#interesting article

Abstract

AI could short circuit the process of building human understanding, which is essential to scientific progress ————

AI might prolong the reliance on flawed theories.

How was the geocentric model of the Universe overturned in favor of the heliocentric model — the model with the planets revolving around the Sun? It couldn't be resolved by comparing the [mathematical] accuracy of the two models, since the accuracy of the models was similar. Rather, it was because the heliocentric model offered a far simpler explanation for the motion of planets. In other words, advancing from geocentrism to heliocentrism required a theoretical advance, rather than simply relying on the more accurate model.

This example shows that scientific progress depends on advances in theory. No amount of improvements in predictive accuracy could get us to the heliocentric model of the world without updating the theory of how planets move. (...)

If AI allows us to make better predictions from incorrect theories, it might slow down scientific progress if this results in researchers using flawed theories for longer. In the extreme case, fields would be stuck in an intellectual rut even as they excel at improving predictive accuracy within existing paradigms.

Revival is innovation! You are geniuses!

Strikingly, the artistic influences of Frecknall’s revival – grotesque art, expressionist movement, the theories of the playwright Bertolt Brecht – were all prominent in Germany before being banned by the Nazi government. In fact, the show’s aesthetics could be seen to represent the antithesis of Nazi art.

Additionally, Redmayne’s marionette-like movements evoke the puppet theatre popular at the time (such as the Salzburg Marionette Theatre, which became an instrument for propaganda under the Nazis). So if the Emcee is a marionette, who is controlling him?

Redmayne’s performance pays homage to German expressionism, an early 20th-century art movement that emphasised the artist’s feelings or ideas, rather than replicating reality. The contorted movements seen in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) and Nosferatu (1922) are replicated in his unnatural limb extensions and melodramatic facial expressions.

He also echoes some aspects of expressionist dance, a counter movement to classical ballet, which sought to convey feeling through unrestrained, grotesque, eerie movement.

The influential expressionist choreographer Mary Wigman (1886-1973) was often hunched over in her performances, and wore masks to dehumanise her face. Redmayne mimics an inhumane mask effect with his expressions, and he hunches over for much of the show. As per the spirit of Wigman’s practice, his jagged performance embodies the extreme rupture between Weimar and Nazi culture.

Brecht, a contemporary of Berlin’s cabaret scene, devised epic theatre as a remedy for escapist theatre, which he perceived as socially irresponsible due to the way it “intoxicates” viewers and discourages critical thought. In Brecht’s plays, gestures were exaggerated, and costumes and makeup were bold and eye catching. His attitude to musical numbers was equally brutal: “They must be cold, plastic, unflinching and, like tough nutshells when they get caught in dentures, knock out a few of the listener’s teeth.” In drawing attention to their own artifice, Brecht’s techniques created defamiliarisation, keeping audiences distanced enough to remember they were watching a play. Although his theories remain controversial, the Brechtian influences detectable in Redmayne’s performance are contextually significant given Brecht’s experience in Nazi Germany.

Redmayne at the Tony Awards