Of course, Gen Xers always knew this would happen: the gradual folding of everything that could possibly be called “culture” into one image-spectacle-and-sensorium corporate machine that thrives on endless niche differentiation as a way of metastasizing its market share. - LitHub
Why do some people hit their peak later than others? In his book Late Bloomers, the journalist Rich Karlgaard points out that this is really two questions: First, why didn’t these people bloom earlier? Second, what traits or skills did they possess that enabled them to bloom late? - The Atlantic (MSN)
Research in neuroscience and psychology reveals that active engagement in creative pursuits is an effective way to see the world in a more positive way. This might be the simplest, easiest, and most natural way for anyone to improve their life. - The Atlantic
Reflecting on our work—the theories, the methods, the artworks—has devolved into a strained bleating about our “relevance” and “value.” Criticism has become, in a word, metacritical: making a case for itself, prophesying its own demise, nostalgically musing on its halcyon days, decrying yet another crisis in the conditions of its production. - Yale Review
he first entry of “creativity” in a dictionary dates to 1966. This current trend of using “creativity” as corporate-speak is not a distortion of its original intention, that is what the word has meant since its entrance into the mainstream. The word barely existed until the 1950s. - The Culture We Deserve
What is an archive? In particular, what is an archive when it is of a writer, philosopher or other thinker? Certainly, it would be expected to contain their published works – these are, after all, for public consumption, they are written with the idea of an audience in mind. But what of the rest? - Aeon
Even as tech companies speak of AI products as though they are actually intelligent, even humanlike or creative, they are fundamentally statistics machines connected to the internet—and flawed ones at that. - The Atlantic
"The truest artist-muse relationship may be that in which the former works with the latter because no other individual talent will bring the art to the exalted level that lives in the artist’s imagination." - Washington Post
For instance, the lead character encounters a blueberry pie on a picnic table. The game reads, “This is the longest word in Anashinaabemowin: Miini-baalashkiminasljigani-blitoosigani-badakiingwesijigani-blitooyiingwesijigani-bakwezhigan: Blueberry pie." - CBC
“Octavia E. Butler envisioned with eerie precision: a world of increasing drug addiction and illiteracy, global shifts towards authoritarian populism, vast gaps between the rich and everyone else, and destruction brought on by global warming. Her prophecies, however, ... provided a blueprint for how to fight back.” - Fast Company
Exhortations toward work as the path to truth, meaning, virtue, and salvation suggest the contemporary valuation of work is—although not universal—more than the legacy of a single cultural tradition. - The Walrus
When we’re told that something we see as ordinary – like eating meat – is actually wrong, our first reaction is to get irritated and dismissive. If it’s not about bacon, it’s about plastic straws. Or a phrase we’ve been using for years but is now considered offensive. Or having to share your pronouns. - Aeon
We flaunt long workweeks and disdain anyone working less than full-time. But we’re likewise seduced by get-rich-quick schemes and “labor-saving” gimmicks. The rich may work long hours, but much of their income is passive, the fruit of asset appreciation and other people’s labor. - Commonweal
