“Amazon delivered its first bundle of original content on Friday, pilots for eight comedies (and six children’s shows) that could become series on Amazon Instant Video. The digital twist is that not only can the public see these pilots, but it can also rate and review them, information Amazon says it will weigh in deciding which series are made.”
Tag: 04.23.12
How Are Humans Different From Animals? We Make Rules
“The question of whether every human society has formal laws is far from settled, but they do all have rules. This is a peculiarly human trait.”
How Else Are Humans Different From Animals? We Entertain Ourselves
“But no other species pursues such a wide variety of entertainment or spends so much time enjoying themselves. The list of universals includes such diverse extracurricular pleasures as sports, music, games, joking, hospitality, hairdressing, dancing, art and tickling.”
How Else Are Humans Different From Animals? We Cook
“Where [animals] just eat, we make a meal of it. The main difference is down to one of humanity’s greatest inventions: cooking. People in every culture cook at least some of their food.”
How Else Are Humans Different From Animals? We Gossip
“Language was once thought to be the defining characteristic of humans. These days we are more likely to consider it as part of a continuum of animal communication. … Arguably, [humans’] way with words reaches its apogee in gossip.”
How Else Are Humans Different From Animals? We Have Sex In Private
“This coyness is not just the consequence of particular cultural or moral views. ‘It is the rule across all kinds of human societies,’ says cultural anthropologist Frank Marlowe of the University of Cambridge.”
How The Internet Fails Us (Lewis Lapham Explains It All)
“I’m content to regard the Internet as the best and brightest machine ever made by man, but nonetheless a machine with a tin ear and a wooden tongue.”
Beyond The Turbine Hall: Tate Modern Expands Into Underground Oil Tanks
“Dropping in to Tate Modern’s new underground oil tank spaces this summer might mean seeing a performance of minimalist dance, taking part in a debate on what it is to be an immigrant or experiencing work by an artist who most recently filmed naked men playing five-a-side football.”
Advertising On The Web Isn’t As Carefully Targeted As You Might Think
“Everyone knows that half of all advertising dollars are wasted. And everyone knows that the Internet fixes that, because digital advertisers can spend money getting their messages to the people they want to reach. Except that’s not true at all: The Web offers advertisers a slew of creepily effective targeting mechanisms, but they only work for some stuff, some of the time.”
Exploring Inside The Brain
“What’s happening in brain science at the moment is as exciting as the discoveries that are being made about the cosmos. Inner space and outer space. Maybe consciousness is a new kind of force, in the way electricity or magnetism is. It might be that, as we explore the brain, we come to an understanding of consciousness as being a separate property.”