"Archaeologists have previously suggested that they were symbols of goddesses that were placed on deceased people as a burial offering. It is debated whether the engravings are of owls, people or other figures." - New Scientist
"There are whole nations whose political discourse occurs mainly on Twitter. The amount of reputational and social wealth that stands to be lost if Twitter collapses is astounding. Twitter currently functions as perhaps the world's biggest status bank." - Wired
According to Kyiv's governor, "'The image is in good condition and in the hands of the authorities.' Other works in the area thought also to be the work of Banksy are under police protection, he said." - The Guardian (UK)
Instead, it took a lot of planning and some carefully waged campaigns. "While syncs have previously boosted older singles, they’ve never generated this level of resurgence for a 37-year-old song." You can thank Sony's VP of creative, Amy Coles. -Variety
Well, let's be honest: He just (finally) became king. Britain is not having the popular series' narrative anymore. (Also ... he's played by Dominic West.) - The New York Times
Maybe HBO wasn't quite ready for a show that is creators couldn't even describe. "Imagine 'Scooby-Doo' as written by Jorge Luis Borges and directed by Pedro Almodóvar and you can begin to approximate the vibe." - Los Angeles Times
The question of where to draw the line between what is and what is not a city—not to mention where one ends and another begins—is getting harder to answer. Settlements are spreading out by merging into one another to create what urban experts term “megalopolises.” - Fast Company
It’s a CBC mandate to find creators they haven’t spoken with before and to encourage those stories to be told through a variety of opportunities and programs that further develop talent. - Variety
This year, we’ve seen a flurry of AI products that seem to do precisely what the Oxford researchers considered nearly impossible: mimic creativity. Language-learning models such as GPT-3 now answer questions and write articles with astonishingly humanlike precision and flair. - The Atlantic
Even though we have a good understanding of where consciousness originates — essentially via neurons sending signals to each other — scientists still aren't sure how it arises in matter. After all, humans are just made of basic chemicals like the rest of the universe. - Salon
This year's Booker Prize was won by a Sri Lankan, and the International Booker went to an Indian novel. And there's always Salman Rushdie. But beyond a few famous authors and prizewinning books, South Asian literature is still having a hard time breaking through — especially books translated from Indian languages. - The Guardian
Scholars are increasingly voicing concern that the shift to working from home, spurred by the Covid pandemic, will bring the three-decade renaissance of major cities to a halt, setting off an era of urban decay. - The New York Times
