In the mid 1960s, researchers found that murmurating birds, particularly starlings, interact—not always, but often—with six or seven of their closest neighbors, who interact with six or seven of their closest neighbors. In recent years, studies posit that a network with seven neighbors optimizes the trade-off between “group cohesion and individual effort.” One theory among researchers, in the context of predation, is that starlings are “managing uncertainty while maintaining consensus.” – Nautilus
How Wasps (And Their Nests) Help Date Ancient Painting
A nest built on top of a painting is probably younger than the painting, but a nest covered over with pigment is probably older than the painting. At one site, ancient people had painted a figure over the remains of one nest, and some time later, wasps built two more mud nests atop the painting. Radiocarbon dating those nests suggested that the painting is 11,300 to 13,000 years old. – Ars Technica
The Weird, Cool World Of Rare Books Gets Its Own Film
And just in time – a lot of the “dream cast” for the documentary is aging, with at least one collector/vendor/devotée dying before the documentarians could get to work. “The profession is driven by equal parts commerce, scholarship and sheer love.” – The New York Times
An Art Fair Exhibitor Told A Vietnamese Curator She Couldn’t Work Because Of Anti-Asian Prejudice
The exhibitor’s email to the curator: “Your presence on the stand would unfortunately create hesitation on the part of the audience to enter the exhibition space.” When it came to light, the art fair told the exhibitor she wasn’t welcome.- The Guardian (UK)
Inside The Head Of Freeman Dyson
Even by physicists’ standards, Dyson’s thinking was strikingly unconstrained by the here and now. One moment, he was delving into the esoterica of quantum theory, and, the next, he was speculating about the logistics of alien civilizations. In the nineteen-fifties, he led the team developing a new type of nuclear reactor, which included several novel safety features; soon after, he was designing an interstellar spacecraft propelled by nuclear bombs. – The New Yorker
We Try To Be Authentic. But Being Real Can Be A Bit Unreal
This is the paradox of authenticity: In order to reap the many of the benefits of feeling authentic, you may have to betray your true nature. – Scientific American
How A D&D Tool Helped Organize Our World Views
The pleasure of filling out an alignment chart is similar to that of playing a simple brainteaser, or completing an elementary-school worksheet: You’re making judgment calls, sorting, putting objects into little boxes—and you end up with something neat and composed. It has the allure of surety. If we could decide, once and for all, what is the exact best way to live, maybe everything would fall into place. – The Atlantic
Joyce Gordon, Pioneering TV Actress (And Voice You Know From Frustrating Phone Calls), Dead At 90
“During the germinal days of television, … [she] became famous as ‘The Girl With the Glasses,’ for un-self-consciously wearing her signature eyeglasses on camera as she delivered live, on-air advertising pitches for products like Crisco and Duncan Hines cake mixes.” Her voice was heard in many a dubbed foreign film and countless radio announcements — and whenever you called a number that was “no longer in service.” – The New York Times
Settlement Terms Revealed In Lawsuit Over Audible’s Captioning Of Audiobooks
“Now that it’s public, it’s still not clear why the parties sought to keep the settlement terms private in the first place, other than the fact that NDAs and confidentiality agreements have become the default for Audible’s parent company, Amazon. Beyond the revelation of the settlement containing payments from Audible, the settlement is brief, and its 18 terms are simple, standard, and straightforward.” – Publishers Weekly
What Shakespeare Means Today
Simon Godwin is on a quest for the sweet spot in American Shakespeare: to figure out what stimulates the American psyche and to reconcile traditionalists who want to see “doublets and hose” with those who have to be convinced a 400-year-old play by a white guy could still be relevant. – Washington Post
Classical Concerts Are Too Damn Long, Says Critic
Jeremy Reynolds took a couple of friends to their first symphony concert and sent them home at intermission — and not because they were misbehaving or ill. Here he explains why. (Even intermissions should be shorter, he says.) – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A New ‘Neoclassical Ballet Collective’ In London
Says choreographer Andrew McNicol, “With McNicol Ballet Collective I wanted to create a new type of company that offers world-class dancers a flexible performance platform that’s able to fit in around the repertoire and commitments of their individual home companies.” – The Stage
Cash Crisis At New Orleans Theatre Leads To Layoffs, Cancellation
“The Southern Rep Theatre company has laid off six staff members and canceled an upcoming play as it struggles to pay expenses and debt, artistic director Aimee Hayes said Thursday. The 34-year-old playhouse hopes to raise $350,000 in a GoFundMe crowd-sourced donation campaign in order to return to full operation.” – The Times-Picayune (New Orleans)
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Architecture School Changes Its Mind About Closing
“More than a month after the board overseeing the School of Architecture at Taliesin announced the school would close after 88 years of operation, the board has reversed its decision and plans to keep the school open.” This does not mean that the school is saved: “It remains unclear whether the foundation that oversees Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin properties in Scottsdale and Wisconsin will agree.” – The Arizona Republic (Phoenix)
Washington Post Names Anne Midgette’s Successor As Classical Critic
Michael Brodeur, most recently an assistant arts editor and critic at the Boston Globe, starts work next week. – The Washington Post
Italy’s Museums Are Open Again, But You Have To Stay Three Feet Away From Everyone Else
Fortunately, thanks to fear of the coronavirus outbreak that has led to this rule, it’s easy to comply with. – The New York Times
Can ANYthing Make LaGuardia More Tolerable? These Artists Will Try
Four internationally recognized artists — Jeppe Hein, Sabine Hornig, Laura Owens and Sarah Sze — have been commissioned by LaGuardia Gateway Partners, together with the New York-based nonprofit for public art, to execute large-scale projects integrated throughout the architecture of the arrivals and departures hall of the new Terminal B, expected to open later this year. The budget for the art program is close to $10 million. – The New York Times
Tavis Smiley Ordered To Pay $1.7 Million To PBS Over Morality Clause
Smiley, who was fired in 2017 amid sexual misconduct allegations, sued PBS contending he was dropped from the network as a result of racial bias and that he was wrongly terminated. Smiley was the only solo black host of a show on the broadcasting organization’s airwaves. Though he admitted that he had engaged in sexual relationships with employees, he insisted they were consensual. He sued for $1 million. – NPR
Why Are We Still Naming Buildings And Programs After Donors?
The dilemma these groups face is contractual, in two ways. First, there is the contract with the donor, which, if broken, may seem a betrayal to some, and a sign of institutional inconstancy to others. There may also be tangible legal issues involved. But there is a larger contract to be considered, too. Selling or otherwise offering naming rights makes it look as though the institution is mainly serving its wealthy donors, no matter how public-spirited the rest of its endeavors may be. – Washington Post
Miami’s Ultra Festival Canceled Over Virus Fears
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez and Commissioner Joe Carollo told reporters for the Miami Herald that the risks were too great for the festival, which draws 165,000 fans from around the world over three days to Miami’s Bayfront Park. The festival, technically just postponed, isn’t likely to be held until 2021, they said. A formal announcement from the festival is expected Friday. – Los Angeles Times
Broadway Worries About Coronavirus
“Of course, I’m worried as a producer about tickets not being sold and people canceling their trips to New York City,” the Broadway producer told The Daily Beast. “But my main concern is for anyone involved in the industry being affected directly, and if people are affected, how does Broadway sustain itself? Theaters are petri dishes for three hours.” – The Daily Beast
How Creativity Opens Up When Not Tied To Pre-planned Outcomes
“We didn’t start with an end in mind and this meant we could use the collective creativity of the people we have worked with, whether local participants, artists or partner organisations. This has provided solutions and outcomes that could not have been predicted in advance by bureaucratic strategies. More than this, it has helped to give some ownership to communities who often feel they are ‘done to’, rather than ‘done with’.” – Arts Professional
Electric Life – Part Of Our Own Evolutionary Process
We shall be parents of the cyborgs and we are already in the process of giving birth. It is important we keep this in mind. Cyborgs are a product of the same evolutionary processes that created us. – Nautilus