“The real intellectual crisis on campus is not threats to free speech, but threats to the quality of speech. Like much of the media, colleges have capitulated to a Trumpian version of debate that treats lying, demagoguery, bluster, mockery, and bad faith as equally valid approaches to ideological argumentation. This approach subordinates the pursuit of truth to a pernicious “both sides” logic that treats all statements as equal simply because they’re politically divergent, even if they’re radically different in merit.”
Tag: 12.28.17
Look To Netflix For The Answer To ‘What Do We Do When All Hollywood Has To Offer Is Reboots?’
This is a great description of where we are … and an idea for how to look for fresh ways to deal with it: “To loudly insist that Hollywood cut it out with the reboots is, unfortunately, to waste your breath. It is, however, at least worth asking the question: If this is the world we’re stuck with, how should a reboot be? Some have begun to resemble something like the filmed equivalent of an oral tradition, passing down different versions of the same story over and over—at least while the story remains immediate. … Our current options for ‘best’ Hollywood reboot are, at best, pretty good. (Batman Begins.) But a better North Star for reboots is out there, and its name is Blazing Transfer Students.”
What Would A Self-Aware Machine Be Like?
“Most computer scientists think that consciousness is a characteristic that will emerge as technology develops. Some believe that consciousness involves accepting new information, storing and retrieving old information, and cognitive processing of it all into perceptions and actions. If that’s right, then one day machines will indeed be the ultimate consciousness. They’ll be able to gather more information than a human, store more than many libraries, access vast databases in milliseconds, and compute all of it into decisions more complex, and yet more logical, than any person ever could.”
The Top-Grossing Actor Of 2017: Vin Diesel
Vin Diesel has been named the top-grossing actor of 2017 by Forbes. His global ticketing receipts were listed at $1.6 billion, largely in part to being the face of the “Fast and the Furious” franchise.
Breaking Out Of The Same Old Book Choices And Recommendations
I love books that make me backtrack my own declarations of preference, ones that catch me off-guard, surprise me, keep me on my toes. I want stories that don’t fit into easy boxes, ones that defy their own ostensible categorization, that make those who recommend them stumble, before finally saying, “Just trust me.” The problem, of course, is that in most cases, we aren’t offered this kind of tailored option.
Five Ways Technology Is Changing The Music Experience
“3D mapping manipulates the look and feel of a 3D object. It’s been done on castles to make them look like they’ve fallen down. Now people can experience being on the stage with the artists. Or the gig could move off the stage. We are a generation spoiled with possibilities.”
The Least Powerful People In The Art World
Every year the list of most powerful in the art world is read with interest. But who are the least powerful?
How Spalding Gray Became An Actual Paint Color
Reporter Judith Newman recounts a story that takes in the late monologuist, a Cleveland architect, his Weimaraner, his clients, Sherwin Williams, and, in the end, Gray’s widow and old house.
You Can Now Read The Editor’s Savage Notes On Milo Yiannopoulos’s Cancelled Book
Thanks to Milo’s breach-of-contract lawsuit against Simon & Schuster for withdrawing publication of his book Dangerous, the draft manuscript with comments by editor Mitchell Ivers is now public record. So the Internet is having a high old time with it, and you can join in. (Our personal favorite note: “Beauty regime moved to box at end of chapter, after Nietzsche section.”)
Nine Top Architects Share Their Dream Projects to Improve (or Save) New York City
These dreams range from the very-much-doable (Norman Foster extending Madison Square Park) to the interesting-but-unlikely (requiring the new super-tall apartment towers to provide public space) to the good-but-too-expensive (elevated bike lanes) to the insane (damming and draining the East River and using the riverbed as farmland) to why-aren’t-we-doing-this-already? (a “cultural Airbnb” offering vacant storefronts for temporary use as performance or art venues).