The Evolution of Comedy

Panel discussion of comedy writers and producers about the evolution and role of different types of comedy in “serious” society.

The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work

Perspectives on industrialized work, workplace psychology and Western culture. I enjoyed his recent TED Talk so much that I sought out more talks by Alain de Botton, and this lecture is equally entertaining and thought-provoking. A truly excellent speaker and original thinker.

[Above video features highlights; full episode premieres July 19.]

Most Popular

Would you answer a casting call like this? Contestants wanted: be judged by 100 women on your attractiveness, moral character, likeability, and fashion taste. Answer personal and embarrassing questions on camera. Crowd members will make quick, catty comments about why they don’t like you, if voted off. … Some women have very strong self-esteem and/or a strong drive to appear on TV, so here’s Most Popular, a new game show. 91% of 894 adult women polled by WEtv ”usually judge someone based on their appearance before they get to know them.” This idea underlies the show’s Moral Wheel (spin for questions about scruples, inner self, relationships – and looks) and competitive wedding gowns. Most Popular involves social psychology, evo psych, pop psych, feminism and more. It isn’t a science program, but it is an entertaining cultural experiment.

I’d never watched WEtv before this preview, and their store sells plastic flip-flops with a pink heart pattern – which caused me to form a snap judgment, as a critical woman who likes shoes. Then I challenged the stereotype, got to know the show on its own merits, and feel more positive about it.

The first episode premieres Sunday July 19 at 10:00 pm EST.

The Baroness, Consciousness, and the Twitterverse: A Conversation with Susan Greenfield

Greenfield recommends pub debates or rants on street corners instead of using social media. Quote: “How sad that a species that previously wrote novels and expressed themselves in thousand word letters, are now having to encapsulate important or interesting ideas in 150 [sic] characters, and that’s the first issue. And if you are used to doing that, are you going to start living your life in windows of 150 characters? And I do find that rather sad. Secondly, there’s many ways in which you can have debates and discussions. You can go to the pub, you can go out to the street, you know, you can go to universities, you can come to the Royal Institution in London. There’s many, many places and ways in which you can discuss ideas… to say that this is the only vehicle for debate and discussion for people who are ordinary human beings who aren’t in positions of power, who don’t have the platforms politicians have, I find that a bit disingenuous.” Then we’re told how one becomes a Baroness in the House of Lords. Greenfield admits she’s never used Twitter, but characterizes users as threatened and angry with a “shaky sense of identity” similar to small children demanding attention, and “perhaps they’re going nowhere.” Ironically, she is keen on the Royal Institution of Great Britain producing webcasts for the “globalization, not just democratization of science.” While their talks look interesting, the Royal Institution demands your street address and other personal data to register to watch, so I won’t. Ah, culture clashes.

title Seed Salon: David Byrne and Daniel Levitin
description “The singer/songwriter/artist/author enters the Seed Salon to discuss music with the producer/neuroscientist.” Language, glossolia, music cognition, studying music, mirror neurons, memory, and more. They consider musical craft and the ability to evoke emotional responses, and consider authenticity for the listener. Byrne says, “You can know what’s in a sunset and still be just as awed by it.” This interview is a year old but still relevant (except maybe some of what’s attributed to the mirror neurons). Levitin has more recently published a book on music archetypes: The World in Six Songs.
producer Seed Media Group
featuring Daniel Levitin, David Byrne
format Flash
date 01/05/07
length 00:59:20
link http://www.seedmagazine.com/news/2007/05/seed_salon_david_byrne_daniel_1.php

Tags: brain video vodcast music cognition memory art psychology neuroscience saxophonist rockstars