Don’t trust a teacher who…
A few weeks ago, I set out to learn something about volvelles, a legacy of the medieval period consisting of moveable paper or card circles that rotate to expose or conceal specific information. It...
Category: art
a set of institutions, a set of objects, a judgement of quality, a level of skill?
Chatbot as Model
I don’t find it easy to think of a chatbot as a model. I’m sure it’s worth the effort, though, if for no other reason than to face up to that very resistance. They...
An Abecedarium
The current issue of Flusser Studies marks the twentieth year this small, online journal has been publishing research and commentary on the life and work of Vilém Flusser (1920 – 1991). I’ve been a...
Individual Development Repeats Species Development
The title refers to the theory “Ontogeny Repeats Phylogeny”, credited to the German biologist Ernst Haeckel. Since Stephen Jay Gould’s detailed investigation of it in 1977, it has some standing as a framework for...
What Writers Read
All writers read, of course. I’ve always assumed that they read often, steadily, efficiently, and with pleasure. But on reflection, I wonder. Is it necessarily the case? Do they read more, or differently from...
The Housekeeping Gene
A few days ago I googled “housekeeping,” probably hoping to find something interesting or meaningful about my own old, dull resistance to basic maintenance, that is, washing, dusting, sweeping, repairing — the details need...