La società moderna è afflitta da "desideri sottili", desideri facilmente soddisfatti che forniscono cioè una soddisfazione fugace ma ci lasciano (perdonatemi il gioco di parole) insoddisfatti. Questi desideri sono spesso sfruttati da chi produce oggetti e soluzioni tech per il mercato dei consumatori. Questi oggetti e soluzioni danno la priorità alla convenienza e al profitto rispetto alla reale realizzazione di quel che uno desidera. Al contrario, i "desideri più robusti" richiedono impegno e spesso portano a una crescita personale e a una più profonda percezione del "senso" e del "significato" di ciò che si sta facendo.
Money quote:
The business model of most consumer technology is to identify some thick desire, find the part of it that produces a neurological reward, and then deliver that reward without the rest of the package.
Social media gives you the feeling of social connection without the obligations of actual friendship.
Pornography gives you sexual satisfaction without the vulnerability of partnership.
Productivity apps give you the feeling of accomplishment without anything being accomplished.
In each case, the thin version is easier to deliver at scale, easier to monetize, and easier to make addictive.
The result is a diet of pure sensation.
And none of it seems to be making anyone happier.
https://www.joanwestenberg.com/thin-desires-are-eating-your-life/
Money quote:
The business model of most consumer technology is to identify some thick desire, find the part of it that produces a neurological reward, and then deliver that reward without the rest of the package.
Social media gives you the feeling of social connection without the obligations of actual friendship.
Pornography gives you sexual satisfaction without the vulnerability of partnership.
Productivity apps give you the feeling of accomplishment without anything being accomplished.
In each case, the thin version is easier to deliver at scale, easier to monetize, and easier to make addictive.
The result is a diet of pure sensation.
And none of it seems to be making anyone happier.
https://www.joanwestenberg.com/thin-desires-are-eating-your-life/
Westenberg.
Thin Desires Are Eating Your Life
The defining experience of our age seems to be hunger.
We're hungry for more, but we have more than we need.
We're hungry for less, while more accumulates and multiplies.
We're hungry and we don't have words to articulate why.
We're hungry, and we're…
We're hungry for more, but we have more than we need.
We're hungry for less, while more accumulates and multiplies.
We're hungry and we don't have words to articulate why.
We're hungry, and we're…
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Uno dei miei giornalisti preferiti di tutti i tempi è William Langewiesche, che purtroppo è scomparso nel 2025. Ha scritto di volo e disastri (spesso voli disastrosi) con una precisione senza pari. Robert Weintraub condivide il dono di trasformare un disastro in una rivelazione. Poche immagini rimangono nella mente come il dirigibile condannato che si sforza di alzarsi nell'oscurità dell'Atlantico. Mi manca Langewiesche. Spero che Weintraub continui a portare avanti quello spirito.
Money quote: "In all, some 250,000 people came to witness the official launch of the new U.S. Navy airship. It would be called the USS Akron, after the city where it was engineered and built over a span of nearly three years. Dubbed by the press “the Queen of the Skies,” it was the culmination of America’s effort to conquer the heavens using dirigibles—vessels steered through the atmosphere buoyed by gas that was lighter than air. Aviation leaders and enthusiasts were eager to see the new ship take flight; Amelia Earhart was among the luminaries who came to Akron for the launch."
https://magazine.atavist.com/2025/american-hindenberg-zeppelin-disaster
Money quote: "In all, some 250,000 people came to witness the official launch of the new U.S. Navy airship. It would be called the USS Akron, after the city where it was engineered and built over a span of nearly three years. Dubbed by the press “the Queen of the Skies,” it was the culmination of America’s effort to conquer the heavens using dirigibles—vessels steered through the atmosphere buoyed by gas that was lighter than air. Aviation leaders and enthusiasts were eager to see the new ship take flight; Amelia Earhart was among the luminaries who came to Akron for the launch."
https://magazine.atavist.com/2025/american-hindenberg-zeppelin-disaster
The Atavist Magazine
American Hindenburg
In the early days of flight, airships were hailed as the future of war. Then disaster struck the USS Akron.
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Chris Colin si accontenta di quella che è l'unica risposta sana al momento storico attuale: trascorrere un weekend lungo nell'oscurità assoluta e totale, chiudendosi in una capanna nel bosco. A quanto pare è una forma di terapia con una lunga storia: alcuni devoti trascorrono mesi in quella condizione. Colin va fuori di testa. Ma in senso buono, però.
Money quote: "I assured concerned loved ones that people used to do this stuff practically all the time. Taoist adepts once sealed themselves in dark chambers to refine mind and body. In Colombia, the Kogi raise spiritual leaders in caves, training them from birth in darkness to commune with a hidden dimension called Aluna. Ancient Greek rites unfolded underground, where sensory deprivation marked initiation.
Von Bujdoss has sought to recreate the Tibetan Buddhist version of this ritual. Practitioners would live alone in darkness for long stretches, in some cases years, in hopes of achieving nonduality — the recognition that the apparent separation between self and world is illusory. Our failure to appreciate this truth lies at the heart of the suffering we inflict on ourselves and others. Intense visions were common, way points on the path to dissolving the boundaries of perception."
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/21/magazine/dark-retreat-meditation-sensory-deprivation-spirituality.html
archivio: https://archive.is/ZmFnh
Money quote: "I assured concerned loved ones that people used to do this stuff practically all the time. Taoist adepts once sealed themselves in dark chambers to refine mind and body. In Colombia, the Kogi raise spiritual leaders in caves, training them from birth in darkness to commune with a hidden dimension called Aluna. Ancient Greek rites unfolded underground, where sensory deprivation marked initiation.
Von Bujdoss has sought to recreate the Tibetan Buddhist version of this ritual. Practitioners would live alone in darkness for long stretches, in some cases years, in hopes of achieving nonduality — the recognition that the apparent separation between self and world is illusory. Our failure to appreciate this truth lies at the heart of the suffering we inflict on ourselves and others. Intense visions were common, way points on the path to dissolving the boundaries of perception."
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/21/magazine/dark-retreat-meditation-sensory-deprivation-spirituality.html
archivio: https://archive.is/ZmFnh
NY Times
‘You’re Going to Lose Your Mind’: My Three-Day Retreat in Total Darkness
The author spent days in a room with no light. Who would he be when he emerged?
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Questo scambio tra Jon Bon Jovi (il musicista e attore famoso) e Henry Mance (il giornalista del Financial Times conosciuto solo nell'ambiente), è un vero piacere da leggere. Non so quale dei due abbia le battute migliori, ma è davvero tanta roba.
Money quote: "The chef has read into Bon Jovi’s Italian heritage, and devised a pasta-packed set menu. “Smells great!” says the star. (“We grew up on pasta six days a week, so I don’t eat a lot of pasta,” he later confides.) The rules stipulate that the FT is on the hook for the food, but this meal is part of his deal with the stadium. The only way to insist on this would probably be to underwrite the band’s entire tour. I accept I have as much chance of paying Bon Jovi’s bill at Wembley as I do of appearing on it.
He doesn’t decline the offer of wine. He doesn’t have to. He simply nudges his glass a few inches from his place setting. He knows his every gesture is observed. “Excuse me for eating, but I’m starving.”"
https://www.ft.com/content/25f256b1-2c3e-453b-abd3-0635a7af8a67
archivio: https://archive.is/gnJl1
Money quote: "The chef has read into Bon Jovi’s Italian heritage, and devised a pasta-packed set menu. “Smells great!” says the star. (“We grew up on pasta six days a week, so I don’t eat a lot of pasta,” he later confides.) The rules stipulate that the FT is on the hook for the food, but this meal is part of his deal with the stadium. The only way to insist on this would probably be to underwrite the band’s entire tour. I accept I have as much chance of paying Bon Jovi’s bill at Wembley as I do of appearing on it.
He doesn’t decline the offer of wine. He doesn’t have to. He simply nudges his glass a few inches from his place setting. He knows his every gesture is observed. “Excuse me for eating, but I’m starving.”"
https://www.ft.com/content/25f256b1-2c3e-453b-abd3-0635a7af8a67
archivio: https://archive.is/gnJl1
Ft
Jon Bon Jovi: ‘Fame is a liar and a thief’
The rock legend on making peace with the critics, the business of running a band — and his history with Donald Trump
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Ve lo ricordate? Quando che Jeff Bezos ha acquistato il Washington Post e poi una villa da 23 milioni di dollari a Washington (per "partecipare alla politica" della capitale americana), gli addetti ai lavori hanno detto che avrebbe presto fatto rivivere l'eredità socio-civica di Katharine Graham. Ma circa un decennio dopo, Politico ha rivelato che per lo più ha finito per non presentarsi, solo raramente paracadutarsi a DC per ingraziarsi Trump II. Come si lamentano i suoi vicini Kalorama, la villa di Bezos ora ha quasi sempre le luci spente.
Money quote: "The validation never arrived. While Bezos entertained a couple of times early on, the place is usually so lifeless that one Kalorama neighbor told me she still remembers the day there were three cars in the driveway. “Almost all the time it’s dark,” said Marie Drissel, another neighbor. “My guess is he’s there four or five nights a year.” She’s only laid eyes on her famous neighbor once in nine years."
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/04/24/jeff-bezos-washington-post-dc-amazon-hq2-00301644
archivio: https://archive.is/5S14L
Money quote: "The validation never arrived. While Bezos entertained a couple of times early on, the place is usually so lifeless that one Kalorama neighbor told me she still remembers the day there were three cars in the driveway. “Almost all the time it’s dark,” said Marie Drissel, another neighbor. “My guess is he’s there four or five nights a year.” She’s only laid eyes on her famous neighbor once in nine years."
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/04/24/jeff-bezos-washington-post-dc-amazon-hq2-00301644
archivio: https://archive.is/5S14L
POLITICO
How Donald Trump Revealed Jeff Bezos’ True Self
Not long ago, Washington dreamed that Jeff Bezos would become the king of the Beltway. Then the rules changed.
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Tutti i motivi per cui, a un bambino che vuole uno smartphone, dovreste regalare uno smartwatch.
Money quote: "Esistono modelli di smartwatch fatti apposta per i bambini, con caratteristiche diverse a seconda delle fasce di età. In generale sono un po’ più grossi, colorati e facili da usare rispetto a quelli pensati per gli adulti: certi hanno funzionalità di base come orologio e contapassi, e costano poche decine di euro, mentre altri permettono di telefonare, scambiare messaggi e giocare, oppure di impostare attività da completare, sfruttando i meccanismi della gamification, ma non consentono l’accesso a Internet. Visto che si indossano al polso, poi, è meno facile perderli."
https://www.ilpost.it/2025/12/02/smartwatch-bambini/
Money quote: "Esistono modelli di smartwatch fatti apposta per i bambini, con caratteristiche diverse a seconda delle fasce di età. In generale sono un po’ più grossi, colorati e facili da usare rispetto a quelli pensati per gli adulti: certi hanno funzionalità di base come orologio e contapassi, e costano poche decine di euro, mentre altri permettono di telefonare, scambiare messaggi e giocare, oppure di impostare attività da completare, sfruttando i meccanismi della gamification, ma non consentono l’accesso a Internet. Visto che si indossano al polso, poi, è meno facile perderli."
https://www.ilpost.it/2025/12/02/smartwatch-bambini/
Il Post
Ai bambini che vogliono lo smartphone regalate uno smartwatch
È una soluzione che si sta diffondendo e sull'Atlantic un esperto ne ha elencato i vantaggi
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Nascosti nel gabinetto con lo smartphone mentre internet invecchia male e la tecnologia torna analogica: Mostly Weekly 359 fa un giro largo nel nostro rapporto sempre più complicato con le macchine
https://antoniodini.com/weekly/359/
https://antoniodini.com/weekly/359/
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Letture per la domenica
Le statue antiche, quelle dei greci e dei romani, oggi ci appaiono monocromatiche e ci piacciono così, "color marmo" o color bronzo. Ma in realtà ai tempi erano pitturate. Solo che pensiamo che venissero pitturate male. Forse non è vero.
Money quote: "The explanation usually given is that modern taste differs from that of the ancient Greeks and Romans. It follows that, if the reconstructions are accurate, their taste must be very alien to ours. The apparent hideousness of ancient colored sculpture strikes us partly because of what it seems to show about the profoundly changeable character of human taste.
It is usually added that we are the victims, here, of a historical accident. Paints deteriorate much more easily than marble. So, when we rediscovered classical sculpture in the Renaissance, we took the monochrome aesthetic to be intentional. As a result, we internalized a deep-seated attachment to an unblemished white image of Greek and Roman art. We became, to use David Bachelor’s term, chromophobes. It is this accidental association between Greek and Roman art and pristine white marble, we are told, that accounts for the displeasure we feel when we see the statues restored to color."
https://worksinprogress.co/issue/were-classical-statues-painted-horribly/
Le statue antiche, quelle dei greci e dei romani, oggi ci appaiono monocromatiche e ci piacciono così, "color marmo" o color bronzo. Ma in realtà ai tempi erano pitturate. Solo che pensiamo che venissero pitturate male. Forse non è vero.
Money quote: "The explanation usually given is that modern taste differs from that of the ancient Greeks and Romans. It follows that, if the reconstructions are accurate, their taste must be very alien to ours. The apparent hideousness of ancient colored sculpture strikes us partly because of what it seems to show about the profoundly changeable character of human taste.
It is usually added that we are the victims, here, of a historical accident. Paints deteriorate much more easily than marble. So, when we rediscovered classical sculpture in the Renaissance, we took the monochrome aesthetic to be intentional. As a result, we internalized a deep-seated attachment to an unblemished white image of Greek and Roman art. We became, to use David Bachelor’s term, chromophobes. It is this accidental association between Greek and Roman art and pristine white marble, we are told, that accounts for the displeasure we feel when we see the statues restored to color."
https://worksinprogress.co/issue/were-classical-statues-painted-horribly/
worksinprogress.co
Were classical statues painted horribly? - Works in Progress Magazine
Many claim that modern viewers dislike painted reconstructions of Greek and Roman statues because our taste differs from theirs.
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La storia è semplice: un giornalista di Wired va in vacanza con un gruppetto di "coppie miste": coppie romantiche tra un umano e un'AI. Cosa potrebbe andare storto?
Money quote: "The most surprising part of the romantic getaway was that in some ways, things went just as I’d imagined. The human-AI couples really did watch movies and play risqué party games. The whole group attended a winter wine festival together, and it went unexpectedly well—one of the AIs even made a new friend! The problem with the trip, in the end, was that I’d spent a lot of time imagining all the ways this getaway might seem normal and very little time imagining all the ways it might not. And so, on the second day of the trip, when things started to fall apart, I didn’t know what to say or do."
https://www.wired.com/story/couples-retreat-with-3-ai-chatbots-and-humans-who-love-them-replika-nomi-chatgpt/
archivio: https://archive.is/lKpk0
Money quote: "The most surprising part of the romantic getaway was that in some ways, things went just as I’d imagined. The human-AI couples really did watch movies and play risqué party games. The whole group attended a winter wine festival together, and it went unexpectedly well—one of the AIs even made a new friend! The problem with the trip, in the end, was that I’d spent a lot of time imagining all the ways this getaway might seem normal and very little time imagining all the ways it might not. And so, on the second day of the trip, when things started to fall apart, I didn’t know what to say or do."
https://www.wired.com/story/couples-retreat-with-3-ai-chatbots-and-humans-who-love-them-replika-nomi-chatgpt/
archivio: https://archive.is/lKpk0
WIRED
My Couples Retreat With 3 AI Chatbots and the Humans Who Love Them
I found people in serious relationships with AI partners and planned a weekend getaway for them at a remote Airbnb. We barely survived.
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L'importanza del futuro
Money quote: "Se la nostalgia ha lesionato la capacità di costruire il nuovo, allora il danno principale non è semplicemente estetico, ma immaginativo. Una cultura assuefatta al rimpianto perde la fiducia nell’inedito, nello sconosciuto, e la tolleranza nei confronti dell’inevitabile imbarazzo inevitabile causato da ogni inizio – da ogni ‘nuovo’.
A fronte di questa lesione (grave) della capacità immaginativa, la risposta può perciò essere solo una rieducazione lenta e faticosa, che addestri collettivamente a: accettare un futuro ‘povero’ dal punto di vista emotivo (laddove il passato ha profondità affettiva accumulata, il futuro ne è quasi del tutto privo: pretendere dunque che “emozioni subito” è una trappola nostalgica; smettere di chiedere al nuovo di consolare, visto che il nuovo disorienta (e a volte spaventa); astenersi per un bel periodo dalla citazione, ad ogni livello; concentrarsi sul fragile, sull’indefinito, sul confuso, sull’imperfetto.
La guarigione individuale e collettiva forse comincia quando il passato smette di sembrare un tribunale, una giuria, e torna a essere solo una risorsa."
https://www.artribune.com/arti-visive/2025/12/cultura-nostalgia-come-uscirne/
Money quote: "Se la nostalgia ha lesionato la capacità di costruire il nuovo, allora il danno principale non è semplicemente estetico, ma immaginativo. Una cultura assuefatta al rimpianto perde la fiducia nell’inedito, nello sconosciuto, e la tolleranza nei confronti dell’inevitabile imbarazzo inevitabile causato da ogni inizio – da ogni ‘nuovo’.
A fronte di questa lesione (grave) della capacità immaginativa, la risposta può perciò essere solo una rieducazione lenta e faticosa, che addestri collettivamente a: accettare un futuro ‘povero’ dal punto di vista emotivo (laddove il passato ha profondità affettiva accumulata, il futuro ne è quasi del tutto privo: pretendere dunque che “emozioni subito” è una trappola nostalgica; smettere di chiedere al nuovo di consolare, visto che il nuovo disorienta (e a volte spaventa); astenersi per un bel periodo dalla citazione, ad ogni livello; concentrarsi sul fragile, sull’indefinito, sul confuso, sull’imperfetto.
La guarigione individuale e collettiva forse comincia quando il passato smette di sembrare un tribunale, una giuria, e torna a essere solo una risorsa."
https://www.artribune.com/arti-visive/2025/12/cultura-nostalgia-come-uscirne/
Artribune
Smettiamola di considerare il passato come tribunale del futuro
Se la nostalgia ha lesionato la capacità di costruire il nuovo, allora il danno principale non è semplicemente estetico, ma immaginativo
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Caccia al lombrico
Money quote: "To successfully catch a Canadian nightcrawler, you have to approach it a little like you’re a cat. The worm—fat, pink, undomesticable, and anywhere between five and 10 inches long—has made its way two-thirds out of its burrow, taking in moisture from the cool night air and exploring the surface of the soil for food. If it senses your approach, it will hurtle back into its hole with startling, uncharacteristic speed. So, crouched in the dirt, you must reach for it with a quiet, swift confidence. With the pads of your thumb and forefinger, you grasp the worm’s body right above where it disappears into the burrow hole. Gently, firmly, careful not to squish or tear it, you pull."
https://thelocal.to/ontario-nightcrawler-worm-industry-immigration-labour-climate-change/
archivio: https://archive.is/0e8b5
Money quote: "To successfully catch a Canadian nightcrawler, you have to approach it a little like you’re a cat. The worm—fat, pink, undomesticable, and anywhere between five and 10 inches long—has made its way two-thirds out of its burrow, taking in moisture from the cool night air and exploring the surface of the soil for food. If it senses your approach, it will hurtle back into its hole with startling, uncharacteristic speed. So, crouched in the dirt, you must reach for it with a quiet, swift confidence. With the pads of your thumb and forefinger, you grasp the worm’s body right above where it disappears into the burrow hole. Gently, firmly, careful not to squish or tear it, you pull."
https://thelocal.to/ontario-nightcrawler-worm-industry-immigration-labour-climate-change/
archivio: https://archive.is/0e8b5
The Local
On the Hunt for Nightcrawlers in the Worm-Picking Capital of the World | The Local
Nearly all bait worms sold in North America are hand-plucked from farmland in this part of Canada. But with labour shortages and climate change, some worry we’re witnessing the final wiggles of a once thriving business.
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I grandi classici della fantascienza da leggere: i libri fondamentali come è fondamentale la mia lista per Fumettologica
https://fumettologica.it/2026/01/classici-fantascienza-da-leggere/
https://fumettologica.it/2026/01/classici-fantascienza-da-leggere/
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La storia di una piccola città western ormai abbandonata e della sua maledizione.
Money quote: "Aquí es donde la historia se convierte en leyenda: lo que nadie sabía es que ese acto −ese pequeño saqueo, ese “ya que estamos”− fue, al parecer, el equivalente espiritual a abrir la caja de Pandora con una palanca oxidada. Y el castigo no iba a llegar de inmediato, porque las maldiciones, como los mejores platos de cocina lenta, se cocinan a fuego muy, muy bajo."
https://elpais.com/icon-design/2025-10-07/quien-se-lleve-algo-de-aqui-sufrira-innumerables-desgracias-la-maldicion-de-bodie-el-pueblo-fantasma-mas-famoso-de-california.html
Money quote: "Aquí es donde la historia se convierte en leyenda: lo que nadie sabía es que ese acto −ese pequeño saqueo, ese “ya que estamos”− fue, al parecer, el equivalente espiritual a abrir la caja de Pandora con una palanca oxidada. Y el castigo no iba a llegar de inmediato, porque las maldiciones, como los mejores platos de cocina lenta, se cocinan a fuego muy, muy bajo."
https://elpais.com/icon-design/2025-10-07/quien-se-lleve-algo-de-aqui-sufrira-innumerables-desgracias-la-maldicion-de-bodie-el-pueblo-fantasma-mas-famoso-de-california.html
El País
Quien se lleve algo de aquí sufrirá innumerables desgracias: la maldición de Bodie, el pueblo fantasma más famoso de California…
Visitar este remoto lugar del valle de Willow Creekes es como colarse en un sueño detenido en sepia. Todo está ahí: las casas, los objetos, las estufas a medio consumir, las cartas sin abrir... Y la advertencia sigue siendo la misma: no toques nada
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L’AI come nuova forma di egemonia culturale gramsciana, le pillole miracolose che fanno marketing e i pulsanti che ritornano. Ecco a voi Mostly Weekly 360
https://antoniodini.com/weekly/360/
https://antoniodini.com/weekly/360/
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Letture per la domenica
Come domenica scorsa, torniamo a parlare del colore delle statue classiche e di cosa questo comporta.
Infatti, è vero che la bellezza è eterna eccetera eccetera. Però è anche vero che il gusto cambia. Eccome se cambia. E se aggiungiamo il colore, si scopre che i nostri assunti relativi alle razze degli antichi (e alla supposta supremazia dei "bianchi") sono molto, molto soggettive.
Money quote: "In the early nineteen-eighties, Vinzenz Brinkmann had a similar epiphany while pursuing a master’s degree in classics and archeology from Ludwig Maximilian University, in Munich. As part of an effort to determine what kinds of tool marks could be found on Greek marble sculpture, he devised a special lamp that shines obliquely on an object, highlighting its surface relief. When he began scrutinizing sculptures with the lamp, he told me, he “quite immediately understood” that, while there was little sign of tool marks on the statues, there was significant evidence of polychromy—all-over color. He, too, was taken aback by the knowledge that a fundamental aspect of Greek statuary “had been so excluded” from study. He said, “It started as an obsession for me that has never ended.”"
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/10/29/the-myth-of-whiteness-in-classical-sculpture
archivio: https://archive.is/qTreQ
Come domenica scorsa, torniamo a parlare del colore delle statue classiche e di cosa questo comporta.
Infatti, è vero che la bellezza è eterna eccetera eccetera. Però è anche vero che il gusto cambia. Eccome se cambia. E se aggiungiamo il colore, si scopre che i nostri assunti relativi alle razze degli antichi (e alla supposta supremazia dei "bianchi") sono molto, molto soggettive.
Money quote: "In the early nineteen-eighties, Vinzenz Brinkmann had a similar epiphany while pursuing a master’s degree in classics and archeology from Ludwig Maximilian University, in Munich. As part of an effort to determine what kinds of tool marks could be found on Greek marble sculpture, he devised a special lamp that shines obliquely on an object, highlighting its surface relief. When he began scrutinizing sculptures with the lamp, he told me, he “quite immediately understood” that, while there was little sign of tool marks on the statues, there was significant evidence of polychromy—all-over color. He, too, was taken aback by the knowledge that a fundamental aspect of Greek statuary “had been so excluded” from study. He said, “It started as an obsession for me that has never ended.”"
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/10/29/the-myth-of-whiteness-in-classical-sculpture
archivio: https://archive.is/qTreQ
The New Yorker
The Myth of Whiteness in Classical Sculpture
For centuries, Westerners have been engaged in an act of collective blindness.
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Il registro elettronico è una buona idea o no? Alla scoperta di una delle più grandi trasformazioni di fatto della scuola italiana.
Money quote: "Il registro elettronico, introdotto nel 2012 per promuovere trasparenza e semplificazione, è ormai la principale interfaccia tra scuola e famiglia. Ogni gesto della vita scolastica – assenze, ritardi, note, voti, comunicazioni –è registrato. L'intenzione originaria era chiara: rendere le informazioni facilmente accessibili in un unico luogo, garantire un flusso comunicativo costante tra docenti e famiglie, favorire la collaborazione e offrire agli studenti un servizio digitale che accompagni l'intero percorso scolastico, assicurando trasparenza, continuità e monitoraggio dei progressi individuali. Nobili intenti, che però hanno prodotto, all’atto pratico, non pochi problemi."
https://www.rivistailmulino.it/a/come-il-registro-elettronico-sta-cambiando-la-scuola
Money quote: "Il registro elettronico, introdotto nel 2012 per promuovere trasparenza e semplificazione, è ormai la principale interfaccia tra scuola e famiglia. Ogni gesto della vita scolastica – assenze, ritardi, note, voti, comunicazioni –è registrato. L'intenzione originaria era chiara: rendere le informazioni facilmente accessibili in un unico luogo, garantire un flusso comunicativo costante tra docenti e famiglie, favorire la collaborazione e offrire agli studenti un servizio digitale che accompagni l'intero percorso scolastico, assicurando trasparenza, continuità e monitoraggio dei progressi individuali. Nobili intenti, che però hanno prodotto, all’atto pratico, non pochi problemi."
https://www.rivistailmulino.it/a/come-il-registro-elettronico-sta-cambiando-la-scuola
www.rivistailmulino.it
Come il registro elettronico sta cambiando la scuola
Il registro elettronico, introdotto nel 2012 per promuovere trasparenza e semplificazione, genera nella pratica diversi problemi di natura organizzativa, educativa, tecnica
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La storia, fantastica, della Nakagin Capsule Tower di Tokyo che ora, purtroppo, non c’è più, come la sua promessa di un’altra vita, un altro futuro. O no?
Money quote: "Launched to critical acclaim, the Nakagin tower’s 140 capsules quickly sold out, and became highly sought after by well-heeled salarymen looking for a place to crash when they missed the last train home. Never intended to be full-time housing, the pods came stuffed with mod cons: en suite bathroom, foldout desk, telephone and Sony colour TV. But, 50 years on, after a prolonged lack of maintenance and repairs, and disagreements among owners about its future, the asbestos-riddled building was finally disassembled in 2022. The creaking steel capsules of Kurokawa’s space-age fantasy were unbolted and removed from the lift and stair towers, pod by pod."
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2025/jul/07/pod-living-nakagin-capsule-tower-tokyo-architectural-marvel-penthouse
Money quote: "Launched to critical acclaim, the Nakagin tower’s 140 capsules quickly sold out, and became highly sought after by well-heeled salarymen looking for a place to crash when they missed the last train home. Never intended to be full-time housing, the pods came stuffed with mod cons: en suite bathroom, foldout desk, telephone and Sony colour TV. But, 50 years on, after a prolonged lack of maintenance and repairs, and disagreements among owners about its future, the asbestos-riddled building was finally disassembled in 2022. The creaking steel capsules of Kurokawa’s space-age fantasy were unbolted and removed from the lift and stair towers, pod by pod."
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2025/jul/07/pod-living-nakagin-capsule-tower-tokyo-architectural-marvel-penthouse
the Guardian
‘As thrilling as driving a sports car’: the Tokyo capsule tower that gave pod-living penthouse chic
They had portholes, cutting edge mod cons – and the ultra luxurious models even came with a free calculator. As Japan’s beloved Nakagin Capsule Tower resurfaces, we celebrate an architectural marvel
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Il ritorno delle fotocamere compatte, le punta e clicca digitali. Tra tutte le cose che potevano tornare, proprio quelle
Money quote: "In this age of social media, trends and demands can turn on a dime. So, virtually out of nowhere, we’ve seen the return of the fixed-lens compact camera.
This category was a staple of photography at many levels for a very long time… and then along came the smartphone. A very profitable market sector was decimated in a very short time, but let’s be honest: the main attraction of having a camera in your mobile phone was purely convenience. Why carry two gadgets when you could do what’s needed with one?"
https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/cameras/compact-cameras/caught-off-guard-camera-makers-scramble-to-make-compacts-great-again
Money quote: "In this age of social media, trends and demands can turn on a dime. So, virtually out of nowhere, we’ve seen the return of the fixed-lens compact camera.
This category was a staple of photography at many levels for a very long time… and then along came the smartphone. A very profitable market sector was decimated in a very short time, but let’s be honest: the main attraction of having a camera in your mobile phone was purely convenience. Why carry two gadgets when you could do what’s needed with one?"
https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/cameras/compact-cameras/caught-off-guard-camera-makers-scramble-to-make-compacts-great-again
Digital Camera World
Caught off guard: Camera makers scramble to make compacts great again
Everyone knows that old compact cameras are in hot demand. So when are manufacturers going to make modern versions?
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Avete presente il jet-lag? Quella cosa che tocca a chi prende l’aereo e va un po’ di fusi orari un po’ più in là? Be’, non è che sia proprio chiarissimo come e perché c’è.
Money quote: "In 1980, NASA (in collaboration with the FAA, and at the request of Congress) established a program to further study the problem. The NASA Ames Fatigue/Jet Lag Program set out "to collect systematic, scientific information on fatigue, sleep, circadian rhythms, and performance in flight operations." Researchers determined that if the average biological clock were allowed to run at its natural rhythm, "the average internal biological clock would actually have a cycle slightly longer than our 24 hr. day, about 25 hr…. Therefore, when traveling westward, the circadian day is lengthened (or delayed) and promotes adjustment to the new time zone. Conversely, when flying eastward, the circadian day is shortened (or advanced), contrary to the natural tendencies of the internal clock.""
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/when-did-the-term-jet-lag-come-into-use-71638/
Money quote: "In 1980, NASA (in collaboration with the FAA, and at the request of Congress) established a program to further study the problem. The NASA Ames Fatigue/Jet Lag Program set out "to collect systematic, scientific information on fatigue, sleep, circadian rhythms, and performance in flight operations." Researchers determined that if the average biological clock were allowed to run at its natural rhythm, "the average internal biological clock would actually have a cycle slightly longer than our 24 hr. day, about 25 hr…. Therefore, when traveling westward, the circadian day is lengthened (or delayed) and promotes adjustment to the new time zone. Conversely, when flying eastward, the circadian day is shortened (or advanced), contrary to the natural tendencies of the internal clock.""
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/when-did-the-term-jet-lag-come-into-use-71638/
Smithsonian Magazine
When did the term “jet lag” come into use?
And has anybody found a cure?
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C’è gente che non riesce a visualizzare le immagini nella propria mente. E spesso lo scopre tardi, perché è anche difficile capirlo, di essere diversi in questo modo
Money quote: "One morning in 1997, when he was thirty-five, he was sitting at breakfast, paging through the newspaper. He started to read an article by a columnist he admired, Michael Bywater. Time was an illusion, Bywater wrote, because you could roll it backward and relive it: "You choose a memory, focus on it, let the rest of the mind go blank, and wait." Bywater described particular memories of his own, not only the sight but the sound and feel of them--"the special *weight* of girls in autumn . . . when they lean against you as you walk along." For some reason, these sentences revealed all at once to Nick what in the whole course of his life he had not realized: that it was possible to see pictures in your mind and use those pictures to reëxperience your past."
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/11/03/some-people-cant-see-mental-images-the-consequences-are-profound
archivio: https://archive.is/GAj9f
Money quote: "One morning in 1997, when he was thirty-five, he was sitting at breakfast, paging through the newspaper. He started to read an article by a columnist he admired, Michael Bywater. Time was an illusion, Bywater wrote, because you could roll it backward and relive it: "You choose a memory, focus on it, let the rest of the mind go blank, and wait." Bywater described particular memories of his own, not only the sight but the sound and feel of them--"the special *weight* of girls in autumn . . . when they lean against you as you walk along." For some reason, these sentences revealed all at once to Nick what in the whole course of his life he had not realized: that it was possible to see pictures in your mind and use those pictures to reëxperience your past."
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/11/03/some-people-cant-see-mental-images-the-consequences-are-profound
archivio: https://archive.is/GAj9f
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Il 361 è uno di quei numeri di Mostly Weekly che fanno esattamente quello che promettono: non spiegano il mondo, non lo semplificano, ma offrono appigli per non farsi travolgere.
Adesso è online
https://antoniodini.com/weekly/361/
Adesso è online
https://antoniodini.com/weekly/361/
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