“The essential insight? Prediction accuracy is possible when people participate in a setup that rewards only accuracy — and not the novelty of the explanation, or loyalty to the party line, or the importance of keeping up your reputation. It is within this condition that the “supers,” the top 2 percent of each group, emerged.”
Why We Fall in Love – and Why Frustration Is Necessary for Satisfaction
“To fall in love is to be reminded of a frustration that you didn’t know you had … you wanted someone, you felt deprived of something, and then it seems to be there. … It is as if, oddly, you were waiting for someone but you didn’t know who they were until they arrived. Whether or not you were aware that there was something missing in your life, you will be when you meet the person you want.”
The Pomp – And Mockery – Of Louis XIV’s Propaganda Medals
“Throughout his over 70-year reign, the French king directed a self-portrait campaign in medals – the petite propaganda that spread his image and victories across the continent. However, that didn’t stop his enemies from mocking his grandeur in the same medium.”
For The Arab World, Palmyra Was Just Another Day
The response to ISIS’s destruction of the ancient city in Arabic media was rather muted compared to the horrified reaction in the Western world. Dina Matar explains.
Dancing On Segways (It Had To Happen Eventually)
Okay, in this case they’re using hoverboards (basically Segways without the handlebars), but choreographer David Moore and his five dancers “manage to tackle a solid hip-hop routine by simply shifting their weight around.” (video)
Neuroscience Alone Can’t Explain What Art Is And Why Humans Make It
Alva Noë: “The problem is that neuroscience has yet to frame an adequate conception of our nature. You look in vain in the writings of neuroscientists for satisfying accounts of experience or consciousness. For this reason, I believe, we can’t use neuroscience to explain art and its place in our lives. Indeed, if I am right, the order of explanation may go in the other direction: Art can help us frame a better picture of our human nature.”
20 New Lines From The Epic Of Gilgamesh Discovered In Iraq, Adding New Details To The Story
“One of the oldest narratives in the world got a surprise update last month when the Sulaymaniyah Museum in the Kurdistan region of Iraq announced that it had discovered 20 new lines of the Babylonian-Era poem of gods, mortals, and monsters.”
Duke University Gets $25 Million Donation For New Arts Center
“Duke University is expanding its arts programs with a new building and a $25 million gift from David Rubenstein, chairman of the university’s Board of Trustees and a nationally known arts benefactor.” The 71,000-square-foot arts center “will include a dance studio along with a dozen multi-use studios, a 200-seat performance theater, a 100-seat film theater, a garden, lounge, library, reception space, a painting studio, offices and classrooms.”
Stuff Happens – And The Words We Choose To Talk About It Matter
“Psychologists and linguists have long been interested in the extent to which language affects thought, including whether and how different ways of communicating similar information can influence subsequent thinking. If Bush tells us that ‘stuff happens’ (rather than, say, that ‘people use guns to commit atrocities’), are we less inclined to seek stricter gun control? … The research to date suggests the answer is ‘yes’.”
Female-Driven Movies Are Big Box Office. So What’s The Problem?
Female-driven movies make money. In an era when movies are beset by competition from quality television, video games and alternative entertainment, the industry can’t afford to be biased.
Can Artists Still Shock Or Surprise In The Age Of The Selfie?
“How can performance artists possibly compete in a world where a selfie-taking Canadian can make thousands of dollars after being inadvertently kicked in the head by a Peruvian train driver and posting an 11-second video of the event on his YouTube channel?”
Omaha Loses A 123-Year-Old Concert Series
“Founded in 1892, one year after Carnegie Hall opened and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra performed its first concert, the series has overcome economic ups and downs and the vicissitudes of public taste to become one of the oldest and most storied classical institutions in the country. But after 123 years, declining ticket sales and a lack of fresh leadership have forced Tuesday Musical to shut down.”
Research: Here’s The Music Americans Hate (Uh, Oh)
“While in 1993, a college-educated person between the ages of 25 and 29 had an 8 percent chance of disliking classical (music), in 2012, a respondent in that same age-education group had a 15 percent chance (of doing so),” the researchers write.
Death Of A Legendary Literary Agent Puts Agency In Turmoil
“For many observers, this Catch-22 is the fittingly complex legacy of a woman nicknamed La Mamá Grande for her ferocious protection of her authors — she used to set up some of her most promising authors in Barcelona apartments, paying them salaries so they could write full-time — and her sometimes grandiose, “après moi, le déluge” style. Her agency was as much a cult of personality as an institution.”
A Smarter Conversation About Video Games And Behavior
“Sure, Jack Thompson–like figures are on the wane – it’s increasingly uncommon for broad, radical arguments linking video games to real-world violent behavior to be taken seriously. But there’s still a lot of scaremongering, and it’s not just occurring on hyperventilating cable news. … Its clearly time for more complex theories about how this multi-billion-dollar industry affects those who partake in its wares.” Here are a few ideas.
‘God Hates Renoir’, Say Protesters Outside Boston’s Museum Of Fine Arts
“Holding homemade signs reading ‘God Hates Renoir’ and ‘Treacle Harms Society,’ the protesters ate cheese pizza purchased by Geller, and chanted: ‘Put some fingers on those hands! Give us work by Paul Gauguin!’ and ‘Other art is worth your while! Renoir paints a steaming pile!'”
Seven Centuries Of F**ks
“Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo talk to Jesse Sheidlower, author of The F-Word, about a recent discovery about the history of one our most enduring expletives. (podcast)
Left At Altar By Corcoran, Univ. Of Maryland Has New Partner In The Arts (And Not Just Painting)
“The collaboration will create the University of Maryland Center for Art and Knowledge at the Phillips Collection and launch joint programs in art, music, research and technology. Eventually, there will be a new gallery and open storage facility bearing the Phillips Collection’s name on or near the university’s College Park campus in Prince George’s County.”
Did That Story Really Happen? Fiction, Fact, And Readers (Mis)Judging The Boundary Between Them
“Why is that always the question fiction writers are asked? Why do readers insist on knowing if the story that held them enthralled was ‘real’? … Readers are nosy. People are nosy. Part of the question is simple nosiness. But only part.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 10.05.15
What are the qualities of a strong arts leader?
This is perhaps the most important question as you think about your own career path in the arts. What does success look like for you? What do you need to get there? Everyone will have their own definition. … read more
AJBlog: Field Notes Published 2015-10-05
Designing Your Life
Bill Burnett shares his thoughts on one of the toughest questions we all face in life: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Burnett believes that “the notion that you need to have a passion and follow it is a destructive idea” and that by using design-thinking principles, … read more
AJBlog: Field Notes Published 2015-10-05
A Career Path Matrix
Bill Barnett shares an easy to implement matrix that can help you determine where your personal objectives are best met when it comes to making career decisions. Matrices are not new tools, … read more
AJBlog: Field Notes Published 2015-10-05
Moon Shot: Charting Your Path
A career in the arts. Some (parents) might say that’s an oxymoron. But, if you’re reading this, it’s likely the path you are on. There is, however, a way to navigate the path and perhaps even put the skeptics at ease. … read more
AJBlog: Field Notes Published 2015-10-04
Tweets in search of a context: the great acceleration
I have yet to see Best of Enemies, the film documentary on the William F. Buckley, Jr.-Gore Vidal TV debates, originally telecast by ABC in 1968, about which acres of windy prose … read more
AJBlog: About Last Night Published 2015-10-05
Fall Photo Plus Video & Monday Recommendation: Scott Robinson
Returning from a weekend reunion of classmates, I drove through the Cascade Mountains as the deciduous trees on Blewett Pass were beginning their glorious fall display … which inspired thoughts of this: Now Comes The Recommendation … read more
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2015-10-05
More Perfect Union (than with Corcoran): University of Maryland & Phillips Collection Tie the Knot
It seems that Wallace Loh, president of the University of Maryland (UMD), never got over his desire to form a far-reaching partnership with a Washington, D.C., art museum. Change the partner from the (now dismantled) Corcoran … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2015-10-05
Keel
Marian Seldes observed that one of the great problems of being an actor was accepting, or coming to terms with the inevitable rejection in auditioning for roles each year. Along with artistic capacity … read more
AJBlog: PianoMorphosis Published 2015-10-05
[ssba_hide]
The Artists Who Paint Dinosaurs
“A dinosaur is a muse, then. To contemplate a dinosaur is to slip from the present, to travel in time, deep into the past, to see the Earth as it was tens, if not hundreds, of millions of years ago, when the continents were nearer, when the forests and oceans teemed with strange plants and creatures. In childhood, the mind is alive to the thrill of that perspective shift.”
Henning Mankell, Who Made Scandinavian Noir Big With His Wallender Series, Dies At 67
“Mr. Mankell, whose grandfather was a composer, passed on his love of classical music to his famous detective. Wallander spends many lonely nights listening to Mozart operas or walking the windswept beaches of Ystad with his dog, Jussi — named after Jussi Bjorling, the great Swedish tenor.”