#Other Minds

[bigcats-birds-and-books]

Spines of Interest: Niche Nonfiction Edition.

[anonymouscapybara]

Gonna describe two experiences I have because typical-mind fallacy and I'm not sure if either is universal:

a. Sometimes when thinking/doing an inner monologue, I notice myself mouthing along to the words, or more often very slight tongue movements corresponding to saying the words aloud. This suggests that "inner monologue" is a thing running parallel to talking and that thinking is to some extent just talking with the verbalizations suppressed.

b. That vanilla inner monologue is the sole inner voice that seems to be possible for me: for example I can't think in the comforting voice of Morgan Freeman. This suggests it's difficult-to-impossible for me to conduct inner dialogues or model what another person would say purely inside my head.

Does this match up with your own experience on any or all points? Particularly interested in people who primarily think visually (which I find nearly impossible) or who do conduct inner dialogues.

[petitepinard]

[dustedmagazine]

Anthony Braxton / James Fei — Duet (Other Minds)

Duet (Other Minds) 2021 by Anthony Braxton and James Fei

Lurching starts and sudden halts — 2021 was the kind of year that could strip your transmission. The advent of a vaccine for COVID-19 made it look like things might go back to some sort of normal. The virus’s adroit pivot to a weaker, but more infectious variant, and humanity’s disinclination to let a moderately effective intervention do what it could, were enough to make anyone feel like saying, fuck it. But Anthony Braxton wears glasses that are tinted with a color that has no name, but is described by philosophers as “far brighter than seems possible, and better than we deserve.” Some guys in their mid-70s might have spent the fall of 2021 laying low. He spent it shuttling between gigs on a couple of continents in order to introduce a new musical system called “Loraine.”

I got to seen one such introductory concert at Skanu Mezs, a festival in Riga, Latvia. He, accordionist/singer Adam Matlock, and trumpeter Susana Santos Silva tore through intricate, converging figures at a daunting path, flipping madly through their respective scores while their instrumental voices forged through a flickering mist of electric sound. The next day, I got to sit in while Matlock taught a class at the local conservatory. A veteran of Braxton’s ZIM system, he described the task of navigating Braxton’s incredibly dense scores, with the composer joshingly admonishing musicians that if they play everything on the page, he’ll fine them $1000. The musician’s task, it seems, is to find a way through score, gleaning from it a passage that worked with what every other musician around them played. They improvised by navigating written material, rather than elaborating upon it. 

The next week, Braxton played at another festival, Other Minds in San Francisco. His accompanist this time was James Fei, an associate since 1996. Each brought several saxophones — Braxton played sopranino, soprano and alto, and Fei played sopranino, alto and baritone saxophones — and a laptop operated by Braxton managed a program that generated long, glassy tones in response to what they played. They performed a new piece, Composition No. 429, which introduces the Loraine system to Braxton’s discography. One doesn’t need to know about all that novelty to be impressed; the experience of two masters executing precision maneuvers in close formation, then diverging, then pulling up close again, for nearly three quarters of an hours does that. Despite the pace, their progress through the piece is quite methodical, as they address passages of long tones, zig-zag melodies and prescribed attacks that range from pure tones to vocalized gargles. Phrases recur, signaling changes in approach. In one way, the music feels like it looks backward as well as forward, since the Braxton’s angular forms feel similar to music that he and Roscoe Mitchell each played during the 1960s and 1970s.   

While the music’s form is rigorous, its execution is a blast to hear. It’s rather like witnessing a couple of barnstormers doing barrel rolls and buzzing pastures with their biplanes, then pulling up their noses to punch through a halo of electronic sound. Don’t say fuck it, this music seems to say. Instead, aim high, and see how far into the atmosphere a motivated human can fly. 

Bill Meyer

[apollos-boyfriend]

i was cuddling with my boyfriend last night when his shoulder started tensing up (like he was readjusting or gently pushing me off) and when i asked him if he was okay or needed me to move or something he went “no you’re fine, i was just imagining myself pulling a large rope. i didn’t even realize my shoulder was doing that lmao” then refused to elaborate and i have never been as attracted to him as i was in that moment.

[zytes]

this manatee looks like it’s in a skyrim loading screen

[spooksier]

passages that make you whisper "oh my god"

[beebfreeb]

[bulldog-butch]

i’m gonna say something controversial yet brave: sexuality labels are a convenient tool we use to define something that is undefinable

[geopolicraticus]

The Problem of Other Minds Naturalistically Considered

The Problem of Animal Minds.—For me the problem of other minds has never been a philosophical problem that exclusively concerns human beings. I have been long fascinated by animal minds and by the relation between human and animal minds. I have lived in close quarters with animals throughout my life, and when other species are an ordinary part of life, it is obvious that their lives are very much like ours, and all the problems of the philosophy of mind that do not involve a grammatically structured language hold for them no less than for us. As I write this I have a dog at my feet (my sister’s dog) who is barking and moving his legs as he sleeps. I hope he’s having an enjoyable dream, chasing something exciting. I bet it’s great fun. But here’s something I had never thought about before: have I ever appeared in a dog’s dream? It seems likely given the close relationship between dogs and human beings that human being regularly feature in canine dreams, and it is a strange feeling to imagine oneself in the dreams of another species. Certainly I have dreamed of other species, some known to me in my waking life and some unknown to me. The dreaming mind is a reflection of the waking mind—not a perfect likeness, but a reflection nevertheless. I suspect it is much the same for dogs.

[bigcats-birds-and-books]

Replenishing the Nonfiction Stack; or, We're Calling the Book Buying Ban a Wash, Officially.

I am not, apparently, immune to coupons for niche nonfiction that's directly up my alley (octopus minds and RUSSIAN OWLS, hello??? Thanks, bookshop!).

I thought perhaps the BURGLAR'S GUIDE would also be covered under said coupon, since it was publisher-specific (alas: it was Not, but we might as well bundle for shipping purposes). And then while I was shopping IRL for gifties I found a copy of ROOM, which has been on my list for...ever? So! Hopefully these will hold me over on the nonfiction front for a minute!

[aphel1on]

i have such a love for characters who descend into madness or villainy out of deep, deep empathy. characters who fundamentally cannot cope with the cruel realities they find themselves in and blow up about it in spectacular fashion. fallen angel type characters with tears of outrage in their eyes. characters who break before they bend, and break so badly they splatter blood all over their noble ideals. every variation on it gets me so good

[wanderingibon]

anya deserved so much better

[galactic-magick]

Star Trek makes me soooo crazy cuz you got Picard saying things like "It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose."

And Data saying things like "I would gladly risk feeling bad at times, if it also meant that I could taste my dessert."

And Bashir saying things like “You can't go through life trying to avoid getting a broken heart. If you do, it'll break from loneliness anyway."

And Odo sayings things like "It has been my observation that one of the prices of giving people freedom of choice is that sometimes they make the wrong choice."

And I’m just supposed to be normal about it???