Noema Magazine

Noema is a magazine exploring the transformations sweeping our world. We publish essays, interviews, reportage, videos and art on the overlapping realms of philosophy, governance, geopolitics, economics, technology and culture. In doing so, our unique approach is to get out of the usual lanes and cross disciplines, social silos and cultural boundaries. From artificial intelligence and the climate crisis to the future of democracy and capitalism, Noema Magazine seeks a deeper understanding of the most pressing challenges of the 21st century.

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Noema Magazine • FALL 2023 — ISSUE Nº 4

PASSAGE

I THE CYCLE OF CIVILIZATIONS

CHINA’S LAST GENERATION • The pandemic awakened China’s young people to the reality that their society is oriented to the values and priorities of the elderly, whose truths are very different from their own.

THE TRUE STORY OF Z • The tale of the mysterious “Z” emblem—a signal of support for Russia’s war in Ukraine—illuminates how aging leaders in the Kremlin attempt to explain genocide to their own people.

Noema Insights: The Cycle Of Civilizations

II PHILOSOPHY & CULTURE

DEEP TIME SICKNESS • In Mexico, people who are tocado — “touched” — reveal that geological traumas, like earthquakes, can destabilize our concepts of health, identity and even time.

FINDING AWE AMID EVERYDAY SPLENDOR • A new field of psychology has begun to quantify an age-old intuition: Feeling awe is good for us.

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS ITALIAN FOOD • With anti-immigration sentiment rising and the climate changing, will Italians continue to embrace new ingredients and ideas from abroad?

III ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

THE EVOLUTIONARY EMERGENCE OF AI • Technology is not artificially replacing life—it is life.

WHAT IS AI DOING TO ART? • AI-generated artwork is prompting hard questions about human creativity. The history of the photograph shows why the terms of the debate are wrong.

IV CAPITALISM RECONSIDERED

A CLASH OF TWO GILDED AGES • Despite their rivalry, America and China are more similar than most people think. Both are living through a Gilded Age and struggling to end the excesses of capitalism.

CONCRETE BUILT THE MODERN WORLD. NOW IT’S DESTROYING IT. • A growing chorus of architects argue we must build differently with concrete—which contributes to global warming and environmental destruction on an unfathomable scale—or perhaps abandon it altogether.

THE DISAPPEARING ART OF MAINTENANCE • The noble but undervalued craft of maintenance could help preserve modernity’s finest achievements and serve as a useful framework for addressing the climate crisis.

V THE PLANETARY

LISTENING TO THE CREATURES OF THE WORLD • AI and other technologies are enabling us to decode nature’s sounds, leading to exciting ideas about planetary governance that incorporates nonhuman voices.

THE EXTRAORDINARY GREEN PROMISE OF A TINY MOLECULE • Hydrogen produced by renewable energy makes it possible to fully transition to a global green economy. So what’s stopping us from going all in?

Protecting The Night Sky • A visit to one of the darkest places on Earth.

VI DEMOCRACY & DIGITAL SOCIETY

Noema Insights: Save Democracy By Renovating It • David Reybrouck, Adrian Hon and Nathan Gardels explore potential transformations to faltering democracies.

THE NEW MEDIA GOLIATHS • The internet has allowed independent creators to thrive, finding niche audiences for everything from nudes to salad recipes. But it’s also spawned silos that incentivize propaganda.