Improving Machine Learning to Detect and Understand Online Conspiracy Theories Read more (RAND)
by William Marcellino, Todd C. Helmus, Joshua Kerrigan, Hilary Reininger, Rouslan I. Karimov, Rebecca Ann Lawrence
Category Archives: semiotics
Slavoj Zizek on Dating
How Language Shapes the Way you Think
“Language is the master of man.” Capitalism Is Struggling With the Language of Climate Change
Confusing climate terminology has become commonplace among governments, and in some cases can even understate more far-reaching goals. Read more (Bloomberg)
“I’m not a cat” Semiotics and The Treachery of Images
The Red Pill Is Radicalizing Without Substance
The Matrix launched a movement of embedding the symbolism of the red pill so deeply in society that Elon Musk and Ivanka Trump referenced it on Twitter several decades after the original film’s release. Their exchange departed from the original free-spirited Matrix by both referencing the so-called “alt-right” implications now associated with the red pill. “Take the red pill,” Musk tweeted in May 2020, seemingly implying to his followers that they need to wake up to the dangers of government overreach and paradoxically adding a red rose emoji—even though that icon is more closely associated with the Democratic Socialists of America. Ivanka retweeted the sentiment, adding a perky “Taken!” for emphasis. “Fuck both of you,” Lilly Wachowski responded, reflecting what must be a deeply entrenched frustration with how the red pill metaphor has evolved. Read more (Bitch Media)
How Nothingness Became Everything We Wanted
Even before the pandemic, American culture was embracing numbness as an antidote for the overload of digital capitalism. But is it a real escape — or another trap? Read more (NY Times)
Gorpcore is the new normcore
“There’s this romanticised idea of getting outdoors and being intrepid which is very appealing and an idea people really buy into – but one that manifests through their wardrobe rather than through actual adventures in mountaineering and going off-piste with their walking poles. It’s cheating but that’s alright. Not everyone has access to mountains. Is A$AP Rocky going to wear a puffer jacket, zip-up fleece and Balenciaga bumbag for a weekend of hardcore skiing? No. But damned if he doesn’t look really good and super comfortable,” Tucker says. Read more
The Blue story- A color which was ‘seen and named’ much later in the western world
The color blue has been an integral part of Indian civilization. The Indigo dying process dates back to the ancient Indus valley of Harappa. The mention of “blue gods” in Hinduism (Shiva, Vishnu, Krishna, Rama) indeed emphasizes the fact that blue had a significant presence in Indian culture for thousands of years. However, as Leo Shvedsky wrote in the article at Good.is, ancient civilizations had no word for the color blue. It was the last color to appear in many languages, including Greek, Chinese, Japanese, and Hebrew. Read more
Building an antilibrary: the power of unread books
Tsundoku (積ん読) is a beautiful Japanese word describing the habit of acquiring books but letting them pile up without reading them. I used to feel guilty about this tendency, and would strive to only buy new books once I had finished the ones I owned. However, the concept of the antilibrary has completely changed my mindset when it comes to unread books. Unread books can be as powerful as the ones we have read, if we choose to consider them in the right light. Read more
