culture
It’s hard to talk about “masterpieces” because the concept trades on a theory of aesthetics that is controversial when spelled out (aesthetic value realism; maybe even a kind of Platonism about beauty) and difficult to defend, but which we all nevertheless subscribe to intuitively.
The Cultural Decline of Literary Fiction
"The art market is neither a hero nor a villain but mirrors society’s evolving connections with art, value, and finance. Art can do many things; it can depict the irreconcilable and the absurd, whether loudly amidst the daily discourse of society or discreetly as insiders obscure the underlying allusions."
Online political debate mainly involves cherry-picking the most outlandish members of the enemy side and presenting them as indicative in order to make the entire side look crazy.
The culture war is essentially just each side sneering at the other side's lunatics.
The culture war is essentially just each side sneering at the other side's lunatics.
Gurwinder • 30 Useful Principles
Luxury surveillance is a phenomenon where "some people pay to subject themselves to surveillance that others are forced to endure and would, if anything, pay to be free of." You might buy a GPS bracelet to track your biometric data (which will be used by other firms), while others might be forced to wear one (and still pay for it) as part of their... See more
Super Apps Are Terrible for People —and Great for Companies
Riveting. Glorious. Soloist Verneri Pohjola is both virtuosic and agonizingly human. What a premiere for Kaija Saariaho's final composition. May she rest in peace: https://areena.yle.fi/1-66089818