While reading The Korean Herald at my local library, I came across a column by Robert J. Fouser about the “soundscape of Korean cities”. It’s possible that he’s correct about cities like Seoul being quieter due to reduced noise from cars, public transportation, and people. However, I can certainly confirm that there are other noise disturbances, such as the music coming from street shops and the sounds of people’s digital devices (notifications, audio from videos). Here’s an excerpt from the article:
Tim Harford released another outstanding episode in his “Cautionary Tale” podcast series. The episode is called “Flying Too High: AI and AirFrance Flight 447” and tells a a frightening tale of a fatal plane crash caused by pilot errors when the fly-by-wire system temporarily malfunctioned.
In my exploration of Heinrich Schliemann, a German archaeologist and businessman, I came across information about his involvement in funding the demolition of a medieval “Frankish tower” at the Acropolis of Athens. The transformation and adaptation of monuments under the prevailing zeitgeist is quite revealing. If you’re interested in the Acropolis changes, Dr. Rachel Kousser’s article on Khan Academy is worth a read.
An interesting “memory strategy” featured in this MIT Press Reader article draws inspiration from actors’ approaches to memorizing dialogue.
In describing how they remember their lines, actors are telling us an important truth about memory — deep understanding promotes long-lasting memories. […] Focusing on [the] visual, acoustic, and conceptual aspects […] correspond to shallow, moderate, and deep levels of processing, and the depth of processing that is devoted to an item or event affects its memorability. Memory is typically enhanced when we engage in deep processing that provides meaning for an item or event, rather than shallow processing. Given a list of common nouns to read, people recall more words on a surprise memory test if they previously attended to the meaning of each word than if they focused on each word’s font or sound.
The following video from “Le dessous des images” explores the popularity of cooking videos on platforms like TikTok. Those cooking videos offer a seductive experience with quick edits and a POV perspective. Furthermore, the video compares these new formats format by looking into the history of cooking shows on television. What crossed my mind was how those videos simplify the cooking process, making it seem easier for everyone. However, this approach also means that they omit many of the steps involved in cooking, especially in comparison to older educational cooking shows. One surprising example is the segment showcasing an old French show centred on rural cuisine, even showing the actual process of butchering a duck.
The MIT Press Reader shared an article excerpted from the book “Cultures of Contagion”. The article highlights how the study of radioactive particle movements worldwide during the 1950s and beyond has played a crucial role in shaping our understanding of global interconnectedness of our biosphere.
While I was living in Bologna, I discovered a fantastic sweet fruity wine called a Romagna Cagnina (more specifically, a bottle of Terre Cevico Cagnina Dolce DOC). While visiting nearby Ravenna and delving into its Byzantine history, I discovered an intriguing connection between the region’s wine and stonecutters and laborers from Istria. The grape variety used in the wine might have been brought to Ravenna by these workers, who also used Istrian stone in the construction of the city’s monuments. Here is a small excerpt from a webpage advertising the wine:
The questions raised by Sisi Wei, editor-in-chief at The Markup, in a recent article shed light on the dilemmas faced by journalists when covering AI-generated pictures. She questions whether the news articles should contain the generated images and, if so, how to label them or what kinds of disclaimers to include. As she notes, this issue is difficult because readers may not pay attention to the caption. The following is a quote from the article.
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of visiting the city of Ravenna and admiring its exquisite mosaics. The rich history of this city is eloquently encapsulated in a quote from the host of the Medievalists Podcast during an episode featuring a conversation with Judith Herrin on Ravenna’s history between 400 and 800 AD.
In recent news, the Italian region of South Tyrol (Alto Adige) has initiated a DNA profiling program to identify owners of dogs responsible for leaving excrement or those found as strays. While there have been challenges in convincing owners to submit samples, the program is set to launch this year. Local authorities plan to send these samples to a regional government agency. The applicability of this initiative beyond the region may be questioned, but it raises the possibility of future inter-regional or national interoperability even?