“Metaknowledge functions as a powerful bullshit detector. It can separate crowd members who actually know something from those who are guessing wildly or just parroting what everyone else says.” It can also function, writes George Musser, as a “lie detector” and/or a “truth serum.”
Month: July 2016
The Term “Modernism” Gets Thrown Around A Lot. But What Does It Actually Mean
“What remains unresolved — at once exciting and haunting — is a central paradox in the field. Scan the program of any recent conference of the Modernist Studies Association, the titles of articles published in Modernism/modernity, or the monographs published in the field (at least a half-dozen presses have initiated series in modernist studies in the past decade, with more coming), and one will similarly find “modernism” endlessly modified by prefixes.”
The Behind-The-Scenes Stories Of Three Classic ‘Seinfeld’ Episodes
The table-reads for “The Chinese Restaurant” were disastrous. The writers fretted a lot about getting “The Contest” past the network censors (who, in the end, loved it). And the writer of the “Junior Mint” episode was convinced it would wreck his career.
Looking For Brain Fitness? It Takes More Than Simple Games
One study, “financed by the National Institutes of Health, suggests that cognitive training that uses thinking, such as problem solving and learning, like reading a newspaper article and discussing it with a friend, has staying power in the brain — even 10 years after the training ends.”
Audiences Behaving Badly: French Cinemas Yank Horror Film From Screens ‘To Ensure The Safety Of Staff And Customers’
“A number of cinemas in France are cancelling screenings of The Conjuring 2 following troublesome occurrences of ‘loud laughter’, ‘hysterical yelling’ and violent altercations.”
Yes, Broadway is More Diverse, But The Theatre System Still Conspires Against Diversity
“While I marvel at the creative genius that is Lin-Manuel Miranda (and remain as eager as any self-respecting theater lover to snag a Hamilton ticket), I am uncomfortable with how theater makers are reveling in the breakthrough success of a show that succeeded not because of the theater system but in spite of it.”
Artist Detained By Iran For ‘Disturbing The Public Peace’ With His Work
“Parviz Tanavoli, whose passport border officials confiscated last week at Tehran’s international airport, said … ‘I learnt this morning in court that the police had accused me of publishing false information and disturbing the public peace. They told me my sculptures are examples of disturbing the public peace.'”
The Time James Baldwin Trolled The FBI (It Totally Worked)
“In July of 1964, the FBI got ahold of a document which contained incontrovertible evidence of a plot against them – the latest issue of Playbill.”
Creative Industries Contribute Almost £10 Million *An Hour* To UK Economy
“New government figures have revealed just how important our filmmakers, musicians, artists and other creatives are to our economy, contributing £84 billion a year. The number of jobs in creative industries has risen nearly 20 per cent since 2011 to 1.9 million.”
Harlequin Romances Is Starting A Literary Fiction Imprint
“The publisher … is launching an imprint called Park Row Books, dedicated to ‘thought-provoking and voice-driven novels’ that have ‘mainstream appeal.’ The first books are scheduled for the summer of 2017.”