“Generational changes aren’t new to cultural institutions, but the changes at Steppenwolf are notable because they are happening on all fronts at the same time — on the business and artistic sides as well as in the boardroom.”
Tag: 10.08.14
Are You A Multi-Tasker? Oh, Oh…
Study: “They found that heavy multitaskers—those who multitask a lot and feel that it boosts their performance—were actually worse at multitasking than those who like to do a single thing at a time. The frequent multitaskers performed worse because they had more trouble organizing their thoughts and filtering out irrelevant information, and they were slower at switching from one task to another. Ouch.”
The Way Gaudí Worked Was As Unconventional As His (Glorious) Buildings
“Gaudí devised new ways of building, with reusable scaffolding, roofs used as terraces, cement beams and the elimination of supporting walls. For each project, he formed a multidisciplinary team in which he encouraged the collaboration of master craftsmen and apprentices with specialists from other fields: chemists, physicists, astronomers, ceramicists, theologians, philosophers, writers, musicians, politicians and bishops.”
No, Being ‘Super Excited’ Is Not All It’s Cracked Up To Be
“Generation TED does lack sufficient scepticism. Truly great ideas are sculpted with the chisel of critical thought, not created fully formed by spontaneous genius and good intent.”
China Bans Actors With Drug Or Prostitution Busts From TV And Movies
“Citing the role of broadcast media as an ‘important vessel’ for ‘transmitting socialist culture and core values,’ the new regulations claim that the illegal behavior of actors has ‘corrupted the social atmosphere’ and creates a ‘detrimental influence on the development of many young people’.”
An Interconnected World Needs A Common Language
“In an ideal world, we’d all learn to use one language for science, technology and business, and learn, respect and use others for cultural identity and a sense of community — especially in our polyglot nation. That requires some flexibility in how languages themselves are developed. We need to be more adaptable and sensitive to other cultures as we use language.”
Architects 3D-Print A Column That Can Withstand Earthquakes
“The aptly named Quake Column is a knurled pillar of 3-D printed concrete that combines an ancient Incan masonry technique with state-of-the-art manufacturing tools to create a structure that can withstand seismic shocks without mortar or rebar.”
Expert Reattributes 70 Rembrandts
Among the 70 attribution changes in Volume 6, Mr. van de Wetering, now making the decisions himself, restores 44 of those deattributions to Rembrandt. He now describes the project’s “democratic” decisions as “unjust.”
Our Enduring Fascination With Theatre About Theatre
“Plays about plays have a long tradition in the theater; this fall alone there are three on Broadway.”
Publishers Simplify, Sanitize For Lucrative Young Reader Market
“Prominent nonfiction writers like Ms. Hillenbrand, Jon Meacham and Rick Atkinson are now grappling with how to handle unsettling or controversial material in their books as they try to win over this impressionable new audience. And these slimmed-down, simplified and sometimes sanitized editions of popular nonfiction titles are fast becoming a vibrant, growing and lucrative niche.”