Category: ideas

America’s mythology seems to encourage alternate theories. Independent thinking. Distrust of the conventional. Following the bread crumbs. It’s just, well, so bad for us… – The Guardian

We believe that the social sciences would benefit from taking a more systematic look at the structure of culture, that is to say how the elements of culture are interrelated, and what really sets some apart when it comes to human attention and selection. In as much as this is relevant in fashion or music, it might be even more useful in the study of ideologies and political movements, topics that have taken a much more serious tone in recent years. – Aeon

The Ancient Greeks named four virtues: temperance, wisdom, courage and justice. Aristotle added more, but cheerfulness wasn’t one of them. The Greek philosophers didn’t seem to care about how we felt compared with how we acted. – Aeon

“Those who felt the most emotional distress also showed the most pain-related brain activity. In other words, being socially rejected triggered the same neural circuits that process physical injury, and translate it into the experience we call pain.” – Aeon

The default way of thinking about the long, complex era that lasted from the final decades of the Roman Empire to somewhere around the Battle of Hastings is to assume it all looked like the cover of a heavy metal album… – Lithub

“The need for an intelligence-amplifying device that is less obtrusive than a smartphone and more discreet than a voice interface is clear. Many technologists and entrepreneurs are working to create the next revolutionary intelligence-amplifying device that will solve the problems of its predecessors while giving users seamless access to advanced AI systems.” – Harvard Business Review

Originally assembled as ‘an invitation’ to the fair during its six-month run, this short features artfully captured shots of Expo 67’s many attractions – including a still-standing geodesic dome designed by Buckminster Fuller, breezy monorail rides, avant-garde art and architecture, and a curious number of clowns. – Aeon

World Fairs used to celebrate the future. “At the dawn of the 5^th Industrial Revolution, we need a way for people to experience the possible. To walk through it, ride through it, physically and virtually. We need it to combine every industry, every technology, every aspect of art and science that will be part of the 5^th Industrial Revolution. It needs to be a highly trafficked, well-promoted, physical place. If Walt Disney World is the “Happiest Place on Earth,” this urban setting needs to be the “Most Technologically Amazing Place on Earth.” – Shelley Palmer

Fei-Fei Li: The machines don’t need to have consciousness of their own in order to predict our choices and manipulate our choices. If you accept that something like love is in the end and biological process in the body, if you think that AI can provide us with wonderful healthcare, by being able to monitor and predict something like the flu, or something like cancer, what’s the essential difference between flu and love? – Wired

Alexander Adams: “British arts venues are now ripe for the taking. They are staffed by individuals schooled in cultural relativism and primed by feminism, anti-colonialism and identity politics. They are eager to turn their bastions of so-called privilege and oppression into beacons of inclusivity and empowerment. Their overwhelmingly left-leaning political beliefs welcome the chance to throw off the shackles of connoisseurship, historical rigour and professional integrity in order to become champions of social justice.” – Standpoint