Category: ideas

“[Behavioral science] suggests that play is also a crucial part of the full life of the human animal, and yet philosophers have said very little about it. Usually, if we see an appreciation of play, it’s an attempt to show its secret utility value – ‘See, it’s pragmatic after all!’ … All this is true of course, but one also wonders about the uniquely human meaning of play and leisure. Can we consider play and leisure as something with inherent value, independent of their accidental usefulness?”

That’s what the science appears to say (so far).

“A spate of research published over the past couple of years reveals something surprising and new: measured amounts of dark-side traits, expressed at lower levels – too little to be considered a diagnosable personality disorder – open the doors of perception, helping us see the world through an edgier, more on-the-bias creative lens.”

“That’s not necessarily a problem. But it’s worth thinking about why people made up religion in the first place.”

“Berry was also concerned that girls whose families did not consider careers in the arts or the media as ‘proper jobs’ should not give up their dreams of working in the industry.”

“There’s something wonderful about this dogged insistence on having nothing whatsoever to show for your time in class, especially given the cultural rage for productivity. … But: With the approval of the UPenn English Department, Goldsmith’s crafted a creative writing course that fails to generate any writing, one that to some extent paints basic college benefits like insight, growth, and learning as passé fantasies of the old guard.”

“Email pruning doesn’t enact work so much as it simulates work: It’s a ritual – like a secular, corporate rosary – which we perform in the hopes that it will somehow help us leave the domain of ineffectual work and re-enter the domain of gratifying productivity,”

“A growing number of big cities, including New York, are increasing money for their arts programs as they roll out Common Core.”

“Safety Check locates Facebook users near a disaster site through the city they list on their profile, or from where they last used the Internet. Users then receive a notification asking to confirm that they’re safe or to say that they weren’t in the affected area.”

“You’re basically behind the curve if you’re not Googling pretty much everyone you meet.”