Companies are considering not just how to safely bring back employees, but whether all of them need to come back at all. They were forced by the crisis to figure out how to function productively with workers operating from home — and realized unexpectedly that it was not all bad. If that’s the case, they are now wondering whether it’s worth continuing to spend as much money on Manhattan’s exorbitant commercial rents. – The New York Times
Author: Douglas McLennan
Understand Your Procrastination In A Different Context
When a person fails to begin a project that they care about, it’s typically due to either a) anxiety about their attempts not being “good enough” or b) confusion about what the first steps of the task are. Not laziness. In fact, procrastination is more likely when the task is meaningful and the individual cares about doing it well. – Human Parts
Should We Be Afraid Of AI?
“Many people were likely stunned to read recently the announcement by Microsoft that AI was proving to be better at reading X-rays than trained radiologists. Most newspaper readers don’t realize how much of their daily paper is now written by AI. That wasn’t supposed to happen; robots were supposed to supplant manual labor jobs, not professional brainwork. Yet here we are: AI is quickly gobbling up entire professions—and those jobs will never come back.” – Scientific American
Research: The Conditions Under Which Audiences Say They’ll Return To Theaters
What will it take to make people feel confident enough to return to going to shows? – American Theatre
The Problem With Pulitzers
Elite journalism is chosen by elite journalists. Any problems with that? Well, it leads to certain kinds of myopia… – The Baffler
Prediction: Elite Colleges Will Dominate In The Post-COVID Marketplace
There’s a recognition that education — the value, the price, the product — has fundamentally shifted. The value of education has been substantially degraded. There’s the education certification and then there’s the experience part of college. The experience part of it is down to zero, and the education part has been dramatically reduced. You get a degree that, over time, will be reduced in value as we realize it’s not the same to be a graduate of a liberal-arts college if you never went to campus. You can see already how students and their parents are responding. – New York Magazine
University Off The Campus? The Virus Will Radically Reshape Higher Ed
Already, the University of Michigan anticipates losses of $400 million to $1 billion this year across its three campuses. California’s university system suffered $558 million in costs due to the coronavirus in March alone. Meanwhile, the number of students pursuing a college degree could be the smallest in two decades. – New York Magazine
Igor Levit – A Singular Pianist
Alex Ross: “Other pianists of Levit’s generation may have achieved wider mass-market fame—Lang Lang and Yuja Wang come first to mind—but none have comparable stature as a cultural or even a political figure. In German-speaking countries, Levit is a familiar face not only to classical-music fans but also to a broader population that shares his leftist, internationalist world view. He has appeared on mainstream German TV shows; participated in political panel discussions; and attended the annual gathering of the Green Party.” – The New Yorker
Zoom Etiquette: What Your Bookshelf Says About You
The bookshelf has become the background of choice on Zoom calls from home. These aren’t random choices. The books and objects on your shelves say things about you. And now the game of figuring out what you’re saying… – The New York Times (Video)
The Daily Zoom Call Of New York’s Arts Leaders…
More than just a logistical feat, the phone call has become a singular measurement of how worried, desperate and vulnerable cultural organizations have become since the virus hit. And just as notable, how much they are actually acting these days like the “arts community” to which they often aspire. – The New York Times