Sure, we know about dogs who’ve rescued people and the cat that chased a dog away from a toddler, but seals, hippos, and rats are among the many animals who’ve been observed displaying altruistic behavior. (Especially rats, some of whom have learned to locate land mines.)
Tag: 10.09.14
The “Culture” Of Big Data (And What It Doesn’t Mean)
“Operating beyond normal science’s simple accumulation of more information, Big Data is touted as a different sort of knowledge altogether, an Enlightenment for social life reckoned at the scale of masses. As with the similarly inferential sciences like evolutionary psychology and pop-neuroscience, Big Data can be used to give any chosen hypothesis a veneer of science and the unearned authority of numbers.”
This Comedy Club Is Literally Charging By The Laugh (So That You Only Pay For What You Get)
The Teatreneu in Barcelona uses facial-recognition software installed in tablet computers on the seat backs to monitor just how much individual audience members laugh at the show. The charge: 30 cents per laugh, to a maximum charge of €24. (Yes, every laugh after your 80th is free.)
David Sedaris Explains How To Overcome Writer’s Block
“There are a lot of college writing textbooks that will include essays and short stories, and after reading the story or essay, there will be questions such as ‘Have YOU Had any experience with a pedophile in YOUR family?’ or ‘When was the last time you saw YOUR mother drunk?’ and they’re just really good at prompting stories.”
A Radical Solution For Amazon: Break Up The Monopoly
“Amazon is the shining representative of a new golden age of monopoly that also includes Google and Walmart. Unlike U.S. Steel, the new behemoths don’t use their barely challenged power to hike up prices. They are, in fact, self-styled servants of the consumer and have ushered in an era of low prices for everything from flat-screen TVs to paper napkins to smart phones.”
Shakespeare As A Model For Cognitive Science
“Traditional approaches to language treated sounds, words, phrases, sentences, and meanings as essentially separable, and choked on language that relied on the multi-level interactions that characterize Shakespeare’s verse. That our brains are continually bombarded by information from all sides, though, is a basic tenet of modern approaches to cognition.”
Four Cities On The Rise In Art
“Some of these cities may be ancient cultural capitals, but their appearance on the global art stage is something new. And their galleries are not only promoting growing local art scenes but also beginning to deal top-notch works by major Western artists.”
Copyright Attorney Chosen To Lead Authors Guild
“Mary Rasenberger is a partner in the law firm Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard and has an extensive background in intellectual property and technology. The Guild has been involved in numerous copyright battles, including a lawsuit against Google over the search engine’s program of scanning snippets of published material.”
New Worldwide Arts Video-On-Demand Service
“Brazil-based site Cennarium will see users around the world able to access recordings of theatre, dance and opera from a variety of countries, with surtitles in more than 20 languages.”
Report: UK Arts Funding Policy Needs An Overhaul
“Too often there appear to be disguised agendas that benefit a small minority of established, and most commonly London based, arts organisations and a privileged section of the population as a whole,” it states, adding that, with the next general election, an “incoming administration should review the arts council’s remit and the policies and structures for delivering it”.