Oscillations

Welcome to the OSCILLATIONS Podcast, where we invite you to participate in conversations at the intersection of art, culture, technology, and the science of the mind.

There's often a lag between common knowledge and academic knowledge. Sometimes that lag can span decades or even centuries. What the average person might know about the latest ideas in politics. cognitive science, economics, or astrophysics, for example, may in fact be outdated by many years.

The field of psychology is only about a century and a half old, but it's gone through some profound changes. The trajectory of our understanding of human thought and behavior has branched off into many disciplines, some of them more speculative and philosophical. Others more concerned with remedial mental health care and others still taking a scientific approach to understanding how the mind works. It's in this scientific approach where we've made the most progress.

We now have mountains of evidence in cognitive science, neuroscience and certain areas of experimental psychology that collectively portray an increasingly nuanced understanding of how the human mind evolved, how it develops and how it constructs models of the world. We're beginning to make headway on exciting if still hotly debated questions surrounding consciousness selfhood, identity and agency. Most non scientists aren't aware of this progress. But in our modern world, it's nevertheless critically important to understand Keystone ideas of the science of the mind. These ideas have important implications for governance, progress, and many areas of our individual and collective lives.

That's why we recently interviewed Dr. Bruce Hood, an experimental psychologist who makes a great effort to communicate these ideas to a broader audience. Dr. Hood is a professor of developmental psychology in society. His area of research, like Danielle's, focuses on cognitive development. He also participates in many conversations at the intersection of psychology, Technology and Society, including at conferences like Ted RSA and cipher at Google, as well as in interviews for NPR and other major media outlets. He's written several fantastic books for the public that elegantly tackle complex or counterintuitive scientific ideas. These include super sense why we believe the unbelievable the science of superstition, how the developing brain creates supernatural beliefs, the self delusion, how the social brain creates identity, the domesticated brain, and most recently possessed why we want more than we need.

Dr. Hood's work has shaped Danielle's approach to AI research at Google, and her theories on the psychology of art. When she teaches undergraduate courses on cognitive science and developmental psychology, she has her students watch excerpts from his online lectures. The discussions that emerge, such as those on the nature of selfhood are consistently the most engaging topics for her students. Both Brendan and Danielle would also argue that they're among the most important. So with that, OSCILLATIONS brings you Dr. Bruce Hood.

"Art is the signature of civilizations." -Beverly Sills

Join the movement from the very beginning. If you believe that #thefutureiscreative, support us with a like, a follow, and a share.

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"Art is the signature of civilizations." -Beverly Sills

Join the movement from the very beginning. If you believe that #thefutureiscreative, support us with a like, a follow, and a share.

subscribe: YouTube  / Instagram / TikTok / Facebook / Twitter / Vero / Substack / Patreon

This is the second part of our discussion: What is the meaning of art? 

This may seem like an impossibly difficult question to answer. Art is subjective, right? Art is off limits to scientific analysis because it's too broad, vague,  and amorphous, isn't it? Isn't art whatever anyone wants it to be?

We asked the OSCILLATIONS inner circle what they thought was the meaning of art, and we found a common thread. From our investors to thought leaders in immersive technology, celebrated jazz musicians to linguists, neuroscientists to art historians, everyone converged on a definition of art that we use at OSCILLATIONS to guide the work that we do. Join us for a discussion that really gets at the heart of what we're all about and why we do what we do. 

Featured guests: 

Isabelle Charnavel, Department of Linguistics at Harvard University

Moran Cerf, Professor of Neuroscience and Business at Northwestern University, MIT, New York University, and the American Film Institute

Eric Oldrin, Director of Emerging Platforms at Facebook

Sarah Vick, Strategic Growth at Hulu, Business Development and Producer at Intel Studios

Rotem Sivan, Jazz Musician at Steeplechase, Fresh Sound, and Alma Records

Suzanne Dikker, Cognitive Neuroscience at New York University

Anna Winestein, Executive Director at the Ballet Russes Arts Initiative

Christopher Deustch, Investor at Lofty Ventures

Tom Emrich, VP of Product at 8th Wall, Co-Organizer at Augmented Word Expo, Investor at SuperVentures

Lydia Hannah, Director at Atland Ventures, Technology Consultant at West Monroe Partners

"Art is the signature of civilizations." -Beverly Sills

Join the movement from the very beginning. If you believe that #thefutureiscreative, support us with a like, a follow, and a share.

subscribe: YouTube  / Instagram / TikTok / Facebook / Twitter / Vero / Substack / Patreon

What is the meaning of art? This may seem like an impossibly difficult question to answer. Art is subjective, right? Art is off limits to scientific analysis because it's too broad, vague,  and amorphous, isn't it? Isn't art whatever anyone wants it to be?

We asked the OSCILLATIONS inner circle what they thought was the meaning of art, and we found a common thread. From our investors to thought leaders in immersive technology, celebrated jazz musicians to linguists, neuroscientists to art historians, everyone converged on a definition of art that we use at OSCILLATIONS to guide the work that we do. Join us for a discussion that really gets at the heart of what we're all about and why we do what we do. 

Featured guests: 

Isabelle Charnavel, Department of Linguistics at Harvard University

Moran Cerf, Professor of Neuroscience and Business at Northwestern University, MIT, New York University, and the American Film Institute

Eric Oldrin, Director of Emerging Platforms at Facebook

Sarah Vick, Strategic Growth at Hulu, Business Development and Producer at Intel Studios

Rotem Sivan, Jazz Musician at Steeplechase, Fresh Sound, and Alma Records

Suzanne Dikker, Cognitive Neuroscience at New York University

Anna Winestein, Executive Director at the Ballet Russes Arts Initiative

Christopher Deustch, Investor at Lofty Ventures

Tom Emrich, VP of Product at 8th Wall, Co-Organizer at Augmented Word Expo, Investor at SuperVentures

Lydia Hannah, Director at Atland Ventures, Technology Consultant at West Monroe Partners

In a special bonus episode, the OSCILLATIONS founders debrief and compared notes on their recent interview with dance historian Dr. Lynn Garafola. How does what we learned last week speak more broadly to our current era? What can OSCILLATIONS learn from the example set by the Ballet Russes? How can the unique history of art in the early 20th century inform our understanding of art, cognitive science, creative technology, culture, and politics one hundred years later?

"Art is the signature of civilizations." -Beverly Sills

Join the movement from the very beginning. If you believe that #thefutureiscreative, support us with a like, a follow, and a share.

subscribe: YouTube  / Instagram / TikTok / Facebook / Twitter / Vero / Substack / Patreon 

"Art is the signature of civilizations." -Beverly Sills

Join the movement from the very beginning. If you believe that #thefutureiscreative, support us with a like, a follow, and a share.

subscribe: YouTube  / Instagram / TikTok / Facebook / Twitter / Vero / Substack / Patreon

It's a great honor to be interviewing Dr. Lynn Garafola today. She is a pioneering dance historian and the author of several books, including "Diaghilev's Ballet Russes" and the forthcoming "Nijinska Choreographer of Ballet's Avant Garde". If you google dance history, she's one of the first people that comes up, so we're very grateful to have the opportunity to discuss a topic with her which happens to be both dear to our hearts and one of her specialties. Dr. Garafola's historical analysis on the Balley Russes has a deep impact on what we do at Oscillations. 

As with our other interviews, what we're attempting to do today is translate a thoroughgoing expertise into knowledge that contributes to a holistic framework. Danielle and Brendan want to understand the 21st century human experience from the joint lens of cognitive science, art and society. We're looking for broad insights about the role of art in human society, and what the story of the Ballet Russes and its sphere of influence can tell us about human psychology and collaborative settings. What can we learn from a range of radically diverging opinions about art? And what can we learn from the creative works and processes that reflect a collision of renowned minds under unique historical circumstances?

Today you'll hear the story of the most impactful performing arts company in the 20th century- a company whose incredible story intersects with an all-star lineup of historical figures in the late 19th and early 20th centuries including: Pablo Picasso, Coco Chanel, Igor Stravinsky, Eric Satie, Francis Poulenc, George Balanchine, Maurice Ravel, Jean Cocteau, Leon Bakst, Oscar Wilde, Mata Hari, Edward Bernays, Gertrude Stein, TS Eliot, Aldous Huxley,  e.e. Cummings, Zelda Fitzgerald, James Joyce, Virginia Woolf., John Maynard Keynes, Ida Rubenstein, Loie Fuller, Isadora Duncan, Johannes Brahms, Lincoln Kerstein, Enrico Cecchetti, and Claude Debussy to name just a few. 

"Art is the signature of civilizations." -Beverly Sills

Join the movement from the very beginning. If you believe that #thefutureiscreative, support us with a like, a follow, and a share.

subscribe: YouTube  / Instagram / TikTok / Facebook / Twitter / Vero / Substack / Patreon

A New Conversation between Artists, Scientists, and Technologists.

OSCILLATIONS creates with over 100 of the world’s most accomplished dancers, visual artists, fashion designers, and niche creatives. Our partners in the sciences are discovering the mechanisms by which we link our minds together to co-create our perceptions of reality, while our partners in technology are innovating in VR, AR, AI, and BCIs to pave the way for a new mode of performance.

An Ambition for Changing the World.

OSCILLATIONS aims to innovate a new mode of performance art, leverage technology to increase access to art, and inspire scientific exploration into the brain on art. We facilitate a constant dialogue between the most progressive artists and academics, pushing our understanding of what it means to be human beyond a limit we have ever dreamed of.

If you want the future to be creative, spread the word. If you want to live in a beautiful world where art flourishes, support us. If you want art and technology to co-evolve and mean something more than just zombies, shooters, light sabers, and black mirrors, join us!

"Art is the signature of civilizations." -Beverly Sills

Join the movement from the very beginning. If you believe that #thefutureiscreative, support us with a like, a follow, and a share.

subscribe: YouTube  / Instagram / TikTok / Facebook / Twitter / Vero / Substack / Patreon

A New Conversation between Artists, Scientists, and Technologists.

OSCILLATIONS creates with over 100 of the world’s most accomplished dancers, visual artists, fashion designers, and niche creatives. Our partners in the sciences are discovering the mechanisms by which we link our minds together to co-create our perceptions of reality, while our partners in technology are innovating in VR, AR, AI, and BCIs to pave the way for a new mode of performance.

An Ambition for Changing the World.

OSCILLATIONS aims to innovate a new mode of performance art, leverage technology to increase access to art, and inspire scientific exploration into the brain on art. We facilitate a constant dialogue between the most progressive artists and academics, pushing our understanding of what it means to be human beyond a limit we have ever dreamed of.

If you want the future to be creative, spread the word. If you want to live in a beautiful world where art flourishes, support us. If you want art and technology to co-evolve and mean something more than just zombies, shooters, light sabers, and black mirrors, join us!

"Art is the signature of civilizations." -Beverly Sills

Join the movement from the very beginning. If you believe that #thefutureiscreative, support us with a like, a follow, and a share.

subscribe: YouTube  / Instagram / TikTok / Facebook / Twitter / Vero / Substack / Patreon

A New Conversation between Artists, Scientists, and Technologists.

OSCILLATIONS creates with over 100 of the world’s most accomplished dancers, visual artists, fashion designers, and niche creatives. Our partners in the sciences are discovering the mechanisms by which we link our minds together to co-create our perceptions of reality, while our partners in technology are innovating in VR, AR, AI, and BCIs to pave the way for a new mode of performance.

An Ambition for Changing the World.

OSCILLATIONS aims to innovate a new mode of performance art, leverage technology to increase access to art, and inspire scientific exploration into the brain on art. We facilitate a constant dialogue between the most progressive artists and academics, pushing our understanding of what it means to be human beyond a limit we have ever dreamed of.

If you want the future to be creative, spread the word. If you want to live in a beautiful world where art flourishes, support us. If you want art and technology to co-evolve and mean something more than just zombies, shooters, light sabers, and black mirrors, join us!

"Art is the signature of civilizations." -Beverly Sills

Join the movement from the very beginning. If you believe that #thefutureiscreative, support us with a like, a follow, and a share.

subscribe: YouTube  / Instagram / TikTok / Facebook / Twitter / Vero / Substack / Patreon

An Ancient Stage.

Oscillations are pulsating heartbeats, resonating instruments, and firing brains. They are rhythmic movements—a fundamental aspect of material reality. They are also a fundamental aspect of human communication. Successful communication literally entails being on the same neural wavelength. Incredibly, when individuals who speak different languages are brought together, they get onto the same wavelength by inventing a new common language. This begs a fascinating question: What would happen if people who practice different styles of dance or movement were brought together?

A Modern Mission.

OSCILLATIONS is the first media arts company to explore this question, leveraging the extraordinary talent of movement artists around the globe. Informed by pioneering scientists, our movement artists are developing a new dance method that suggests a “universal grammar” of movement. Together with a team of technologists, they're also developing new mode of performance with immersive technologies, including virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR) and brain-computer interfaces (BCIs).

A New Conversation between Artists, Scientists, and Technologists.

OSCILLATIONS creates with over 100 of the world’s most accomplished dancers, visual artists, fashion designers, and niche creatives. Our partners in the sciences are discovering the mechanisms by which we link our minds together to co-create our perceptions of reality, while our partners in technology are innovating in VR, AR, AI, and BCIs to pave the way for a new mode of performance.

An Ambition for Changing the World.

OSCILLATIONS aims to innovate a new mode of performance art, leverage technology to increase access to art, and inspire scientific exploration into the brain on art. We facilitate a constant dialogue between the most progressive artists and academics, pushing our understanding of what it means to be human beyond a limit we have ever dreamed of.

If you want the future to be creative, spread the word. If you want to live in a beautiful world where art flourishes, support us. If you want art and technology to co-evolve and mean something more than just zombies, shooters, light sabers, and black mirrors, join us!