Regardless of how you view it, one thing is certain. We have an insatiable desire to fit reality within the limits of our understanding. If we don’t comprehend something, we strive to make it comprehensible. “I don’t know” is a less acceptable answer than “I will figure it out.” It’s unclear whether this attitude is culturally mediated, or if it is drilled deep into our genetic code. – Human Parts
Tag: 09.15.20
Director Of ‘Cuties’ Explains Why She Made The Film
Maïmouna Doucouré: “Some people have found certain scenes in my film uncomfortable to watch. But if one really listens to 11-year-old girls, their lives are uncomfortable. We, as adults, have not given children the tools to grow up healthy in our society. I wanted to open people’s eyes to what’s truly happening in schools and on social media, forcing them to confront images of young girls made up, dressed up and dancing suggestively to imitate their favorite pop icon.” – The Washington Post
Do The Arts Oversell Their Benefits?
“If we read, for example, that the arts are ‘crucial to reducing poor health and inequality’ as claimed in a press release from University College London on the release of the WHO report, our critical antennae should begin to vibrate. We all know that the major social determinant of poor health is poverty, and that decent food, housing, education and employment are the crucially important determinants of health. Can we really regard the arts as being ‘crucial’?” – ArtsProfessional
MPR Reporter Quits, Accusing Bosses Of Sitting On Harassment Story
Marianne Combs claimed that MPR News’ legal team cleared her story, but the editors still refused to air it. “They described him as ‘a real creep,’ but worried that airing a story about his behavior would invite a lawsuit,” she said. – The Star-Tribune (Mpls)
Streaming Has Turned Recorded Music From A Product To An ‘Entertainment Service’. Here’s Why That’s A Problem.
Back when we bought vinyl albums or CDs, writes Lukas Krohn-Grimberghe, we gave particular music and musicians both money and shelf space in our homes, incorporating them (at least a bit) into our identities. (“Remember browsing through someone’s record collection? That’s what I am talking about.”) Online streaming may give us almost unimaginable choice for little money, but, argues Krohn-Grimberghe, it changes both the listening experience and how we relate to the pieces we hear (as well as severely reducing the amount of money going to the musicians), and music becomes something like a utility. But there are ways that problem can be addressed. – WQXR (New York City)
Why Converting Turkey’s Historic Museums To Mosques Is A Powerful Statement
As museums, Hagia Sophia and Chora embodied both Byzantine and Ottoman pasts, and became symbols of multi-faith co-existence. Their conversion implies a hierarchy prioritising their Islamic past over all other layers. – The Conversation
Can Arts Groups Successfully Charge Viewers For Online Content? And How Much?
“The wave of free content [put online during the COVID lockdown] was a generous gesture with some lasting side effects – not least of which is the emergence of a price anchor, an expectation that digital culture is somehow free to produce and therefore free to watch. This will take some time to shake off.” Here’s an analysis – with some surprises, both happy and worrisome – of data from a recent survey of more than 130,000 regular arts attenders in the UK. – Arts Professional
A Machine That Can Measure Happiness? Really?
Lithuanian scientists are working on a device they hope will measure happiness. Why? “Because, during the pandemic, people’s psychological state could be damaged not only by the fear and anxiety caused by the spread of the virus, but also by the economic and social consequences that the quarantine would bring about.” – Eurozine
Fox News’ Alternative Language
Political theorists, over the years, have looked for metaphors to describe the effects that Fox—particularly its widely watched opinion shows—has had on American politics and culture. They’ve talked about the network as an “information silo” and “a filter bubble” and an “echo chamber,” as an “alternate reality” constructed of “alternative facts,” as a virus on the body politic, as an organ of the state. The comparisons are all correct. But they don’t quite capture what the elegies for Fox-felled loved ones express so efficiently. – The Atlantic
Intelligence And The Art Of Manipulation (For Good And Bad)
Human intelligence is incredibly useful but it doesn’t safeguard you against having false beliefs, because that’s not what intelligence is for. Intelligence is associated with coming up with more convincing bullshit and with being a better liar, but not associated with a better ability to recognize one’s own bias. Unfortunately, intelligence has very little influence on your ability to rationally evaluate your own beliefs, or undermine what’s called “myside bias.” – Nautilus