“The controversial psychologist, whose famous 1960s experiments concluded that most people will obey unethical orders, is the subject of a critically acclaimed new movie. … Not surprisingly, Milgram’s name is prominently mentioned in a recent study that takes a new look at an old question: What does it take to get us to comply with instructions, even when we know doing so could harm others?
The study’s conclusion: A gentle nudge will generally do it.”
Tag: 10.26.15
Why Video-Game Culture Is Stuck Between Leftism And Libertarians
“There’s a hypocrisy of claiming to do both, creating meaningful work worthy of the protection of free speech, ignoring the fact that there are very few efforts working to push discourse on any subject in a direction that would be uncomfortable … That’s when you know you’re saying something that matters, when people start getting bothered by it. … You don’t see furniture-makers talk about how they need free speech to protect the integrity of their appliances.”
Jazz Vocalist Mark Murphy, 83
“Celebrated for his interpretations of songs by Cole Porter, Antônio Carlos Jobim and other great songwriters, … he ranged from bebop to ballads, torch songs to scat singing, from vocalizing Kerouac’s poetry to experimenting with rhythms inspired by the whistle that summoned his neighbors in upstate New York to the local wool mill.”
Billions Of Views – Online Video Is HUGE (But Not Entirely)
“I am not saying YouTube isn’t a huge, game-changing deal. It is. I am not saying YouTube sensations aren’t real sensations. They are. But we can’t even have a conversation about what is really happening with people’s attention, or relative value, if we aren’t talking in the same terms.”
Hobby Lobby’s “Christian Values” Owners Investigated For Theft Of Ancient Iraqi Artifacts
“The tablets were described on their FedEx shipping label as samples of “hand-crafted clay tiles.” This description may have been technically accurate, but the monetary value assigned to them—around $300, we’re told—vastly underestimates their true worth, and, just as important, obscures their identification as the cultural heritage of Iraq.”
Is There Still Any Value In Big International Music Competitions?
There is something to be said for weathering the rigour of these competitions without ever actually placing, as victories can take on a pyrrhic quality. “Life is squeezed out of the winner, as he has to keep touring and play his winning pieces.”
Reuniting The Humanities Into One (Great Big) Discipline
“Rather than conceiving them under a rubric of disciplines, we are developing the ‘big idea’ that the enterprise entire is the study of the different ways that human beings have chosen or been able to live their lives as human beings.”
Oregon’s Salem Chamber Orchestra Cancels All Concerts, Considers Bankruptcy
“Salem Chamber Orchestra has canceled the three remaining concerts of its 2015-2016 season. The board came to this decision during the past week and is seeking legal counsel to discuss a potential bankruptcy. Teresa Cox, interim executive director, could not confirm whether the 31-year-old nonprofit is dissolving.”
Delusions Of Candor: How Gore Vidal Fooled Us (And Himself)
“In the course of more than half a century, his quips, aphorisms, insults, and punch lines amounted to a self-portrait, airbrushed so as to highlight his favorite warts: Olympian detachment, patrician hauteur. It was an act, a put-on – perhaps the most effective double bluff in the history of literary P.R.”
Confessions Of A White Writer Who Used A Latino Pen Name
“I’ve been struggling with ‘coming out’ for a long time. I didn’t know how. I considered quietly disappearing, which is easier to do online than it is in real life. But disappearing isn’t owning up to what I’ve done, and this issue is bigger than I am. A friend suggested that I do the opposite of disappear – make a public statement. Here’s my best attempt.”