Linguists today aim to apply methods from other sciences to messy social phenomena. But the influence once ran the other way, with discoveries in linguistic history leaving a mark on evolutionary theory. – The Economist
Author: Douglas McLennan
Produce Theatre? In A Pandemic? In Finland? Of Course – It’s “Essential”
“I shouldn’t have been so surprised. Art has played a major role in bringing this once poor and isolated country into the international arena, and the government subsidizes culture in a big way. That’s why artists continue to be employed — and why, even though socially distanced performances will never cover their costs, companies in Finland are putting them on, secure in the knowledge they have a financial cushion.” – The New York Times
How The Personal Productivity Revolution Backfired
The knowledge sector’s insistence that productivity is a personal issue seems to have created a so-called “tragedy of the commons” scenario, in which individuals making reasonable decisions for themselves insure a negative group outcome. – The New Yorker
Donald Byrd On Making A Career As A Choreographer
“I think that caused me to be really clear for myself about why I was doing what I was doing. I could not take into consideration how people would respond. That included funders and audiences. Part of the risk, then, is that maybe nobody will show up. But when I tried to make things that I thought would please people, I thought those pieces were disasters.” – Dance Magazine
Report: Virtual Art Fairs Have Been A Failure
Given the extraordinary volume of resources dealers poured into online sales platforms, and the attention the web has garnered across the industry, the anemic returns on art e-commerce are all the more distressing. – Artnet
Report: Thousands Of American Museums Could Close For Good
The average museum has lost $850,000 to date, though the figure is much higher for large institutions. The Museum of Fine Art, Boston expected a $14 million loss through July alone, and New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art has projected a $150 million shortfall. – Artnet
Michael Riedel’s Broadway History
Reading Michael Riedel has long been mandatory for theater insiders. They may complain about his journalistic practices, his tendency to sensationalize and distort, his refusal to let a fair review of the facts get in the way of a good scoop, his speculative and often erroneous conclusions. But his copy is sinfully entertaining, full of dish and drama and delivered with the wicked wit Broadway pros can’t help but admire. – Los Angeles Times
Has Substack Created A New A New Medium For News?
In three years, Substack’s newsletters—covering almost every conceivable topic, from Australian Aboriginal rights to bread recipes to local Tennessee politics—have drawn more than two hundred fifty thousand paid subscribers. The top newsletter authors can earn six figures, an unheard-of amount for freelance journalists. – Columbia Journalism Review
UK Universities Want Probe Into Inflated E-Textbook Prices
Johanna Anderson said the situation had become so financially serious for university libraries that it was time for MPs and competition authorities to hold publishers to account. She cited the example of an economics book that costs £44 for a print copy but is £423 for a single e-book user and £500 for three users. An employment law book costs £50 for a hard copy, but is £1,600 for three users of the digital version. – BBC
French Authors Say They’ll Pay COVID Fines For Paris Book Shops That Stay Open
At the beginning of the lockdown more than two weeks ago, the Paris mayor, Anne Hidalgo, pleaded – unsuccessfully – for bookshops to be allowed to remain open and asked the public not to use Amazon. The call has been echoed by the former president François Hollande. – The Guardian