A new issue of The Global Spiral is out. Plagiarism, be it an art or a science, is all the rage in some circles these days. A review of Signals: Evolution, Learning, and Information by Brian Skyrms. From New York, a special issue on "The Year in Culture". Scanners gone wild: Europeans protest Google Street View; in the U.S., full-body airport X-rays set us off — are we objecting to the same thing? The experience of a unified mind and the possibility of an everlasting soul are connected — but there is scant evidence to support the existence of either. Field Guide to the Conspiracy Theorist: When does incredulity become paranoia? Radio personality and filmmaker Alex Jones believes an evil cabal of bankers rules the world. “Check your premises” is an injunction that runs as a subtheme through Ayn Rand’s novel Atlas Shrugged, and it is a phrase that seems to be growing more pertinent every day. Madame de Stael as a political thinker: Too often dismissed as a salonniere, she was a woman of multiple literary and political talents. Are we laying the groundwork for powerful new monopolies in the content and information business? An interview with Tim Wu, author of The Master Switch (and more). Manners make the mannequin: Is it moral to fake kindness? Looking for music manuscripts, scholar Craig A. Monson uncovered surprising stories of what went on inside convents. Using beauty as an advertising tool — does it always work?
