Finally, a great new album by Belgium’s best kept secret: Dez Mona — Book of Many

Darkest Hour

This morning, I crossed paths with my 139 millionth cousin.

That we end up being misled by our senses is a widely-accepted truism, as most humans mistake the limits of their perception for the limits of the world itself.

The Question Of Perception

How did Chopin’s physical frailty shape his creative choices?

Paths of Glory (1957) ★ ★ ★ ★. Another Stanley Kubrick masterpiece. Hard to believe he only was 28 years old at the time. You would expect this kind of craftsmanship only of very experienced and more senior directors.

“Socrates Wants You to Tidy Up, Too”

Socrates Wants You to Tidy Up, Too

“The headline story is that it’s not so much about the nature of digital technology as about a new mutant form of capitalism that has found a way to use tech for its purposes.” ‘The goal is to automate us’: welcome to the age of surveillance capitalism

The Deer Hunter (1978) ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

‘Brexit refugee’ European Robin given warm reception in Beijing

This is such a simple yet powerful idea: an AR app “AR Sensor” to measure and visualize various spatial data, such as Wifi signal strength. (via hackaday.com)

Visualizing spatial data with AR

I still find all this very difficult to grasp, but it’s always fascinating to see how art can help explain a scientific theory: How Space and Time Could Be a Quantum Error-Correcting Code

A must read, if you ask me: Childhood’s End, by George Dyson.

‘Most of us, most of the time, are following instructions delivered to us by computers rather than the other way around. The digital revolution has come full circle and the next revolution, an analog revolution, has begun. None dare speak its name.’

Some hits, some misses…

35 years ago, Isaac Asimov was asked by the Star to predict the world of 2019. Here is what he wrote

‘Thanks to our growing familiarity with computing, virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI), ‘modern’ societies are now better placed than ever to grasp the insights of this tradition.’

Modern technology is akin to the metaphysics of Vedanta

I very much enjoyed Oskar Kokoschka. A retrospective in Kunsthaus Zürich today.

How Much of the Internet Is Fake?

Everything that once seemed definitively and unquestionably real now seems slightly fake; everything that once seemed slightly fake now has the power and presence of the real.

Every year, the raspberry in my garden manages to bear fruit until the Christmas holidays. This little fella was the sole survivor of this year’s battle.

This quote from What art is is a pretty good summary of Arthur Danto’s philosophy of art in general. What Art Is

Who would’ve thought that Nick Cave would lead the way to a better, more compassionate way of online communication?! I’m hooked on The Red Hand Files Nick Cave is showing us a new, gentler way to use the internet

Currently reading: How to be a Stoic by Massimo Pigliucci.

Probably not. Would Human Extinction Be a Tragedy?

Dermorphis donaldtrumpi ? Amphibian that buries head in sand named after Donald Trump

Deep-learning technique reveals “invisible” objects in the dark, requiring only one photon per pixel

Intriguing.
An ant colony has memories that its individual members don’t have

Governments and private companies are deploying AI systems at a rapid pace, but the public lacks the tools to hold these systems accountable when they fail. AI creates an accountability gap

Human creativity is technology agnostic. Technology truly is just an extension of man. iPhone film-maker Charlotte Prodger wins 2018 Turner prize

Interesting, but somewhat sobering read.. The bad news on human nature, in 10 findings from psychology

Good series on machine learning by MIT Technology Review: Inside the world of AI that forges beautiful art and terrifying deepfakes

This artist is calling on scientists and artists to work together to engage people emotionally in the planet’s plight—to find new ways to use stories in conjunction with science. Scientists and Artists Must Work Together — Scientific American Blog Network

To live and die in L.A. (1985). Basically an updated version of The French connection. Reminded me of Miami Vice. With a young and convincing Willem Dafoe and also John Turturro. And not to forget Robby Müller on camera.

Sorcerer (1977). Another great movie from William Friedkin. In all his movies there seem to be only losers and no winners. No matter what genre, his main characters always are in absolute despair. Great soundtrack by Tangerine Dream as well.

Today is Universal Children’s Day. A nice occasion for the Dutch parliament to start the hopefully new tradition of Question Time for children!

The French Connection (1971) This must have been the best crime thriller I’ve ever seen. The dense editing gives the whole film a nervous pace, and the haunting soundtrack keeps you shivering throughout. Definitely made me curious about other films directed by William Friedkin

Another good one from the seventies, with a young Nick Nolte. Plot line a bit disappointing, but great cinematography. Who’ll Stop the Rain (1978)

Enjoyed watching some great films from the seventies lately. Night Moves (1975) certainly was one of them. Directed by Arthur Penn, and with a great Gene Hackman.