Here’s a list of questions that I’m looking for leads on! If you think you can answer any, or are able to point me in the direction of writing that deals with similar issues, please reach out in the comments or over email; my contact is suspendedreason(at)gmail.com.

1. The restaurant & entertainment industry no doubt has in-house or practical knowledge about how to create and maintain atmosphere (“vibe”). This would be super pertinent to recent research interests. Where might I get started trying to access this discourse?
2. In the 1960s, the “games” metaphor was everywhere, from pop songs to philosophy texts and trip manuals. Today, the metaphor is far less-used and more negative-valenced (e.g. associated with PUA culture). What happened?
3. How do individuals or parties negotiate across (or in the absence of) shared frameworks?
   • Schelling showed how shared cultural conventions help bargaining parties reach agreements. Most agreements are the result of employing a traditional resting point that is considered fair. Without these conventions, how is a resting point for negotiation reached?
   • I’ve been working through Peter Galison’s research on collaboration, “pidgins,” and trading zones in physics. This has been my most fruitful source so far, in case it helps clarify what I’m after.
4. How might we productively decompose questions of aesthetic taste? Some surface area to be considered in a refactoring:
   • Decomposing what a work is trying to do, and how well it accomplishes that
   • (Related) Decomposing the genre or tradition a work partakes in, and how well it exemplifies that tradition
   • The varying functions and audiences affected by that problem’s solution
   • The set of personalities, social roles, and social rankings in which functions and problems are deemed valuable
     • E.g., is subtlety in art a value of the cognitive elite?
5. I’ve been trying to learn more about Robert Graham Irwin, the medievalist and novelist. But despite a pretty impressive publishing career, there’s very little information on his life or thinking. Any resources I might not be aware of?