“Once thought to be rare in people with autism, found in no more than 1 out of 10 individuals, research over the past few years suggests savantism may be more common: As many as one in three people with autism may possess exceptional abilities.”
Category: ideas
Is Our Old Notion Of What An “Artist” Is Dead? Here’s What’s Replacing It
“A new paradigm is emerging, and has been since about the turn of the millennium, one that’s in the process of reshaping what artists are: how they work, train, trade, collaborate, think of themselves and are thought of—even what art is—just as the solitary-genius model did two centuries ago. The new paradigm may finally destroy the very notion of “art” as such—that sacred spiritual substance—which the older one created.”
Crowdsourcing The Discovery Of A Rare Map
Or at least starting with Reddit … and then moving back to the library: “So what was a rare turn-of-the-19th-century Ottoman atlas doing unnoticed in the vaults of the National Library of Norway? Fortunately, there was a reference librarian on hand to track down the details.”
Time For A Nancy Drew Who’s Not A Teenager, And Who’s Also Not White?
“Geller said while the actress who will play the much-loved detective in the network’s television reboot hasn’t been decided, ‘she is diverse, that is the way she is written’ and specifically said this Nancy – a woman in her 30s in the network’s new show – won’t be ‘Caucasian.'”
Making The Humanities Cool Again Through Passionate – And Earnest – Teaching
“Those charged with overseeing learning often want ‘outcomes’ rather than process, even if those outcomes are temporary, even if the picture they paint is incomplete. The labor of teaching—that hands-on, dynamic and most valuable of endeavors—is often shortchanged and even derided.”
Two Different, Formerly Competing ‘Theories Of Everything’ May Merge
“‘Loopy people go to loopy conferences. Stringy people go to stringy conferences. They don’t even go to ‘physics’ conferences anymore. I think it’s unfortunate that it developed this way.’ But a number of factors may be pushing the camps closer together.”
Humans May Really Have A ‘Sixth Sense’ – One That’s Actually Smell
“[Research findings] suggest that a second language, spoken in scent, might be passing (as it were) right under our noses. Body odours are in the background of all our interactions. And the clues about relationships and emotions that we sniff out from these odours might be a crucial element of human society.”
Consciousness Isn’t Mysterious, It’s Just The Brain Describing Itself To Itself
Neuroscientist Michael Graziano: “This is why we can’t explain how the brain produces consciousness. It’s like explaining how white light gets purified of all colors. The answer is, it doesn’t. Let me be as clear as possible: Consciousness doesn’t happen. It’s a mistaken construct.”
Why We All Fall For Con Artists
“We never think we’ll fall prey to their wiles. We can spot a gimmick a mile away, while those who become victims are foolish, or greedy, or both. Well, that’s not quite the case. If the NSA can be hacked, so can the average – or even exceptional – human mind.”
Is The Internet Making It Difficult For Us To Read Deeply?
“Done badly (which is to say, done cynically), the Internet reduces us to mindless clickers, racing numbly to the bottom of a bottomless feed; but done well, it has the potential to expand and augment the very contemplative space that we have prized in ourselves ever since we learned to read without moving our lips.”