“After 50 years of studying the brain, listening to philosophers, and most recently being slowly educated about the law, the issue is back on my front burner. The question of whether we are responsible for our actions — or robots that respond automatically — has been around a long time but until recently the great scholars who spoke out on the issue didn’t know modern science with its deep knowledge and implications.”
Tag: 11.15.11
Why Are We Prejudiced Against Atheists?
So why are atheists “among the least liked people … in most of the world,” in the words of a research team led by University of British Columbia psychologist Will Gervais? In a newly published paper, he and his colleagues provide evidence supporting a plausible explanation.
Boston Lyric Opera Breaks Fundraising Record
“Boston Lyric Opera has completed a record fundraising year, exceeding its goals and raising more than $5 million in one year.”
Umberto Eco Thinks He Has Written His Last Novel
“Every time that I write a novel I am convinced for at least two years that it is the last one, because a novel is like a child. It takes two years after its birth. You have to take care of it. It starts walking, and then speaking. In two months I will be eighty years old. Probably I will not write another novel, and so mankind will be safe.”
When Salvador Dalí Illustrated Alice In Wonderland
“Published by New York’s Maecenas Press-Random House in 1969 and distributed as their book of the month, the volume went on to become one of the most sought-after Dalí suites of all time.”
Donor Offers Money To Enable BBC Rebroadcast Of Singing Detective (And That May Not Help)
“Lord Hollick, the Labour peer and millionaire businessman, has offered to pay the BBC the £5,000 needed to secure a repeat broadcast of Dennis Potter’s drama The Singing Detective to mark its 25th anniversary. However, BBC rules on using donations to pay for programmes may prevent Hollick’s offer being accepted.”
Sting: I Think Apps Will Replace Music CDs
“I think the app is the new model. People are going to stop buying CDs. People are going to stop selling and making them, so I am looking for different ways to get music to people, and the application at the moment seems to be the favorite.”
Can You Resell Your “Used” Digital Music?
“A legitimate secondhand marketplace for digital music has never been tried successfully, in part because few people think of reselling anything that is not physical. But last month a new company, ReDigi, opened a system that it calls a legal and secure way for people to get rid of unwanted music files and buy others at a discount.”
Small Orchestras Reinvent The Art Form
“Even though the number of chamber orchestras are fewer than alternative chamber music groups, there are plenty (too many to name all) — Boston Modern Orchestra Project, A Far Cry, The Knights, String Orchestra of New York, and a variety of large contemporary music ensembles. Together, they’re reinventing classical music in the 21st century.”
Seattle’s Intiman Theater Has Recovery Plan: Four-Play Summer Festival
“Intiman Theatre is embarking on a $1 million fundraising campaign to revive its suspended operations with a 2012 summer season of four productions.”