“Given that the final frontier in artificial intelligence calls for some form of consciousness, when it comes, it will almost certainly issue not from the source code of a programmer, but from the lab of a neuroscientist. Then, if romance novels play a role, it will be to ensure, as a true test of intelligence, that they are read not with indifference, but with delight or disdain.”
Tag: 08.15.16
Are Culture And Cool Just Pretentious Constructs?
“It’s difficult not to feel as though we, as a culture, have reached a dead end, that our quest for authenticity has bred nothing more than a series of postures and attitudes that, if they hadn’t sprung up by themselves, would have been invented by market demographers anyway. Perhaps we are stuck in the age of “cool,” when all roads to larger causes inevitably circle back to the adolescent project of exalting the self.”
Theatre Critic Takes A Month Off, Relearns Why Theatre Is Important
“Plays ask us to come together to engage with people and relationships presented just a few feet away — farther, if you have a balcony seat — while still allowing us the privacy that darkness confers. It offers community and anonymity at once. Additionally, a script or a streaming site won’t provide theater’s ephemerality, the sensation that each performance will never recur in exactly the same way.”
LGBT People Are Not Tragic, And It’s Time For The Stories In Our Culture To Reflect That
Jo Chiang: “Growing up, I found no reflection of that [queer] part of myself in the people around me. But I did have films and television. … Although women who loved women could not live happily ever after, they could drive off cliffs (Thelma and Louise). Or they could set the manor on fire and perish as it crumbled around them (Rebecca). Or they could be suffocated in a senseless and racialized manner for the sake of making a statement (Orange Is the New Black). Or they could get shot (Buffy the Vampire Slayer). And shot (Orphan Black). And shot (The Walking Dead). And shot (The 100).”
Gertrude Stein Wrote A Children’s Book, And Her Style Is Perfect For It
What’s more, Stein gave advice on reading the book that fits almost everything she ever wrote: “Don’t bother about the commas which aren’t there, read the words. Don’t worry about the sense that is there, read the words. If you have any trouble, read faster and faster until you don’t.”
Google’s Computers Wrote A Song. Can Human Musicians Make It Good Music?
“The Star asked Canadian musicians to try adapting the melody to a style of their choosing. How does a robo-composed tune sound in human hands?”
Re-salers Attack: Harry Potter Producers Turn Away Large Number Of Resale Ticket Buyers
“The secondary ticket market is an industry-wide plague, and one which we as producers take very seriously,” Friedman and Callender said in a statement. “Our priority is to protect all our customers and we are doing all we can to combat this issue.”
The Most Physically Demanding Job In America? Dance
“Rounding out the top five of the most physically active jobs in American are fitness trainers and aerobics instructors at No. 2, structural iron and steel workers at No. 3, reinforcing iron and rebar workers at No. 4, and forest firefighters at No. 5. Those four occupations look to be the toughest on earth, yet dancers beat them out.”
Does Comedy Central’s Cancellation Of Larry Wilmore Mean Anything For TV Diversity?
“When a move toward progress is made in the entertainment industry, the parties involved often sweat to death under the harsh spotlight that’s put on them. When a gamble is made and it doesn’t work out, executives don’t just start betting more conservatively. They shut down the whole casino.”
The Freelance Economy Is Booming (So Why Do We Look Down On Freelancers?)
“Often referred to patronizingly by media and politicians as the ‘gig economy,’ there’s a perception that workers only remain outside the traditional job market if they’re unskilled, unlucky or unmotivated. Hillary Clinton once said the freelance economy raises ‘hard questions,’ and business magazines treat the trend more like a plague than an evolution. But if innovation and independent spirit are qualities we supposedly value, what’s so wrong with taking your career into your own hands?”