The geeks among you will recognize that the words “decentralization” and “distributed network” invoke a nearly 10-year-old model of equitable Web-based information flow, one that’s currently on fire because of the Wild West-mood surrounding Web 3.0, crypto, and NFTs. - Slate
So how does language and thought relate, then? And what is “thought”, anyway? Perhaps one way of answering both questions is to determine whether any of the representations language provides – syntactic, phonological, semantic, etc. – are suitable for the “fixation of belief.” - 3 Quarks Daily
Recent rereleases of films such as Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and Jaws have led the board to reconsider those titles in the light of what they vaguely call “changing attitudes”. - The Guardian
Curators enjoyed a 4% increase in trustworthiness across gender and political affiliation in 2021. Notably, however, advanced degree holders were much more likely to trust museum curators to tell the truth, exposing educational gaps in the way the profession is perceived. - Hyperallergic
Mass entertainment events are no longer a novelty in the once austere kingdom, but there have been reports by local and foreign women that they have faced harassment at them - some of it documented on video. - BBC
"Among the titles being cast into the maw of the volcano this year: Blake Bailey's oozing hagiography of Philip Roth, Mitch Albom's latest cavity-inducing parable, Andrew Sullivan's overfull toilet of essays" (fed to the merciless Dale Peck) "and Malcolm Gladwell's smug apologia for American butchery." - Book Marks
Consciousness, thought, creativity, will, imagination, and agency — once considered to be explainable only through philosophical reflection were now reformulated as precisely defined cognitive functions. And these functions could in turn be measured and compared between humans and machines. - The New Atlantis
Any of us have interacted with apparently thoughtful machines often enough—for instance, when on the telephone and trying, often fruitlessly, to get to a customer service representative, that we have gradually lowered our standards for intelligence. - Hedgehog Review
"Of course I wanted to do this. The biggest reason to say no is, why would you ever put yourself in a position to be compared to Lily Tomlin? But you hear Leigh talk about it and you start tearing up." - The New York Times
If you want to see an acrobatic display of ducking and weaving in a gallery by people trying desperately not to set off any alarms, just read the labels in the newly opened The African Origins of Civilization at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. - Hyperallergic
"Pilgrims traveling to Machu Picchu in the 15th century were greeted by Chachabamba, a ceremonial water complex that was designed to demonstrate the power of the Inca peoples. Now researchers have used 3D imaging technology to map this unique feature of the citadel." - Artnet
Didion came to prominence with a series of incisive, searching feature articles in Life magazine and The Saturday Evening Post that explored the fraying edges of postwar American life. - The New York Times
Says the artistic director of English National Ballet, "I am by no means Petipa, but what I'm trying to do with Raymonda is what I've seen done in England with ... Shakespeare, which is to try and make the original work fit into a different context." - Bachtrack
The researchers found that higher conscientiousness – the tendency to be organised, hardworking and disciplined – was related to rating loyalty, authority and purity/sanctity as important bases for morality. - Psyche
The first woman to run a TV studio (a job she never liked and only did after she and Desi Arnaz divorced), Ball was long known as hard-nosed, shrewd and no-nonsense, even humorless. Yet, says a biographer, she had a "seldom-seen soft side." - The New York Times
