The uncomfortable truth is that the age of the Renaissance contributed very little to innovation in science. This was largely because the revival of classical learning and languages concentrated attention on what was called humanitas – literary and rhetorical accomplishment (hence our designation of some academic subjects as “humanities”) – rather than on empirical observation or technical skill in logic and mathematics. – New Statesman
Tag: 05.27.20
Can My Online Choir Give Me What My Regular Choir Does?
I’m not yet sure how much my life will change without choir: without the paper cuts and warmups, the imagistic instructions from conductors (bite the apple, smell the rose, blow the birthday candle), the nonsense vowels (for learning) followed by foreign words (German, Italian, French) twisting in my mouth. The pauses, the frustrations. A dynamic raised and lowered. A tempo sped and slowed. That radical yet practical ethics of ensemble. The chorus says to the individual, you are not important. Blend, modify your vowel, sing a little softer, tune. At the same time, you matter. You must know your part, you must place the “t” correctly, you must practice, and listen. – Commonweal
Nancy Stark Smith, A Founder Of Contact Improvisation, 68
Ms. Stark Smith, whose signature braid became longer and grayer over time, was also a prolific writer and respected teacher who, beginning in 1990, developed what she called “Underscore,” a structure or framework for practicing long-form dance and improvisation. – The New York Times
Novelist Robb Forman Dew Dead At 73
“Mrs. Dew emerged in the early 1980s as part of a group of prominent female novelists that included her friends Louise Erdrich, Anne Tyler and Nancy Thayer, a onetime neighbor in Williamstown, Mass. A master at breathing life into flawed and complex characters, she had … ‘a special gift for charting the subtle tidal flow of emotions that make up daily life.’ She was 34 when she published Dale Loves Sophie to Death (1981), which won [what is] now known as the National Book Award for a first novel.” – The Washington Post
Coming In 2022: A Virtual Reality Biennial, Curated By An AI Program
“That’s right: the chief curator of the 2022 Bucharest Biennial is Jarvis, an artificial intelligence program in development from the Vienna-based studio Spinnwerk. … Jarvis will ‘use deep learning in order to learn by itself from databases from universities, galleries, or art centers’ and select works that fit the chosen theme, Spinnwerk founder Razvan Ion [said]. … Instead of a traditional in-person exhibition, the show will take place in virtual reality, meaning that it will be accessible to anyone in the world who has access to a VR headset.” – Artnet
Artists, Don’t Worry That The AI Robots Are Coming To Replace You
Ahmed Elgammal, director of the Art and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at Rutgers: “Can an artificially intelligent machine be an artist in its own right? My answer is no. While the definition of art is ever-evolving, at its core it is a form of communication among humans. Without a human artist behind the machine, A.I. can do little more than play with form, whether that means manipulating pixels on a screen or notes on a musical ledger.” – The New York Times
The Thought Experiment Problem
While thought experiments are as old as philosophy itself, the weight placed on them in recent philosophy is distinctive. Even when scenarios are highly unrealistic, judgments about them are thought to have wide-ranging implications for what should be done in the real world. – Aeon
How To Fence That Van Gogh You Stole
Arthur Brand estimates that a work of art in the criminal underworld is worth about 10 percent of its value in the legitimate art market — so if a painting might sell for $10 million at auction, it can be traded among criminals for a value of about $1 million. Octave Durham said the value is even lower than that — about 2.5 to 5 percent of market value. – The New York Times
How The Blanton Museum Repurposed Its Staff And Avoided Layoffs
The maintenance man stopped worrying about paint touchups and HVAC repair and started assisting the development department by drafting thank you notes for donors, making use of his beautiful handwriting. Security guards were redeployed to add “alt text,” or descriptions for the visually impaired, to images on the museum website. Art handlers and event planners have been doing collection research about the museum’s lesser-known artists. – Artnet
Broadway Folks Talk About How They Envision Going Back To Work
“As part of our ongoing coverage about the crisis theater faces, and the possible ways out of it, [Tim Teeman] spoke to a range of theater professionals, enduring unemployment and hoping one day to create once more: a producer, choreographer, stage manager, lighting designer, and union chief.” – The Daily Beast