On one of the most original blogs on the web, the news section of the Okayplayer website, they mentioned this live recording of the Roots performing 'crazy' feat. Cee-Lo. Which brings me to the thing I wanted to mention in the first place: The Roots are about to drop their new album next Tuesday.
Their/Questlove's level of sophistication can be guessed by looking at the last three album titles, all inspired by intricate topics in science:
- Phrenology (2002): The idea in the 19th century that one can determine complex personality traits of a person by measuring the shape of his/her skull. The funny part about Phrenology is that although its stupidity has been recognized, recent neuroimaging techniques have induced a more modern version of Phrenology: During the 1990s many scientists prematurely ascribed brain functions to anatomical regions that showed red and yellow blobs of activity under certain experimental conditions (for aficionados: cf. Kosik KS (2003) Beyond phrenology, at last. NatureRevNeurosci).
- Tipping point (2004): The term from sociology that "refers to that dramatic moment when something unique becomes common", which -- at a high level of abstraction -- has been and can be applied in many other fields (e.g., economics, psychology)
- Game Theory (August 29, 2006): The scientific field in between mathematics and economics that tries to capture situations in which one or more players try to maximize their returns, often involving uncertainty ("whether I will like the new album?") and assuming rationality ("I will buy it anyways..."). Interestingly, game theoretical considerations have also been used in neuroscientific contexts.
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