The Articles Thread

Read any good articles lately? Post them here.

http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2011/02/14/110214crat_atlarge_gopnik

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/oct/21/will-self-blood-disease

http://www.manbehindthedoll.com/BLAINE.htm

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/609203/crispr-20-is-here-and-its-way-more-precise/

"Two genome editing research articles have been published by Broad Institute. One (doi: 10.1038/nature24644) describes the system and method to efficiently edit a single DNA base pair, from A-T to G-C. Another one (doi: 10.1126/science.aaq0180) describes the system and method to efficiently edit a RNA base (from adenosine to inosine).

Introduction and correction of point mutations at the DNA and RNA level is a complement to existing genome edited techniques of cutting, pasting and inactivation. This enables very quick and potentially cheap experimental verification of potential effects of single nucleotide variants. We can expect an increased pace of discoveries into genotype - phenotype causality and therapeutic applications of single point mutation corrections".

  On 11/17/2011 at 2:18 AM, Etch said:

Read any good articles lately? Post them here.

 

http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2011/02/14/110214crat_atlarge_gopnik

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/oct/21/will-self-blood-disease

Read a fantastic article years ago in a posh magazine by Will Self about an oyster fishermen out in the-middle-of-nowhere on some archipelago with his net and then his (WS) delight of eating such tasty sensations at his favourite New York restaurant the Grand Central Oyster Bar. Just had a google and can't trace it but it was spellbinding stuff. One of the most brilliant things I've read tbh.

Ten Days in a Mad-House by Nellie Bly (1887)

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Bly's reportage for the New York World while on an undercover assignment in which she feigned insanity at a women's boarding house, so as to be involuntarily committed to an insane asylum. She then investigated the reports of brutality and neglect at the Women's Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell's Island.

http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/bly/madhouse/madhouse.html

No alternative: how brands bought out underground music

https://www.theguardian.com/music/ng-interactive/2017/oct/16/no-alternative-how-brands-bought-out-underground-music-timberland-red-bull

Those White Plastic Chairs – The Monobloc and the Context-Free Object

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Virtually every object suggests a time and place. The Monobloc is one of the few objects I can think of that is free of any specific context. Seeing a white plastic chair in a photograph offers you no clues about where or when you are. I have a hard time thinking of other objects that are equally independent of context. Asking friends to propose a similar object, most people suggest a Coke can… but I can tell you that Coke is presented very differently in different countries, in glass bottles as well as cans, with labels in local languages. The Monobloc offers no linguistic cues, no obvious signs that it’s been localized. Wherever you are, it’s at home.

http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/2011/04/06/those-white-plastic-chairs-the-monobloc-and-the-context-free-object/

Diogenes of Sinope, the Publicly-Defecating Philosopher
Described by Plato as “a Socrates gone mad”, Diogenes of Sinope is considered one of the most controversial figures in the history of philosophy.

https://medium.com/@MustaphaItani/diogenes-of-sinope-the-publicly-defecating-philosopher-2f511951878a

AMA with Peter Watts, my favorite sci-fi author

https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2enwks/iama_science_fiction_author_named_peter_watts_i/

Article 50

Body of a Courtesan in Nine Stages: A 19th Century Study of Decomposition

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“Body of a Courtesan in Nine Stages” was painted on handscroll by Japanese artist Kobayashi Eitaku in the 1870’s. It’s not unusual for artists to study corpses and body parts because of their need to learn about the human form, and because of the historical connection between the science of anatomy and artistic illustration. What makes this style unique is that it’s part of a Japanese artistic tradition devoted specifically to the study of human postmortem changes that stretches back hundreds of years.

 

“Body of a Courtesan in Nine Stages” is an example of kusozu, the illustration of a decomposing corpse, that was popular in Japanese art from about the 13th to 19th centuries. Kusozu was inspired by Buddhist beliefs that urged followers to meditate on the temporary nature of life and the physical world by contemplating postmortem changes. The below panels illustrate nine stages of death that include: (1) dying; (2) newly deceased or fresh; (3) skin discoloration and bloat during early decomposition; (4) leakage of blood in early decomposition; (5) skin slippage, marbling, and leakage of purge fluid during early decomposition; (6) caving of abdominal cavity and exposure of internal organs during advanced decomposition; (7) animal scavenging during advanced decomposition; (8) skeletonization; and (9) extreme decomposition.

 

Though the painting maybe religious and/or scientific in nature, according to the British Museum it also has erotic themes. Because the subject matter is a courtesan, the curator notes for this piece at the British Museum say that this handscroll also falls into the genre of erotic art, or shunga. The word shunga means picture of spring in Japanese. The word “spring” is a common synonym for sex.

https://strangeremains.com/2014/06/24/body-of-a-courtesan-in-nine-stages-a-19th-century-study-of-decomposition/

The ‘Gay Cure’ Experiments

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The year was 1970, and the man was a 24-year-old psychiatric patient. The woman, 21, was a prostitute from the French Quarter of New Orleans, hired by special permission of the attorney general of Louisiana. And they had just become part of one of the strangest experiments in scientific history: an attempt to use pleasure conditioning to turn a gay man straight.

 

The patient, codenamed B-19, ended up in the care of Robert Galbraith Heath, chair of the department of psychiatry and neurology at Tulane University, New Orleans. Heath’s prescription was drastic. He and his team implanted stainless steel, Teflon-coated electrodes into nine separate regions of B-19’s brain, with wires leading back out of his skull. Once he had recovered from the operation, a control box was attached which enabled him, under his doctors’ supervision, to provide a one-second jolt to the brain area of his choice.

https://mosaicscience.com/story/gay-cure-experiments

Hyphens (-), En Dashes (–), and Em Dashes (—)

http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/qanda/data/faq/topics/HyphensEnDashesEmDashes/faq0002.html

Quite enjoyed this, about swing/groove/the human element, esp. in electronic music:

https://www.ableton.com/en/blog/james-holden-human-timing/

An Illustrated History Of Gas Masks

https://io9.gizmodo.com/an-illustrated-history-of-gas-masks-504296785

  On 10/30/2017 at 10:27 PM, ManjuShri said:

The ‘Gay Cure’ Experiments

 

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The year was 1970, and the man was a 24-year-old psychiatric patient. The woman, 21, was a prostitute from the French Quarter of New Orleans, hired by special permission of the attorney general of Louisiana. And they had just become part of one of the strangest experiments in scientific history: an attempt to use pleasure conditioning to turn a gay man straight.

 

The patient, codenamed B-19, ended up in the care of Robert Galbraith Heath, chair of the department of psychiatry and neurology at Tulane University, New Orleans. Heath’s prescription was drastic. He and his team implanted stainless steel, Teflon-coated electrodes into nine separate regions of B-19’s brain, with wires leading back out of his skull. Once he had recovered from the operation, a control box was attached which enabled him, under his doctors’ supervision, to provide a one-second jolt to the brain area of his choice.

https://mosaicscience.com/story/gay-cure-experiments

This was quite an interesting read. Thanks for sharing!

https://www.brainpickings.org/2017/11/17/walt-whitman-specimen-days-music/?utm_source=Brain+Pickings&utm_campaign=2a5e8f920f-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_11_24&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_179ffa2629-2a5e8f920f-237715649&mc_cid=2a5e8f920f&mc_eid=2bbb674696

http://physicsbuzz.physicscentral.com/2017/12/small-chirps-could-provide-big-insights.html

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bursts of chirped sound lasting less than a billionth of a second could help uncover the properties of things like single cells and nanoscale structures in microelectronics.

maybe should be tucked away in the Music section, but an enlightening interview with Deepchord's Rod Modell on sound design & audio engineering

for someone who can traverse fairly effortlessly between deeeeepest of Deep House, Dub Techno & everyfin inbetween, it was intriguing to hear how he approaches making music & how things have both changed & conversely been sustained, individually & culturally, down thru the years

https://www.xlr8r.com/features/2017/11/real-talk-deepchord/

a bit 3D-techy-y, but interesting nevertheless.

https://medium.com/@julesurbach/otoy-vs-kozlov-c49b803105ac

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Darger

  On 3/23/2018 at 5:30 AM, ManjuShri said:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Darger

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anticrepuscular_rays

The Tearoom Trade

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In 1970, sociologist and ordained Episcopalian minister Laud Humphreys published his book The Tearoom Trade: Impersonal Sex in Public Places, one of the most famous and controversial studies in sexology. By assuming the role of a “look-out,” Humphreys gained the male subjects’ trust, which enabled him to observe complete strangers engaging in brief, impersonal sexual encounters with same-sex partners in public restrooms, termed as “tearooms".

 

Without the subjects’ knowledge, Humphreys recorded their license plate numbers and tracked them down a year later. After changing his hair, attire, dress, and car, Humphreys visited the homes of the subjects. Under the guise of a social health surveyor, Humphreys interviewed the subjects about their lives without disclosing that he had already met them before. Humphreys conducted these in-person interviews to discover what aspects of the subjects’ home lives motivated them to engage in this illegal and taboo activity.

 

Although the book revealed important information about homosexuality and sexual behavior in public places, Humphreys’ research methods were, and still are, considered very controversial. Yet, despite the benefits of this research, The Tearoom Trade raises ethical questions about sociology research: Does the value of gaining information about sexual practices justify the violation of people's privacy? This article will evaluate the social context, scientific methods, and ethical issues associated with this insightful, yet controversial study.

http://www.soc.ucsb.edu/sexinfo/article/tearoom-trade

^both of those articles are very interesting. Not sure I've ever seen the anticrepuscular rays before. I've surely heard of the tearoom thing, there's a park here in my small city that was said to be 'the place' for lots of that. No clue as to the validity of that, I assume every town/community of decent size has that. The research itself is definitely outside the normal bounds of such things, but at the same time I'd be curious to hear about more like that, delving into more personal issues that people don't necessarily divulge freely. People are so weird.

Cross posting for posterity:

https://www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives/blog/meet-the-economist-behind-the-one-percents-stealth-takeover-of-america

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Could these right-wing capitalists allow private companies to fill prisons with helpless citizens—or, more profitable still, right-less undocumented immigrants? They could, and have. Might they engineer a retirement crisis by moving Americans to inadequate 401(k)s? Done. Take away the rights of consumers and workers to bring grievances to court by making them sign forced arbitration agreements? Check. Gut public education to the point where ordinary people have such bleak prospects that they have no energy to fight back? Getting it done.

Would they even refuse children clean water? Actually, yes.