ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

IDEAS

Cooperation Versus Competition – A Biological, Philosophical Perspective

The evolution of cooperation has been of interest to biologists, philosophers and anthropologists for centuries. If natural selection favours self-interest, why would we cooperate at an apparent cost to ourselves? - Aeon

We Need To Define What Smart Is

If we could stop bickering about which creatures do or don’t deserve to be called smart, an emerging movement of scientists and philosophers argue that we might discover fundamental elements of intelligence that are common to all life. - Noema

Contemplating The Mortality Of All Things

Only recently has the human collective begun accepting the fact it is itself mortal. We now appreciate that events unfolded for aeons before us and that our species can disappear, never to return. One day, the cosmos will persist without human witness, nor any inherent tendency to manifest things we cherish. - Aeon

Turns Out There Isn’t Actually A More Neighborly Recent Past

“The first half of the 20th century … was ‘extraordinarily social.’ Shared spaces—libraries, theaters, and playgrounds—were rapidly built across the U.S. People were gathering regularly in public, and participating in clubs and organizations with their peers.” Then things changed, drastically, and not because of cell phones. - The Atlantic (Yahoo)

Gilda Radner Was SNL’s First Cast Member, And One Of Its All-Time Best

“Radner’s particular charisma came from this blend of bigheartedness and fearlessness. She always went for it.” - The Atlantic

How Severance Shows Off The Linguistics Behind The Special Language Of Work

“This unifying means of speaking is as likely to create division between insiders and outsiders as it is to foster workplace cohesion.”  - Salon

Lorne Michaels Thinks He Knows A Thing Or Two About Managing Creative People

Fifty years of Saturday Night Live will do that to a person. "Writers don’t just conceive and pen sketches—they also produce and direct them, getting a huge say in everything from set decoration to costumes.” - Fast Company

How To bridge Humanities And Science? Try Math

We must recognise that the natural and the mental order of things go hand in hand. Neither can be fully understood without the other. And neither can be traced back to the other. - Aeon

Want To Accomplish Big Things? Here’s How Scientists Made The Moon A Destination

It can be easy to take our maps, images and story of the Moon for granted. But over the past six decades, our cultural and scientific relationship with the Moon has been radically altered. - Aeon

Study: Reliance On AI May Erode Critical Thinking Skills

“The data shows a shift in cognitive effort as knowledge workers increasingly move from task execution to oversight when using GenAI,” the researchers wrote. “Surprisingly, while AI can improve efficiency, it may also reduce critical engagement, particularly in routine or lower-stakes tasks in which users simply rely on AI." - 404 Media

Glorifying Ignorance. What Could Go Wrong?

Someone who knows more, is more successful, or who seems to be smarter than you is often seen as a threat, and so in order to prevent them from standing out too much (or surpassing too many others), we glorify ignorance as the de facto normal position. - Big Think

The End Of Our Algorithm Overlords?

Let’s just say it: Algorithms are officially uncool. Remember when they were the ‘it’ thing – those mysterious forces that seemed to know what we wanted before we did? We would open our favourite app and boom – content that felt crafted just for us. Well, that golden age is over. - Aurora Dawn

People Can No Longer Tell What Art Is AI-Created

Studies show that humans tend to perceive AI-generated paintings as human-made more often than actual human-created paintings. Similarly, AI-generated humor is found to be as funny as jokes written by humans. Another study found that people perceive AI-generated faces as real human faces at a higher rate than actual photos of human faces. - Psypost

Our Condiments Are About To Change Radically, But Can The United States Handle It?

“Regardless of what the one percent are slathering on toast points in their backseats, if there’s one thing I’ve learned in my years writing about food, it’s that Americans are loyal to brands, especially when it comes to condiments.” - Slate

We’re Living In The Horror Comedy

No wonder the genre is so popular right now. - Vulture

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