This in the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience.
We conclude that the “allure of neuroscience” bias is conceptual, specific to neuroscience, and not easily accounted for by the prestige of the discipline. It may stem from the lay belief that the brain is the best explanans for mental phenomena.
Recent paper by Daniel Pearlberg and Timothy Schroeder
“The greatest curse brought down on us by technology is that it prevents us from escaping the present even for a brief time. Previous generations could retreat into solitude and seclusion when disaster struck; it was our fate to be aware of everything catastrophic happening everywhere in the world at the hour and the second when it happened.” — Stefan Zweig
Zweig would be overwhelmed by the current state of affairs, as many now are. The World of Yesterday and The Royal Game (Schachnovelle) are my two favorite Zweig works. On the former see Nicholas Lezard in The Guardian (ignore all the marketing tripe of a year ago that accompanied the so-called revival of Zweig via a certain film).
On the latter check out this brief discussion:
If you’re are a German speaker then here is a decent rendering of this psychologically wrought novella — I have seen it with subtitles but I can’t find an online version — anyway, you really should read the novella first:
And then if you are inclined, check out a seminal academic paper by Chase and Simon entitled Perception in Chess.
Here is a discussion featuring the recent Zweig bio by George Prochnik called The Impossible Exile:
Recent article freely available here.
The very excellent Tudor Parfitt whose work I have been following for about 30 years gives an overview of his fascinating DNA trails. If you can catch his programmes on PBS do so. Also check out his recent book Black Jews in Africa and the Americas. Looking forward to his new project studying the “Conversos” and early Jewish life in the Americas following Spain’s first expeditions to the New World in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. Also listen to him talk (2nd video) about his latest jaunt to Papua New Guinea.
Recently published and freely available.
Part of the Classic album series. Fascinating hearing about the artistic process and generosity between Reed, Bowie and the amazing Mick Ronson — and Warhol’s support.
This from Military History Now.
[Napoleon] was then a passionate admirer of Jean-Jacques [Rousseau]; … a fan of the masterpieces of Corneille, Racine and Voltaire. He brought the works of Plutarch, Plato, Cicero, Cornelius Nepos, Livy and Tacitus, translated into French; and those of Montaigne, Montesquieu and Raynal. All of these works filled a trunk larger than the one that contained his toiletries. I don’t deny that he also had the poems of Ossian, but I do deny that he preferred them to Homer.
Provisional publication freely available here.
