In this salon (the second in the three-part mini-series), Jake Orthwein will lead a discussion on the strange unreality of contemporary politics. In The End of History and the Last Man, Francis Fukuyama issued a qualification to his famous pronouncement that the ideological struggles of history had reached their culmination. He worried that the deep connection…
In this salon (the third in a three-part series), Jake Orthwein will lead a discussion on the role of political fantasy in the Great Stagnation. "We've substituted the realities of politics for these increasingly fictionalized worlds, and I think that's probably a very unhealthy thing." - Peter Thiel If, as we've discussed in the last…
In an i.i. first, the discussion will take place in virtual reality, via the Virgils VR platform. No headset? No problem. The platform is accessible from any web browser. (Though, we do recommend joining from an Oculus Quest 2.) The salon will be hosted by MIT lecturer & best-selling author Micah Nathan and Virgils co-founder Christian Ulstrup. Who's…
Interintellect founder Anna Gát revisits legendary TV series Mad Men to explore the complicated history of midcentury women whose struggles in the workplace and the home foreshadowed many of today's difficulties and victories. Accompanying its characters during one of the most turbulent and transformational decades of the 20th century, the TV series Mad Men lives…
In this salon, Norman Chella will lead a discussion on the role of villains in narrative formats (eg. comic books, movies, novels) and the impact they have on our lives. Are villains inherently evil? How do you become a villain? What roles do they really play in a story? “Imagine, I now possess the power…
In his debut Salon, Jack Chong leads a discussion on how espionage is portrayed in movies and television series, and why it is portrayed the way it is. As a self-proclaimed nerd on espionage, these are the movies and television series (in English only, excluding Chinese and French-made works) that Jack has watched. If you have…
How do creativity and ideation work in a moment of absolute technology? What does your brain do when it dreams things into existence, and can machines ever replicate that? Join a discussion on AI art, NFTs and the Metaverse! My name is Dhruv Ghulati, and I am a product manager within the world of machine…
Join linguist Colin Gorrie in the second in a series of salons investigating language for a look at how fictional languages are created. Many celebrated works of speculative fiction over the last hundred years have involved elaborate world-building, often to the extent of having whole languages or families of languages created for the project. Think…
In this first of a 3 part mini-series on the TV show Mad Men, Vivek hosts a discussion on the notions of masculinity explored in the show. How do the characters of the show (not just the men but the women and children) assert their expectations of masculinity? How do these ideas affect the way…
Join artist and film-maker Olga Yakimenko in sharing interpretations of films and TV shows that are greater than the sum of their parts. The tools involved in the making of film and television allow for sophisticated indirect communication of ideas: complex concepts are transmitted to our senses using cinematography, sound, design, editing, and the human…
In the second of a three part series on the TV show Mad Men, Vivek hosts a discussion on persuasion as seen through the lens of the show. What can we learn about delivering a sales pitch from the show? From presentations to prestigious clients and proposals from employees to bosses to idea sharing between…
In the third salon of this three part mini series on the TV show Mad Men, Vivek hosts a discussion about ethnicity, assimilation and whiteness in the show. In describing the systems of race, class and power in America in the 60s, series creator Matthew Weiner has said “I’ve always said this is a show…
