Coincidentally, I also stumbled across this book lying on a table at the B&N this afternoon. It examines the history of government secrecy: what gets classified, why, and how it impoverishes our culture.
This is really interesting. I've been watching a lot of paranormal documentaries recently. One of the best was Seth Breedlove's ON THE TRAIL OF THE LAKE MICHIGAN MOTHMAN, which featured several interviews with a folklorist, who studies oral traditions of all sorts, and who made keen observations about how audience attention shapes stories (consciously or not).
Coincidentally, I also stumbled across this book lying on a table at the B&N this afternoon. It examines the history of government secrecy: what gets classified, why, and how it impoverishes our culture.
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/545793/the-declassification-engine-by-matthew-connelly/
Building on an almost 15-year-old essay by evolutionary biologist and historical databaser (databassist?) Peter Turchin
https://www.nature.com/articles/454034a/
Their ongoing project website. http://history-lab.org/
This is really interesting. I've been watching a lot of paranormal documentaries recently. One of the best was Seth Breedlove's ON THE TRAIL OF THE LAKE MICHIGAN MOTHMAN, which featured several interviews with a folklorist, who studies oral traditions of all sorts, and who made keen observations about how audience attention shapes stories (consciously or not).
https://www.avclub.com/film/reviews/on-the-trail-of-the-lake-michigan-mothman-2021