ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

IDEAS

The Curse Of Being Ayn Rand’s Heir

“Like many tragedies, this one is marked by a dark irony: A man devoted to the principle of individualism has ended up living a life defined by a reliance on others.” - The Atlantic

DEI Policies May Have Been Flawed. But The Backlash Is Alarming

Today, DEI programs are being shuttered across North America. Despite my own and others’ cynicism about how DEI is employed, this is an alarming development. - The Walrus

How The National Antiquities Act Has Saved Natural Wonders

They cover more than a quarter of the nation and large parts of the West. Some are crisscrossed by hiking trails and used by hunters and fishermen. Ranchers graze cattle on others. In many areas, the government earns money through oil, gas, timber and mining leases. - The Conversation

The Problematic Notion Of Recovered Memories

This case launched a huge debate between memory researchers like me who argue there is no credible scientific evidence that repressed memories exist and practicing clinicians who claim that repressed memories are real. - The Conversation

Social Media Overwhelmed Us. We Got Concerned Far Too Late

Call me a Luddite, but I do not think it wise to wait until these kindly bots are in place before deciding how effective they are. Better to roll them off the nearest cliff today. “Maybe it’s not too late to change ourselves.” - Hedgehog Review

Are We Headed For A New “Dark Ages”?

 If Russia, China, and the United States all sport various shades of totalitarianism, and Europe fractures over it, the world may very well enter a new Dark Age. One that could last a few years or many centuries. - 3 Quarks Daily

Technology Has Shaped Human Knowledge For Centuries

From clay tablets to electronic tablets, technology has played an influential role in shaping human knowledge. Today we stand on the brink of the next knowledge revolution. It is one as big as — if not more so — the invention of the printing press, or the dawning of the digital age. - The Conversation

Should Rich Universities Use Their Enormous Endowments To Fight Trump Funding Cuts?

"The wealthiest universities, in particular, must pledge to use all available endowment funds as a backstop for any federal funding cuts to research, educational programs or student financial aid at their schools, barring any donor restrictions." - The New York Times

AI Is (Going To Be) So Good That We Won’t Be Able To Tell What’s Human

These tools are constantly improving. The telltale signs we could once use to detect AI-generated images are no longer reliable. - The Conversation

Who Owns Common Sense?

Common sense has long had two contrasting emphases: an inquiry position that questions prevailing norms and a conservative position that doubles down on prevailing norms. - The Conversation

We’re Meant To Forget: Identity, Memory And Survival

There is a convincing scientific rationale for why the human self-image is so inaccurate. Evolution has no interest in truth or objectivity. Natural selection favors processes that help us to survive. Beliefs have no need to be truthful, only useful. - The Wall Street Journal

Does Anyone Actually Really Know You?

It’s a question that arises at odd moments—sometimes, perversely, when we’re surrounded by people who know us well. Suddenly, we become conscious of an inner sanctum they’ve never breached. - The New Yorker

The Relationship Between Walking And Creativity

Since at least the time of peripatetic Greek philosophers, many other writers have discovered a deep, intuitive connection between walking, thinking, and writing. - The New Yorker

The Many Small Details That Make Up The Wes Anderson Universe

Anderson “believed that, because even the smallest items help create a world onscreen, they needed to be ‘fully formed pieces of art and design.’” - The New York Times

Why The Los Angeles Times’ AI Tracker Is So Terrible

Sure, it argued a few weeks ago that the Ku Klux Klan wasn’t that bad. But the real issue is that “it’s as if someone thought American political discourse was too healthy and needed some roughing up.” - Nieman Lab

Our Free Newsletter

Join our 30,000 subscribers

Latest

Don't Miss

function my_excerpt_length($length){ return 200; } add_filter('excerpt_length', 'my_excerpt_length');