“We humans are oddly fond of trusting our guts. Well, that might not be such a great idea: The same people more likely to go with intuition over rational thought are worse judges of others’ emotions, according to new research.”
Author: Douglas McLennan
Can A Brain Scan Tell What You’re Thinking? (Here’s What We Know So Far)
“To see if they could actually identify such patterns, the team had 80 people solve a series of math problems while lying in an fMRI scanner. Using a mix of otherwise standard methods from computer science and neuroscience, they identified a sequence of brain-activation patterns corresponding to encoding a problem, planning a solution, making the necessary computations, and providing a response.”
New Ideas? There Are Fewer Of Them Than You Might Think
“Human beings are extraordinarily good at deceiving themselves and possibly never more so than when they think that they have had a new idea, as Steven Poole makes clear in this fascinating compendium of new ideas that aren’t new at all.”
How “Sciencey” Does Science Fiction Need To Be?
Many here strongly believe that the science in science fiction should be firmly grounded in reality. They are devotees of what’s called hard sci-fi, which emphasizes technical detail and scientific rigor. If you’ve read Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke or Catherine Asaro, you’ve read hard sci-fi. Andy Weir’s “The Martian” is a recent example.
Everyone’s An Artist These Days. But What, Exactly IS An Artist?
“Is artist defined by talent and skill, by length of practice or legacy? Are there common characteristics of all artists beyond the attempt to create? Do we include those only within our sphere or all of those beyond our recognition? If creation alone does not constitute conferring the appellation of artist, can one grow into the post? If art is a process, are you an artist only when you have practiced your “art” for a term? Or is the definition of an artist and art best left to each of us to ponder for ourselves?”
What Makes A Local Orchestra Local?
Civic pride – the pleasure of saying, “This beautiful thing is ours” – is a powerful force in maintaining any expensive performing-arts institution. But anyone who thinks an orchestra’s leadership and membership should be exclusively planted in their community is living in the last century.
How Being Exhausted Became A Status Symbol
“Each era remakes the condition in its own image, reflecting its medical, technological and cultural developments, as well as its fears. Dangerous precisely because it keeps us from action, exhaustion has for centuries done double duty as a sign of weakness and a badge of honor.”
What Makes A Great Museum? (We Asked The Insiders)
“In the public imagination, museums have been transformed from cultural destinations into leisure ones, and there has been a global rise in visitor numbers.”
The Greatest Literary Fraudster In Our Time (So What Is Fiction Anyway?)
Literature is full of impostors and noms de plume, from George Eliot to “Robert Galbraith” (aka JK Rowling), but JT LeRoy is something else. George Eliot never did high-end fashion shoots, or received backstage passes to U2 gigs, or was sent Kabbalah books by Madonna.
What Will The Internet Of Things Mean For Theatre?
“Performers, audiences, and spaces can influence and manipulate each other, and the input-output system. In the classic theatre—the technician over there is sitting in the dark and is not supposed to be seen. But they’re there and they’re everywhere. The interesting thing is the whole theatre space is rigged in a very hierarchical way. But the Internet of Things is modular, so the idea is that everybody in the room can potentially become the operator or performer of a given system.”