See on Scoop.it – Cultural evolution Google’s Music Timeline is one of the best visualizations of our cultural soundtrack’s evolution over the past 60 yrs http://t.co/u6PQiT09sL Tom Uytterhoeven’s insight: "Our cultural soundtrack", the PR-talk says. And that’s true: music can really convey the spirit of a certain period. But when you check out this timeline,…
Tag: Culture
The Church of the Jedi
See on Scoop.it – Cultural evolution In the years after the first Star Wars trilogy, a group of dedicated followers built their own religion: Jediism. Tom Uytterhoeven’s insight: You can be dismissive about this, calling it a joke that went out of hand. But I see the dynamics of culture at work, going from old…
Returning to the centre: Reflections on the Hajj – Opinion – ABC Religion & Ethics (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
See on Scoop.it – Evolution and Religion The ritual of Hajj is about being realigned with what our inner selves ought to be orbiting: presence with Allah, a focussed consciousness that is often absent in the giddy spin of normal life. (What does your life revolve around? Tom Uytterhoeven’s insight: Walking must be one of…
Children ’too embarrassed to read in front of friends’ – Telegraph
See on Scoop.it – Cultural evolution The number of children picking up books in their spare time has dropped dramatically amid claims youngsters increasingly see reading as “embarrassing”, according to research. Tom Uytterhoeven’s insight: Earlier I posted an article on the effects of literature. If you read that, before turning to this research about declining…
If you want to ‘read’ people better, read more literature
See on Scoop.it – Cultural evolution Reading Chekhov for a few minutes makes you better at decoding what other people are feeling. But spending the same amount of time with a potboiler by Danielle Steel does not have the same effect. Tom Uytterhoeven’s insight: Too good to be true? Or can literature really save the…
Culture a click away – Berkshire Eagle
See on Scoop.it – Cultural evolution Culture a click away Berkshire Eagle The Norman Rockwell Museum is just one of several cultural venues in the Berkshires beginning to use such technology to give visitors more access and a broader context surrounding the work, physical grounds and… Tom Uytterhoeven’s insight: There is some debate about whether…
An alternative imaginarium of Sicily
See on Scoop.it – Cultural evolution Imago Tour Sicily is a photographic project that seeks to use images to portray the unseen face of Sicily, which recoils from the stereotyped image on postcards and of tourism. We interviewed the project’s founder, Graziella Russo. Tom Uytterhoeven’s insight: What I like about this project is that it…
Toward Resilient Architectures 4: The Geometry of Resilience – Metropolis Magazine
See on Scoop.it – Cultural evolution Metropolis Magazine Toward Resilient Architectures 4: The Geometry of Resilience Metropolis Magazine Evidence suggests that the ability to perceive this kind of symmetry (along with other related kinds) is a very important aspect of our… Tom Uytterhoeven’s insight: I have to re-read this later on, but think it’s interesting…
Chomsky and the evolution of language – libcom.org (blog)
See on Scoop.it – Cultural evolution Chomsky and the evolution of language libcom.org (blog) Noam Chomsky recently appeared on the Skeptically Speaking podcast to discuss the evolution of language. Tom Uytterhoeven’s insight: Not only Noam Chomsky, but also Terrence Deacon, and Con Slobodchikoff are interviewed here on the biological roots of language. Definitely an interesting…
“Different Worldviews”, or: What is my research about?
“What's your research about?”, friends ask me occasionally – only to get a confused look in their eyes after I start using words like “evolution”, “culture”, and “religion” in the same sentence. I could of course refer them to the online project description (yes, there's a goofy picture of me…). But as pictures say more…