I Live [flowers]
Posted on 16 April 2023
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
-
GPT-4 Considers the Cartesian Cogito, Its Implications for LLMs, and the Ethnica...
On April 16 I queried GPT-4 (March 23 version) on Descartes and related matters. I began by asking it the meaning of “cogito, ergo sum.” Then I asked it about... Read more
Posted on 16 April 2023 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Revisiting the Concept of the ‘Neolithic Founder Crops’ in Southwest Asia
What did the first farmers actually farm? Eight 'founder crops'—emmer wheat, einkorn wheat, barley, lentil, pea, chickpea, bitter vetch, and flax—have long... Read more
Posted on 15 April 2023 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
ChatGPT as CCP Apparatchik [& Other Remarks About ChatGPT and China]
Thomas Friedman of the NYTimes has just been to Beijing. Among other things he reports: Indeed, a story making the rounds in Beijing is that many Chinese have... Read more
Posted on 15 April 2023 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
The Insanity That is the World of Neural Nets These Days {$$$$$}
Top NN (neural net) engineers are getting paid $5-20M annual compensation packages. I've now heard this from 4 different extremely reputable sources but I... Read more
Posted on 14 April 2023 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Friday Fotos: The Life Cycle of a Waffle
Posted on 14 April 2023
CULTURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SOCIETY
