“Robert Proctor explains that ignorance can often be propagated under the guise of balanced debate. For example, the common idea that there will always be two opposing views does not always result in a rational conclusion. This was behind how tobacco firms used science to make their products look harmless, and is used today by climate change deniers to argue against the scientific evidence.”
Tag: 01.06.16
Email Is A Rabid Bat. But It’s Not Going Away Anytime Soon
“Email has evolved into a weird medium of communication where the best thing you can do is destroy it quickly, as if every email were a rabid bat attacking your face. Yet even the tragically email-burdened still have a weird love for this particular rabid, face-attacking bat.”
Life At One of England’s Last Tolstoyan Communes
“These days, the Brotherhood Church of Stapleton … has just four residents, plus a friendly deaf cat, some chickens, and a large, lumbering cow.”
Netflix Launches In 130 More Countries
“Chief Executive Reed Hastings took the stage … to announce during a keynote speech that Netflix was switched on in countries like India, Russia, Vietnam, Nigeria, Poland, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Turkey and Indonesia. … [The service] is now in more than 190 countries, with the notable exception of China.”
The Woman Who Will Transform The National Theatre Of Wales
“Kully Thiarai is a breath of fresh air and exceptionally well placed to ensure that NTW is an arts organisation that is original, radical and relevant in the 21st century.”
Why Music Seems So Much Louder Today
“Compression leaves distinctive signs on recordings that audio engineers can use to analyse forensically how the loudness war has progressed through the decades. Scientific studies show that the loudness of hit records kept increasing from about 1989 to around 2004. After that, the increase in loudness seems to have slowed.”
Why The British Tell Better Children’s Stories
“If Harry Potter and Huckleberry Finn were each to represent British versus American children’s literature, a curious dynamic would emerge: One defeats evil with a wand, the other takes to a raft to right a social wrong.”
The Folks At Miami City Ballet Explain ‘Why We Dance’
“For its 30th Anniversary Season, Miami City Ballet asked members from every rank of its international, 51-member company to tell their stories; what inspired them to dance, and what motivated them to devote their lives to this incredible physical and artistic discipline.” (video)
Why Do We Watch/Read/Listen To Some Things Over And Over Again?
The most obvious reason is something called the “mere-exposure effect.” Quite simply, people prefer things they’ve previously been exposed to. The effect makes sense from an evolutionary point of view: If we’ve been through a door 100 times and know what’s behind it, we no longer have to worry that a predator is waiting beyond the threshold. But how does this relate to re-consumption of media?
Scotland’s Arts Funder Under Fire For Supporting Artist’s ‘Poverty Safari’
“Creative Scotland launched a strident defence of their decision to put £15,000 into a project that sees artist Ellie Harrison not allowed to leave Glasgow for a year. The news of the Glasgow Effect ‘durational performance’ caused a social media storm with hundreds of people taking to Harrison’s Facebook page to attack both the artist and the funding body.”