A California man made violent threats against leaders of an organic industry watchdog group based in southwest Wisconsin Vernon County Sheriff’s Office identified 23-year-old Gabriel Ramirez of Santa Cruz California as the source of several threatening emails and a threatening phone call made to staff at the La Farge-based nonprofit OrganicEye Ramirez was employed at the time by California Certified Organic Farmers the nation’s largest USDA-accredited organic certification service Ramirez began sending the messages in November 2023, shortly after OrganicEye filed a formal complaint with the National Organic Program over alleged conflicts of interest at CCOF The watchdog group claimed CCOF had not effectively separated its certification service from the group’s nonprofit foundation. The group claimed that could allow major national organic brands to use charitable donations to the foundation to sway the company’s decisions around organic certification said he’s been threatened with lawsuits before over the group’s investigations into alleged misconduct in the organic industry But these messages threatened violence against himself and his family as well as other OrganicEye employees and their families “I’ve been doing this for over 20 years and this is the first threat of violence we’ve received,” Kastel said A sheriff’s department investigator was able to get a search warrant for phone records related to a threatening call made in February 2024 The investigator traced the call to a personal cellphone belonging to Ramirez Sheriff Roy Torgerson said both Ramirez and his employer cooperated with his department’s investigation His department has referred the case to Vernon County District Attorney Angela Palmer-Fisher for review including a potential felony charge of threats to injure “Just completing the investigation and identifying the source sends a very loud message to our community that we don’t tolerate this type of behavior,” Torgerson said I don’t know if it’s as important as it was taken this far and it was taken seriously.” A spokesperson for CCOF said in an email that the company was informed by local police on Feb 20 that Ramirez allegedly made threats against Kastel CCOF placed Ramirez on administrative leave and conducted an internal investigation which ended in Ramirez’s termination five days later “CCOF has a zero-tolerance policy regarding violence or threats of violence,” the company said in a statement “We unequivocally do not condone any threat of violence to any person at any time under any circumstances.” In a signed letter shared by OrganicEye saying he did not intend to cause “harm fear or distress” and stating he acted as an individual Kastel said he offered to forgo seeking charges against Ramirez in exchange for the apology But he said his organization is interested in investigating whether criticism or statements made by CCOF leadership may have motivated Ramirez to act “This is certainly symptomatic of a society that is not being polite to each other,” he said “There’s some kind of false insulation that people feel exists when they interact online Many people say and do things that they would never say face to face Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System and Wisconsin Educational Communications Board Password reset instructions will be sent to your registered email address As a frequent reader of our website, you know how important America’s voice is in the conversation about the church and the world. 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Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Volume 16 - 2022 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbot.2022.944986 This article is part of the Research TopicBio A.I. - From Embodied Cognition to Enactive RoboticsView all 23 articles A correction has been applied to this article in: Corrigendum: Small steps for mankind: Modeling the emergence of cumulative culture from joint active inference communication Although the increase in the use of dynamical modeling in the literature on cultural evolution makes current models more mathematically sophisticated these models have yet to be tested or validated This paper provides a testable deep active inference formulation of social behavior and accompanying simulations of cumulative culture in two steps: First we cast cultural transmission as a bi-directional process of communication that induces a generalized synchrony (operationalized as a particular convergence) between the belief states of interlocutors we cast social or cultural exchange as a process of active inference by equipping agents with the choice of who to engage in communication with This induces trade-offs between confirmation of current beliefs and exploration of the social environment We find that cumulative culture emerges from belief updating (i.e. active inference and learning) in the form of a joint minimization of uncertainty The emergent cultural equilibria are characterized by a segregation into groups whose belief systems are actively sustained by selective The nature of these equilibria depends sensitively on the precision afforded by various probabilistic mappings in each individual's generative model of their encultured niche Currently these models have only been applied to relatively low level cognitive processes but the creation of high level cognitive maps at the individual level as well as modeling the emergence of cultural change on the population-wide dynamics represents a promising line of future work While the comparison of an idea to a (non-mutating) virus has its benefits from a formal perspective it implies the controversial notion that an idea is simply copied during its transmission through cultural exchange between individuals This notion is not only intuitively insufficient for a realistic characterization of communication dynamics but also conflicts with established theoretical models of transmission on these same grounds conversation partners have to be understood as active participants that co-create these partially shared reference frames in a self-organizing fashion over the course of each interaction Intersubjective theories of communication aim to account for those underlying dynamics that—slightly paradoxically—both enable and (to some extent) require the co-creation of (partially) shared reference frames amongst interlocutors traditional formulations have tended to oversimplify communication in terms of back-and-forth exchanges based on (largely) fixed symbolic meaning systems implicitly presupposing those shared reference frames in an ad-hoc manner The theory of cumulative culture (Stout and Hecht, 2017; Dunstone and Caldwell, 2018) expands on the notion that progressive alterations of cultural beliefs and practices are intrinsic to all cultural exchanges because they are embodied, expressed, and interpreted differently by each individual participant of the ensemble (Dean et al., 2014) While efficient cultural exchanges do tend to be grounded in similar physical substrates across and within individuals (e.g. the high abstraction levels and malleability of these substrates render cultural dynamics in a different class than phenomena that are wholly dependent on consistency across genetic substrates such as sexual reproduction and disease spread genetics does play a crucial role in the range of phenomena associated with gene-culture co-evolution Textual overlap has been minimized and reprinted Figures have been highlighted where relevant Since cultural transmission only occurs when social behaviors or beliefs are learned communication only truly implies transmission when what is being communicated has been picked up and solidified in the receiver's cognitive model We assume this kind of communication in our simulations which is why under our account communication does imply transmission Although cultural transmission does not necessarily require verbal communication we assume this kind of communication in our simulations When active inference agents engage in the coupled dynamics of communication generalized synchrony between their internal states emerges from their mutual efforts to minimize uncertainty—as scored mathematically with (variational) free energy generalized synchrony ensures the greatest mutual predictability error resolves the greatest amount of collective uncertainty Our model of communication builds on the notion of generalized synchrony to suggest that the emergence of synchrony from the coupled communication of active inference agents may be operationalized as a particular convergence between their respective generative models when we simulate the belief-updating dynamics of communicating agents the cultural reproduction of a particular idea takes the form of a learnable convergence between their respective belief states (expressed as generative models) and distinct representations combine into one synchronized Formally, our model defines perceptual inference in terms of a coupling parameter linking the internal states of interlocutors through dialogue (Figure 1) Also understood as sensitivity to model evidence (A1) perceptual inference is a direct and explicit form of coupling that occurs over the span of a single dialogue such that it is hypothesized to modulate agents' convergence of internal belief states during communication Our model defines two groups of parameters that couple the internal states of agents: Learning and inference Perceptual learning (A2) is the learning of associations between emotional valence and belief states that guide the long term actions of our agents who hold and express beliefs accumulating across multiple interactions and used to modify models over extended periods of exchange sensitivity to model evidence—operates on fast time scales and is direct and explicit to agents during dialogue we hypothesized that without precise evidence accumulation agents would be insensitive to evidence regarding the belief state of the other and their internal states would not converge Cultural beliefs and practices spread within a society through communication a process which we have referred to as the local dynamics of cumulative culture This description is appropriate because the accumulated outcomes of each (local) dyadic interaction collectively determine the degree to which an idea is prevalent in a culture Moving from local communication dynamics to the prevalence of a communicable idea—in a cumulative culture—is what we will refer to as the global dynamics of cumulative culture The attunement of interlocutors to each other's generative models on the (local) microscale thus translated over time and with multiple encounters into collective free energy minimization on the (global) macroscale For a formal (variational free energy) proof of principle we offer an active inference account of cultural dynamics A foundational step in this endeavor is the formulation of generative models underlying the decision making of agents that can be deployed in simulations In our simulations, agents attempt to convince each other of a cultural belief under generative models that operate with local information only. We formulate these generative models as a partially observed Markov decision process (MDP), where beliefs take the form of discrete probability distributions (for technical details on MDPs in active inference, see Hesp et al., 2019) To simulate active inference under these models one specifies variables—such as hidden states (x observable outcomes (o) and one-step action policies (u)—alongside parameters specifying the probabilistic relationships between the variables in question Agents' recollection of a visit is thus an expression of humans' innate ability to infer each other's expectations, which makes human cognition, sociality, and culture possible at all (Veissière et al., 2020) having evolved to rely on elaborate and highly coordinated action have expectations regarding other agents' sharing aspects of their own generative model and thereby believing that other agents have those expectations as well These carefully and implicitly coordinated and co-constructed expectations allow agents from a particular culture to learn what to expect from each other and leverage those expectations to act accordingly in their environment In our model these expectations are manifested as agents' information and preference-seeking which are biased toward the selection of similar interlocutors to engage with MDPs allow for the construction of a deep hierarchical model comprising nested levels of complexity. Below we will describe those levels and detail the cognitive processes that take place within each one (Figure 2) Figure 2. A generative model of communication. This Figure was reprinted from an open-source preprint of a conference paper, with permission of the authors (Figure 1 of Kastel and Hesp, 2021) parameters as squares and concentration parameters as dark blue circles Visualized on a horizontal line from left to right Visualized on a vertical line from bottom to top parameters underwrite a hierarchical structure that corresponds to levels of cognitive processing Parameters are listed on the left of the generative model and variables are on the right For our simulations, six kinds of matrices were parameterized (A, B, C, E, C, and G) using two kinds of concentration parameters (α,ε) for Dirichlet distributions, and temperature and rate parameters for precision terms (indicated with γ; see Figure 3 and Appendix A9) (A) The A1 matrix specifies an agents' perception of an interlocutors' expressed beliefs The precision of this likelihood mapping determines the agent's sensitivity to these expressions (B) The A2 matrix represents what the agent has learned about the mapping between her high and low level beliefs represent what the agent has learned about how hidden states evolve over time The precision of B matrices can be understood as encoding the volatility of belief states (D) The E1 matrix is one of two habitual contributions to action selection It covers two possible outcomes for expressing beliefs This contribution is specified on a continuous range between (0,1) where the extremes correspond to either complete confidence in denying or supporting the claim (E) The E2 matrix is the second habitual component for action and it holds 50 possible outcomes for meeting selection (i.e. the probability for meeting each agent in the population) (F) The expected free energy of allowable policies (i.e. expected risk (the KL-divergence from the C matrix and biasing toward confirming one's preferred ideas) and expected ambiguity which biases toward meeting new agents with unknown beliefs Note: The purpose of this Figure is to draw the attention of the reader to the general form of the matrices shared across the simulated agents for any individual agent in the simulated population each of these objects contains specific numbers which are initially generated procedurally from various probability distributions (described in the text) and change throughout the simulation as the agents interact in their shared environment Specific numbers could at best describe only one particular agent at a given instance of time (which does not represent the entire population) the probability distributions used to generate initial values do not reflect the additional steps required such as the renormalization procedures involved in applying a softmax operator it would also occlude the fact that certain entries (e.g. the expected free energy) will vary over time during a simulation belief updating depends not only on their adherence to each other's claims but also a certain (varying) degree of commitment to their own beliefs The balance is determined by each agents' sensitivity to sensory evidence; i.e. Technically, we can describe belief updating in terms of the generative model in Figure 3 as follows: • Initial higher-level core support for the idea at the beginning of the simulation (T = 1): • Evolving higher-level beliefs after each meeting (T > 1) • Initializing lower-level beliefs about the claims of others based on higher-level (cross-meeting) beliefs: • Updating beliefs about the other agent's belief based on their claims (Appendix A7) • Updating of core belief based on claims of self and another agent after each meeting (detailed descriptions of the computations involved in this belief updating can be found in the Appendix): The initial mapping therefore involves minimal precision for the expected EV for the alternative belief since agents are first introduced to this belief (and associated EV) during the simulations the initial likelihood mapping between states is updated throughout our simulation via a crucial concentration parameter (α) which will be elaborated on under level 4 The inferred EV state is then used to generate an action precision (γ) such that positive EV generates high confidence in action selection (u1) and negative EV generates low confidence Higher confidence values produce higher precision on the expected free energy (G) for one's belief claim expressed in the current conversation EV states are generated from core belief states Confidence of belief expression is generated using a Gamma distribution where the rate parameter βexpr is the Bayesian model average of β(+ −) values associated with high and low satisfaction: The expression of beliefs is guided by current core beliefs (scaled with satisfaction-dependent γexpr) and by habitual belief expression Eexpr (scaled with a fixed parameter γE,expr): The intrinsically stochastic and itinerant nature of the generative process of communication is modeled by using a two-dimensional Dirichlet distribution to generate observed expressions on the range (0,1) where each agent's belief expression prior P(uexpr|γexpr) is used to specify their concentration parameters (multiplied by 12 to reduce variance): A simplified example of exploitation- and exploration-driven strategies for meeting selection This Figure illustrates the behavioral differences between the extreme cases of being fully driven by exploitation (Left) or exploration (Right) Each cell on the grid corresponds to a potential interlocutor for these agents who make decisions in three consecutive time steps (t = 1 3) and have previously engaged with three other interlocutors (marked with blue rectangles) where we use the shorthand klC to indicate the pragmatic component of the expected free energy Gpragmatic,visit = oexpr,visit · (ln oexpr,visit − Cidea) which corresponds to the KL divergence between expectations about the interlocutor at that location (as informed by previous visits) and the preferred ideas of our agents such that lower values correspond to a better match The exploitation-driven agent (Left) simply revisits three times a known interlocutor with the lowest KLC the exploration-driven agent (Right) prefers novel visits and switches to an unknown agent every time step agents will dynamically balance these two strategies as their preferences themselves evolve over time action selection was formalized as follows: Gvisit represents the expected free energy: Expectations about the support for an idea expressed by each potential agent one could visit: Individual preferences about the support for the idea: expectations about a potential reduction in ambiguity about the support for an idea by a particular agent reflects one's recollection about their most recent visit to this other agent Hj = 0 if an agent can remember a recent visit (i.e. maximization of epistemic value helps individuals to better predict the consequences of their actions (e.g. when they decide which agent to meet) as they reduce uncertainty about hidden states of their environment in this case it refers to the ideas supported by other agents) Because of our method of procedural generation of various (hyper)parameters from various probability distributions (described in more detail in the Appendix) and affective tendencies emerged in our simulations due to the large variety of possible combinations In principle one could obtain any range of behaviors from this method of procedural generation based on a set of probability distributions for all these hyperparameters which could hence be fitted to population data A full-blown analysis of all the emergent variability in the simulated populations is beyond the scope of the current paper For the sake of our demonstration, a clear distinction between agents with high and low confirmation bias was introduced in our simulations by drawing individualized hyperparameters from two distinct sets of Dirichlet distributions (illustrated in Figure 5; described in the Appendix) to obtain each agent's likelihood mapping from higher-level core beliefs to lower-level preferences concerning observed expressions The resulting distinct populations could have emerged from cultural segregation where different cultural subgroups have developed different priorities in guiding social interactions—in this case guided more or less strongly by confirmation of core beliefs Two sets of expectation values of the Dirichlet distributions used to generate top-down likelihood mappings AC(2) from core beliefs about ideas X(2) to preferences concerning expressed ideas Cidea representing the two distinct populations for which parameters were initialized with different degrees of confirmation bias Weak confirmation bias (Left) corresponded to mild preferences for observed expressions to confirm core beliefs while strong confirmation bias (Right) corresponded to a strong preference for observed expressions to confirm core beliefs (essentially a one-to-one mapping) Novelty-seeking tendencies were not explicitly coded and simply emerged from the parameters that regulate the relative impact of epistemic vs. pragmatic value in the expected free energy, although it should be clear that high confirmation bias tends to suppress novelty-seeking. In Figure 6 the distinction between “strict conservatives,” “centrists,” and “skeptics” was used to qualitatively describe the emergent continuous spectrum purely for communicative purposes and should not be taken as a definite discretization A depiction of the community square with its initial opinion distribution: One idea (red) was supported by almost all agents with some variation due to individualized model parameters roughly dividing into “strict conservatives,” “centrists,” and a few “skeptics.” At first the alternative idea (blue) is supported by only one This kind of learning is important because it provides our agents with certainty regarding the emotional value they can expect from holding the alternative belief to the status quo which has low precision at the beginning of the simulation (before the population is introduced to an agent proclaiming this belief) The learning of associations between belief and emotional valence states may be understood as a form of implicit coupling between agents (Figure 1) in that it represents an indirect and secondary influence of one agent's internal state on another sensitivity to each others' mental states is made possible only through inferences about the others' emotional state (in the absence of any overt or observable evidence for that emotional state) learning occurs at slow time scales as mutual minimization of prediction error brings about a convergence in the parameters of hierarchical models that generate mutually sympathetic (or possibly empathetic) predictions Parameter learning accumulates across multiple interactions modifying generative models over a long period of time as opposed to being immediately expressed in agents' behavior This is why perceptual learning does not bring about an immediate convergence or synchrony between interlocutors' internal states but is only expressed in agents' adapted behavior over time Individuals vary in the degree to which they are sensitive to the information gained by learning associations between belief states and their potential emotional outcomes This variation is represented in each agent's categorical probability distribution A2 that is updated throughout the simulation via a concentration parameter (α) as they accumulate information with every agent they meet Updates to the A2-concentration parameters model the way in which agents' associations between belief and emotional states are based on implicit observations of others' emotional states The prior for this likelihood mapping is specified in terms of a Dirichlet distribution: The associated approximate posterior accumulates the precision-weighted counts of correspondences between observed expressions and satisfaction levels: A diagram illustrating the steps of the generative model (Left) Lower level Step 1: Interlocutor selection each agent selects one interaction partner (selecting themselves means staying home) Agents cannot see each other's “opinion” before conversing Meeting selection was conditioned on: (1) Habitual visitation drives conditioned on: (2a) Expected (mis)match between expressed opinions (pragmatic value) and (2a) expected reduction in uncertainty about opinions of other agents depending on one's memory of recent visits (epistemic value) (Right) Lower level Step 2: Conversation with a selected agent Each meeting consisted in exchanges of expressed support for an idea [in the range (0,1)] and affective cues [negative-positive Expressed support was conditioned on: (1) Expression habits formed during past conversations (2) one's current support for the idea Expressed affective cues were conditioned on one's current valence state Affect played a role during Steps 1 and 2: Relative reliance on habitual tendencies vs deliberation (expected free energy G) was regulated via action model precision The latter was conditioned on one's current valence state which was conditioned on one's current support of an idea depending on previously learned associations between expressed ideas and concurrent affective cues (from oneself and others) • Expected support for idea (from self and others) • Expected claim expressions (from self and others) • Memory of most recent visit of other agents • Current selection of an agent to visit • Expressed opinions (when visiting and when visited) • Expressed affective cues (when visiting and when visited) every agent maintains (implicit) beliefs about the following: • Support for idea from self and others • Habits of expressed support (self) • Recency of visits to and from others • Visitation habits of self (dirichlet counts) • Affect-idea associations (dirichlet counts) Active inference allows us to formulate a normative and explainable account of cultural information spread through communication by casting cultural transmission as a bi-directional communicative process that entails a particular convergence between distinct conveyors and conveners of cultural information We provide a proof of concept for this formalization of communication dynamics by simulating a dialogue between active inference agents holding distinct beliefs and trying to convince each other of their own beliefs Modeling the global dynamics of a cumulative culture (i.e. the accumulation of cultural information over a manifold of transmissions) was modeled such that—at each time point all 50 agents engaged in dialogue at least once (by selecting a conversation partner) In nature, generalized synchrony emerges from sparse coupling between the internal states of dissipative chaotic systems (Pikovsky et al., 2003). In our model, generalized synchrony within a social system is operationalized as a convergence between belief states held by interlocutors (Figure 1) generalized synchrony between mutually inferring agents is understood as signaling a form of cultural reproduction of beliefs a mechanism by which previously distinct internal states merge and combine into one This convergence is made possible through a particular coupling between the internal states of cultural entities under which generalized synchrony is an emergent phenomenon We hypothesized that without active perception and mutual model updating since interlocutors' inner states would be inaccessible to each other agents' ability to actively infer hidden states in the world and update their own model according to the sensory evidence they receive is the foundation for achieving generalized synchrony in a social system Our results indicate that agents' ability to listen and attune to the claims of their partner is indeed limited to the extent that they are sensitive to sensory evidence from their encultured environment (Figure 8) While this internal state is defined as a binary variable an agent's beliefs are given by a categorical probability distribution that can take on any real number in the range (0,1) This figure shows the belief states (vertical axes) of two agents (represented in blue and pink) as they engage in dialogue across 18 time steps (horizontal axis) When the likelihood precision is low for both agents (Left) their internal states are very weakly coupled such that each agent sticks to their own belief and does not attune to the claims of the other when both agents have high precisions (Right) their engagement in mutual attunement is facilitated and their beliefs converge onto one shared belief which is then installed in both of their generative models as a shared narrative To understand the implications of these findings, it is important to shed light on the way they tie in to previous work on active inference communication. In Friston and Frith (2015) provided evidence for the notion that generalized synchrony becomes altogether unattainable when agents do not possess sufficiently similar generative models Our results go beyond this and provide evidence for the idea that only when generalized synchrony is attainable (i.e. when interlocutors possess sufficiently similar generative models) communication underlies a convergence between agents' belief states Our simulations should therefore be understood as taking generalized synchrony for granted while providing evidence for the premise that the level to which agents' beliefs converge (i.e. the level of synchrony between their internal states) is modulated by their sensitivity to model evidence (A1) Our simulations of a cumulative culture should be understood as modeling the dynamics of a culture that is the sum (or accumulation) of modifications to cultural beliefs and practices over time (Figure 9) While the local dyadic dynamics simulated in the previous section illustrate convergence to shared belief states held by individual agents our global simulations leverage this synchronization to evince emergent dynamics within the population We now review the key (predicted and) emergent phenomena we observed under this model of cumulative culture: Figure 9. The emergence of cumulative culture. This Figure and its caption were adapted from an open-source preprint of a conference paper, with permission of the authors (Figure 3 of Kastel and Hesp, 2021) These plots depict the evolution of population-averaged support (black line) with regards to the idea that represents the initial status quo (top indicates 100% support bottom indicates 0% support) over time (horizontal axes) along with individual core beliefs (shown in the underlying scatter plot for which only the relative size of the subgroup with high confirmation bias was modulated [(A): 5% The underlying scatter plots indicate the core beliefs of individual agents by means of their vertical location as well with a color scale for additional clarity (red indicating maximal support for the status quo (A) Simulation of a Cumulative Culture: In this reference simulation half of all agents are parameterized with high confirmation bias When a divergent belief state (blue) is introduced to the status quo population (red) at the first time step it spreads through it via agents in dialogue that cumulatively change the belief structure within the population the introduction of a divergent belief seems to split the population into two subgroups: those supporting the new idea and those adhering to the previous status quo This effect is modulated by agents' individual strategies for choosing which interlocutors to engage with (s3) (B) High levels of novelty seeking in the population: When only 15% of agents are parameterized with high confirmation bias the population exhibits high levels of novelty seeking and ends up being divided in favor of the divergent belief state with more agents eventually holding this belief than the status quo (C) High levels of confirmation bias in the population When 85% of agents are parameterized with high confirmation bias the population is divided in favor of the status quo belief with more agents holding to this belief than the new and divergent belief When a divergent (non status quo) belief state propagates within our synthetic population it brings about segregation into sub-groups this is represented as a visible separation between two groups of agents: those that hold a belief that approximates the status quo (presented in red) and those that approximate the alternative the majority of agents remains convinced of the previous status quo These results indicate that confirmation bias suppresses tendencies of the population as a whole toward the adoption of an idea that diverges from the status quo When the confirmation-driven fraction of the population is relatively low (15%) we naturally observe more novelty-seeking behaviors indicating agents are more “open-minded” and willing to meet with agents of unknown beliefs They are intrinsically encouraged by their own curiosity to expose themselves to novel expressions Once such agents become convinced by such interactions they can start to popularize it for the rest of the population made up of a majority of agents driven by confirmation bias they do not engage as much with the alternative belief and popularization is precluded One explanation for this phenomenon is that innovators and early adopters communicate innovations and their relative advantages to other segments of the population we provide an active inference framework for the emergence of a cumulative culture from joint communication dynamics The principal achievement of this framework is that it offers an overarching quantitative and multiscale account against which multiple hypotheses from different domains of the social sciences may be universally tested This accomplishment has the potentiality to bring the replication crisis faced by the psychological and social sciences in the past decade standardized model of cultural evolution can evoke such an outcome as personal intuitions and culturally biased folk theories that currently make results difficult or impossible to reproduce will become anchored to an objective and universally agreed upon verifiable account Our simulations depict cultural dynamics that arise from one another to form nested levels of hierarchical organization quintessential to complex dynamical systems This novel way of modeling cultural dynamics across layers of organization accord nicely with new approaches to artificial intelligence that originate from the notion that intelligence emerges as much from cells and societies as it does from individuals The emerging field of biologically inspired artificial intelligence involves computational approaches that model biological systems on various layers of organization Such artificial intelligence systems include: cellular systems; neural systems; immune systems; bio-mimetic epi-genetic and evolutionary robots as well as collective systems In this section we will discuss the specific implications of our multilevel cultural simulations on the field of biologically inspired artificial intelligence These findings suggest that humans might owe their remarkable intelligence to their unique ability to coordinate their behavior through joint communication and other (non verbal) cultural exchanges communication and coordination- are a crucial component of human intelligence This makes a strong case for the use of communication models as inspiration for the development of socially intelligent artificial agents equipping artificial agents with the ability to accurately coordinate and communicate with other agents in their environment may well be a crucial missing piece in the modeling of advanced- human level- cognitive abilities By modeling the underlying dynamics of social communication and coordination as we have in this paper we bring to light an otherwise unexplored topic which may be one of the most promising directions for achieving human level machine intelligence is evident in nature and has become an integral part in the field of artificial intelligence as more and more high complexity problems require bio-inspired solutions that are achievable within a reasonable period of time To the extent that the cumulative and collective nature of culture provides an accurate account of intelligence investigating the underlying mechanisms of intelligence may be informed by the investigation of complex social-cultural systems providing a quantitative and measurable account of the way a “collective brain” emerges from simple becomes invaluable in the pursuit of machine intelligence A natural speculation may be that robots have better skills of communication and inter-robot social inference and expression than digital avatars since they can use their bodies for behavioral expression and coordination with other robots we argue that despite lacking a physical body active inference avatars are embodied in that the computational formalism that is applied to them (namely what this means is that active inference agents in our simulations adhere to three formal conditions for having embodied cognition: 1. They have a perceptual system which allows them to gather culturally relevant information from their surroundings. This is evident in the first layer (“perception”) of the hierarchical structure of the generative model of the agents (Figure 2) 2. They have a motor system that allows them to communicate their internal states to their social environment. This is evident in the third layer (“action”) of the hierarchical structure of the generative model of the agents (Figure 2) 3. They are situated in their environment such that they are able to manipulate their dynamic surroundings through their actions. This is evident in agents' ability to listen and attune to each others' belief expression in a way that allows for a coupling of their internal states and the emergence of generalized synchrony between them (Figure 8) The fact that agents under the active inference formulation conform to these three conditions is non trivial and it points to the fact that these agents could not be simply replaced by any hypothetical- non embodied- simulated intelligent being our simulations would not make sense unless applied to a population that adheres to the certain criteria aforementioned We could only apply our simulations to agents that adhere to all these conditions (i.e. our agents may not be physically embodied robots but we argue that- by definition- as active inference agents capable of perceptions and actions in a situated environment Had we put this software into social robots that had the hardware equivalent of “ears” and “mouths,” we would be able to produce embodied robots in a way that would improve their social interactions we argue here that embodiment must be present in both the software and the hardware for social interactions of agents to be enhanced by it and that the active inference formalism implies embodiment for the former Although this paper provides important insights into the underlying dynamics of social-cultural systems it entails certain limitations that will now be outlined and may be addressed in future research while we provide a formulation of the way modifications to cultural information occur during communication (i.e. the transmission of social information) and we have simulated the emergence of cumulative culture from these dynamics (i.e. we have not provided an account of the way novel social information is introduced into a population to begin with We have assumed that belief states are gradually modified with every cultural exchange such that the outcome of this exchange may be considered novel by virtue of it being a unique recombination of existing beliefs and practices Future research may focus on asking important questions like: Why are we inclined to say that innovation is a unique event that does not occur with every cultural transmission how can we define and even model the difference between a slight modification to a cultural trait and innovation The importance of identifying exactly what constitutes innovation and how to model its emergence is critical for an accurate understanding of socio-cultural dynamics because it would bring the circular dynamics of a complex culture to a required close (Figure 10) not only would cumulative culture naturally emerge from a complex network of agents engaged in joint communication (as shown in this proposal) but innovation would emerge from cumulative culture and underlie communication in a repeating recursive loop that is the hallmark of complex dynamical systems The circular dynamics of cultural evolution the authors aim to expand on these notions by enriching the simulated environment with actual practical constraints will specifically benefit from the grounding of these simulated cultural exchanges in a more elaborate virtual environment combined with agents that have actual bodily and social needs such that subjective fitness estimates (based on action-model precision) come to confer some practical relevance (as described in the preceding paragraph) In this paper, we employed a Bayesian framework—known as active inference—to formally account for the dynamics underlying (local) communication and (global) cumulative culture dynamics, thus contributing to the ever-growing body of research on multi-agent Bayesian models (e.g., Gunji et al., 2018) and collective active inference (e.g., Friedman et al., 2021; Heins et al., 2022) Under our account the social “transmission” of cultural information has been cast as a fundamentally bidirectional process of communication which has been shown in the previous active inference literature to induce a generalized synchrony between the internal (belief) states of agents holding sufficiently similar generative models we operationalized generalized synchrony as a particular convergence between the internal states of interlocutors and show that it depends sensitively on the precision of observation or likelihood mappings in a generative model of communicative exchange When we simulate a population of agents that simultaneously engage in communication over time cumulative culture emerges as the collective behavior brought about by local belief updating (active inference and learning in a dyadic setting) Our simulations show that when a divergent belief is introduced to the status quo it spreads within the population and brings about a collective behavior characterized by a certain degree of segregation between different belief groups The level to which the status quo population defects to the divergent belief is mediated by local psychological biases for confirmation bias (as directly manipulated) and novelty seeking (as emergent from procedural generation of parameters) voting) equilibria are minimizers of collective or joint free energy that emerge from the imperative to minimize uncertainty and surprise in dyadic exchanges The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/Supplementary material further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author NK and CH implemented the formalism of active inference NK developed the theoretical background for the manuscript and wrote up the first draft of manuscript KR and CH edited the manuscript and linked components in the literature review with prior work in the field CH and KF edited the manuscript and further developed the formalism of active inference in the methods All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version This research was undertaken thanks in part to funding from a NWO Research Talent Grant of the Dutch Government (CH; No 406.18.535) and by a Wellcome Trust Principal Research Fellowship (KF; Ref The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnbot.2022.944986/full#supplementary-material CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar What constitutes “social complexity” and “social intelligence” in birds CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar “Swarm intelligence: a review of algorithms,” in Nature-Inspired Computing and Optimization PubMed Abstract | Google Scholar Google Scholar The regulation of task performance: a trans-disciplinary review PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar A variational approach to niche construction Regimes of expectations: an active inference model of social conformity and human decision making Cultural evolutionary theory: how culture evolves and why it matters Human cumulative culture: a comparative perspective Innovators and early adopters in the diffusion of innovations: a literature review Cumulative cultural evolution within evolving population structures PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Shared reality: experiencing commonality with others' inner states about the world Common themes and cultural variations in Japanese and American mothers' speech to infants Active Inferants: an active inference framework for ant colony behavior PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Inverse Bayesian inference in swarming behaviour of soldier crabs CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Google Scholar Google Scholar Deeply felt affect: the emergence of valence in deep active inference Modelling cultural systems and selective filters Planning and navigation as active inference PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar The psychology of cultural dynamics: what is it Google Scholar Google Scholar Experimental and theoretical models of human cultural evolution PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Great apes anticipate that other individuals will act according to false beliefs The origins of human cumulative culture: from the foraging niche to collective intelligence PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Google Scholar CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Google Scholar The emergence of synchrony in networks of mutually inferring neurons Google Scholar Google Scholar and other things called emotion: dissecting the elephant Google Scholar The communication of culturally dominant modes of attention from parents to children: a comparison of Canadian and Japanese parent-child conversations during a joint scene description task Simulating emotions: An active inference model of emotional state inference and emotion concept learning Evolutionary neuroscience of cumulative culture PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar How children come to understand false beliefs: A shared intentionality account PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Google Scholar Veissière Thinking through other minds: a variational approach to cognition and culture Google Scholar Ridderinkhof KR and Friston KJ (2023) Small steps for mankind: Modeling the emergence of cumulative culture from joint active inference communication Received: 16 May 2022; Accepted: 30 November 2022; Published: 09 January 2023 Copyright © 2023 Kastel, Hesp, Ridderinkhof and Friston. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited in accordance with accepted academic practice distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms *Correspondence: Natalie Kastel, TmF0YWxpZS5LYXN0ZWxAZ21haWwuY29t †These authors share first authorship Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher 94% of researchers rate our articles as excellent or goodLearn more about the work of our research integrity team to safeguard the quality of each article we publish Faegre Drinker has completed a series of leadership transitions, including elevating Gina Kastel as the firm’s first female chair and electing several new board members The firm’s executive leadership team also includes new appointments as Kastel assumes her role who co-chaired the firm since the combination of Drinker Biddle & Reath and Faegre Baker Daniels in February 2020 “Tom and Andy have been extraordinary leaders and I look forward to continuing their work to make our firm a top destination for clients and talent,” Kastel said “I’m honored to serve as Faegre Drinker’s chair in this new era for the firm and I am ready to partner with our clients and colleagues to distinguish Faegre Drinker as an industry leader.” Kastel has appointed partners David Barrett Chief Operating Officer Jane Koehl and Chief Diversity Officer Maria Lewis to serve as part of Faegre Drinker’s executive leadership team which supports Kastel in managing firmwide operations Faegre Drinker is pleased to announce that its partnership has elected Jacob Bylund Jennifer Dean and Sarah Bassler Millar to Faegre Drinker’s board “Our new board members’ diverse viewpoints and experiences in various firm leadership roles will help sharpen our strategic focus and support our efforts to become one of the most trusted brands in the legal profession,” Kastel said.  The three partners join fellow board members Libby Baney and William Connolly, whose terms also began April 1, as announced earlier this year The full board includes Kastel and partners Baney Download the full release. All rights reserved.var d = new Date(); document.getElementById('crdate').append(d.getFullYear()); Attorney Advertising Prior results/testimonials do not guarantee similar outcome Editors’ note: America has published several essays on the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel and on the war in Gaza. Read other views on the conflict between Israel and Palestine here I was about to enter my synagogue to celebrate the holiday of Simchat Torah (literally the “joy of Torah”) when I was approached by a congregant asking me about what was happening in Israel I assumed that she was talking about the issue of judicial reform but what she told me shocked me to my core There had been an invasion with thousands of terrorists managing to get into the country and do the worst horrors imaginable I was in shock and have been reeling from it ever since Considering the prejudice and persecution that the Jewish people have endured throughout our history That is why the re-establishment of our homeland 2,000 years after forced exile by the Romans represented not just our pride but our very survival We now had a place to go if (or when) a bigoted population scapegoated us for their failures But it is the gaslighting and abuse coming at the global Jewish community since Oct Despite many of the terrorists proudly livestreaming their atrocities we have been confronted with denials justifications and even glorifications of these attacks At first the rationalizations and justifications for Hamas were from the predictable quarters but these quickly spread to college students This narrative characterized Israel as the epitome of colonialism Old antisemitic tropes were reclaimed from the dustbin of history and brought back to life The chants “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” became more frequent and we were supposed to pretend that this wasn’t a genocidal cry to rid the Holy Land of Jews That “globalize the Intifada” and “by any means necessary” weren’t calls to violence against Jews everywhere Criticism of particular Israeli politicians and policies is appropriate and a critical part of democracy I am not equating such criticism with antisemitism It is the criticism of Israel’s existence as a Jewish state while not having a problem with countries that have other official religions like Islam It is calling Israelis colonizers while sitting on Native American land that is hypocritical It is comparing Israel to apartheid South Africa that is offensive which started the war and put Israel into an impossible situation The statement stresses that “there are other choices that could be made” in the Middle East but without offering another choice that includes keeping Israel safe General Assembly adopted 15 resolutions critical of Israel in 2023; it adopted only seven such resolutions for all the other nations in the world combined Hamas can claim that Israel is attacking civilians and committing war crimes As I was preparing my sermons for the Jewish high holy days I was plagued by the question of how and why many good people seem to have jumped on the “free Palestine” bandwagon and bought into some of the worst accusations against us The answer that came to me was extreme empathy associated with “the resistance,” has become fashionable and that hating Zionists is seen as a kind of antiracism I encouraged my congregation to learn about how empathy can be a tremendously powerful tool for good That harm happens when people get too caught up in the emotionality of empathy and suspend using their objective minds I encouraged them to consider the value of what psychologist Paul Bloom calls “rational compassion” instead of only empathy I also reminded them that no matter how much we are dehumanized by our detractors it is against our values to dehumanize others We should be careful not to let our empathy for our brothers and sisters in Israel lead us to condemning all Palestinians and their supporters we all are able to see all people as God’s children who deserve to live in peace and freedom As stated by the prophet Isaiah 2:4: “Nation shall not lift up sword against nation.” Read more of America’s coverage of the conflict in Gaza. Sam Kastel is a rabbi at Congregation B’nai Jeshurun in Staten Island New York and a hospice chaplain at VNSNY Health (formerly Visiting Nurse Service of New York) APPLY NOW WIU Home > COFAC > Music > Faculty Staff Info I needed to catch my flight home and knew this would be the last time I ever saw my father I asked if he wanted the door open or closed Dad and I were closing out our time together The trouble had begun a year earlier when my sister called to say that Dad was hospitalized with heart failure The diagnosis seemed to come out of the blue His kidney disease had caused heart failure Not that I believed my 92-year-old father was indestructible and Dad kept himself in good shape both physically and mentally Dad’s work and family were everything He was itching to get back home to Milford to finish it I first saw the oil painting in October of 2022 when I flew up from Baltimore to see him after he became ill What struck me was the photo he was working from It was me as a young boy from the shoulders up standing in our rickety barn in Clove Valley The same barn where Dad would later paint his acclaimed Jaws and The Empire Strikes Back movie posters from his upstairs studio There was something about my facial expression I could swear that child was unusually meditative for someone that young or had Dad caught something in me I wasn’t aware of It was both off-putting and remarkable to see this image after all these years he could not get it to translate the way he wanted on canvas Four years earlier, I had written a magazine retrospective of my father’s career, “The Art of Roger Kastel.” I’d stepped into his studio with its bright fluorescent lighting and paintbrushes of every size imaginable standing bristles-up in an old coffee can in between extended hospital stays and never-ending medical examinations on the rare days he could muster the strength he would valiantly descend the stairs to his studio and pick up his brush to give it another try that’s what art is — man’s passion laid out on canvas My portrait may never have gotten done to the artist’s satisfaction along with the man whose lifelong journey was one of joy and kindness — a trip he generously took with us Matthew Kastel is the stadium manager for Oriole Park at Camden Yards, home of the Baltimore Orioles. Send comments to magazine@globe.com. Home Delivery Gift Subscriptions Log In Manage My Account Customer Service Delivery Issues Feedback News Tips Help & FAQs Staff List Advertise Newsletters View the ePaper Order Back Issues News in Education Search the Archives Privacy Policy Terms of Service Terms of Purchase Work at Boston Globe Media Internship Program Co-op Program Do Not Sell My Personal Information 2022 – Faegre Drinker announces today that Gina Kastel has been selected by the firm’s board as the next chair Kastel will succeed Tom Froehle and Andrew Kassner who have served as co-chairs of the firm since the combination of Drinker Biddle & Reath and Faegre Baker Daniels formed Faegre Drinker in February 2020 a member of Faegre Drinker’s executive leadership team and board co-chairs the firm’s compensation committee and served as its integration partner following the merger she served as Faegre Baker Daniels’ vice chair and chief operating partner and a member of the firm’s management board and executive committee “I am honored to serve Faegre Drinker and our clients in this important role and look forward to working with Tom and Andy during this transition,” says Kastel “We are a stronger firm thanks to Andy and Tom’s leadership through the combination and their remarkable work has led to Faegre Drinker’s early success In collaboration with attorneys and business professionals across our offices I plan to build on our foundation of exceptional clients while leading efforts to continue innovating our services organization and the client experience.” Kastel was selected following an extensive and thorough vetting process led by a board-appointed governance succession committee with the help of a nationally recognized outside consultant the committee sought feedback from the firm’s partners and principals and received extensive input on critical actions and key areas of emphasis on which the next chair should focus “Gina’s outstanding leadership skills and experience demonstrates that she has been an invaluable servant leader at the firm and we couldn’t be more pleased that she will be taking over as the next chair,” says Froehle “We know Gina’s unwavering commitment to our clients makes her the right person for the role and a true asset to Faegre Drinker,” Kassner adds “We look forward to seeing the firm’s continued success under her leadership.” Kastel will focus on growing the firm’s impressive client roster strengthening the firm’s deep client relationships and continuing to attract the best talent in the industry She will build off the firm’s strategic focus on clients and talent outlined in a three-year plan developed by the firm last year while spending the next several months visiting firm offices and listening to colleagues and clients to crystalize her plan for the start of her tenure as chair Kastel has also asked partners David Barrett, Andrew Joseph, Heather Perkins and Judy Reich which is responsible for implementing firm-wide strategy and policy who is based in Faegre Drinker’s Minneapolis office started her legal career in 1999 at Faegre & Benson Download the full release Please select what you would like included for printing: Copy the text below and then paste that into your favorite email application Margaret “Micki” Cecile Kastel Carlson (Lint) passed away peacefully surrounded by her four children and family in La Crescent after a courageous year-long battle with cancer A private burial will be in the Our Lady of the Lakes Catholic Cemetery in Spicer A celebration of Micki's life will be from 11 AM to 1 PM on Monday at the residence of Mike and Kimberly Lint  If you wish to honor Micki’s life please consider a donation to a local arts community organization in her name  Arrangements entrusted to the Peterson Brothers Green Lake Funeral Home in Spicer MN and was raised on Green Lake where her family owned and operated the Ye Olde Mill Inn She attended elementary school in Spicer and graduated from New London-Spicer High School in 1955 receiving her Bachelor of Science degree in 1958 She then went on to earn a Master of Science in Education in 1970 from the University of Wisconsin - Madison she graduated with an Education degree from Metropolitan State University in 1983 and with a Master of Arts degree from St She obtained a Master of Teaching degree from Moorhead State University in 1986.  Micki’s professional career started as a Cytotechnologist working at labs in Eau Claire she worked at Woodland Centers providing mental health services and as a Licensed Social Worker in several Minnesota School Districts and coordinated and led Marriage Retreats Micki was married to Ron Lint and to this union four children were born Micki is survived by her son Chris “Joe” Lint (Ruth) of Playa Brasilito Costa Rica; daughter Tami Sorenson (Jim) of Big Horn WY; son Mike Lint (Kimberly) of New London and daughter Suzi Howe (Jamey Kloss) of La Crescent and Joseph Irish; Ryan Sorenson and Danilee Sorenson; Tylar Lint; Shane Howe Anna Kloss and Nina Kloss; and great-granddaughters and Maria; many dear friends and her most beloved dog Micki was preceded in death by her parents Elmer and Loretta Carlson; her grandson Travis Lint her brother-in-law Jim Saulsbury and great-nephew Nathan Elkjer and spending quality time with her friends and family She could be found laughing in coffee shops and even out backpacking at 84 years of age She especially enjoyed traveling to spend time with her family and loved sharing fond memories of her adventures growing up on Green Lake She lovingly shared her talents by gifting her paintings and knitted blankets Words used by Micki’s family to describe her are brave her dedication to her community shown throughout her life from helping establish the Wilmar Area Food Shelf as the Vice President to serving as a board member for organizations including the West Central Community Services in Willmar served on the MN Council of Churches Committee for Battered Women and Sexual Abuse and the Sexual Attitude Readjustment program at the University of MN She helped develop a rural program that rescued battered women welcoming them and their children into her home and was a national speaker presenting to those establishing similar programs She was truly a woman ahead of her time: a powerful and loving single-mother advocating for those who needed it most Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page The creator of one of the most iconic posters in movie history has died Roger Kastel was as an acclaimed illustrator and artist whose work appeared in many forms — but his single most famous piece is the one that became the poster for Steven Spielberg’s Jaws with its bullet-shaped Great White shark racing out of the depths at a beautiful swimmer at the ocean’s surface Kastel’s Jaws poster was originally made for the paperback edition of Peter Benchley’s novel The publisher decided the book’s hardcover art — a shark set against a black void — would not work for the new edition and commissioned Kastel to create a new painting In the Jaws making-of documentary The Shark Is Still Working Kastel details how he created this unforgettable image “I did a very rough sketch,” he said “and [the publisher] said ‘That’s great Kastel went to the Museum of Natural History to photograph some of their sharks “I said ‘Do you have a shark exhibit in the building?’ [The employee] said ‘Yes we do,’ but they were all down I knew what position I wanted the shark in and there was this great white that they had laying on a easel; I guess they were dusting it And that’s what I worked from.” Kastel asked a model he hired to pose for another piece in Good Housekeeping to spend an extra 30 minutes “swimming” on a stool in his New York studio as the reference for that component of the piece the image became synonymous with Benchley’s novel When the film’s producers asked to use it as their movie poster thinking it would be great publicity for the book — which it was READ MORE: The Best Action Movie Posters of All Time According to his official website, Kastel was a native of White Plains, New York who studied at the Arts Students League in New York City, and became a freelance artist after a stint in the Navy during the Korean War. He produced over 1,000 illustrations for various publishers and novels; after Jaws he made posters for other famous movies — including the beautiful artwork for The Empire Strikes Back. Legendary movie poster artist Drew Struzan paid tribute to Kastel on Twitter writing “We lost another creative brother .. Roger Kastel who gave us the iconic Jaws poster among other wonderful pieces of art.” Kastel also illustrated the ‘Empire Strikes Back’ poster.\nRead More Roger Kastel was as an acclaimed illustrator and artist whose work appeared in many forms — but his single most famous piece is the one that became the poster for Steven Spielberg’s Jaws READ MORE: The Best Action Movie Posters of All Time According to his official website, Kastel was a native of White Plains, New York who studied at the Arts Students League in New York City, and became a freelance artist after a stint in the Navy during the Korean War. He produced over 1,000 illustrations for various publishers and novels; after Jaws he made posters for other famous movies — including the beautiful artwork for The Empire Strikes Back. The wedding of Nachman Kastel of Sydney, Australia and Chana Silberberg of Crown Heights took place at Oholei Torah Hall in Crown Heights. Photos Thanks for capturing this beautiful simcha with all the wonderful family and friends who came to celebrate Baruch Hashem The dates displayed for an article provide information on when various publication milestones were reached at the journal that has published the article activities on preceding journals at which the article was previously under consideration are not shown (for instance submission All content on this site: Copyright © 2025 Elsevier B.V. The L'Chaim of Nachman Kastel of Sydney, Australia and Chana Silberberg of Crown Heights took place at Ulam Chana Hall in Crown Heights. Photos Special Reports › "Invest in developing relationships as much as you invest in developing skills and experience." Photo: Shutterstock.com Gina M. Kastel Law school and year of graduation: Harvard Law School Special Report The Recorder The Legal Intelligencer New York Law Journal The American Lawyer National Law Journal Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc Read More Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment Read More Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls Read More a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement Read More Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase Read More Browse More Resources Already have an account? Sign In The L’Chaim of Nachman Kastel of Sydney Australia and Chana Silberberg of Crown Heights took place Monday night at Ulam Chana Notify me via e-mail if anyone answers my comment Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" passed away peacefully at her home January 29 1947 to the late Gerald Samuel and Helen (Werner) Boughan Karen was a member of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church and K of C Ladies Auxiliary of Council #11139 at Ascension in Chesterfield             She is survived by her husband Melissa Kelly and husband Justin; grandchildren             A memorial mass will be held at Ascension Catholic Church in Chesterfield Arrangements are under the direction of C.Z             Please view full obituary and share condolences online at www.www.czboyer.com — One by one the cows were filed into the arena in front of a few hundred men women and children that filled an outdoor tent on the Kastel Show Cattle farm for the 15th annual Kastel Show Cattle & Friends sale The sale is one of the largest in the area with 113 lots being auctioned off on the muddy Sunday afternoon This is where the 4-H and Future Farmers of America participants who raise and show cattle at state and county fairs bred cows and embryos from over 113 calves auctioned The calves auctioned were either owned by Josh & Michelle or consignments consigning or selling means that they have either bought or bred cows from the Kastels The buyers in the tent were completely focused on the animal being led by the ring man inside the arena while cattle auctioneer You have to have someone experienced in cattle (and) he’s one of the best,” Michelle Kastel said “When we decided to do this we wanted to make it about the families and we wanted to bring the best of the best in to take care of it … .” each new animal would get a thorough description by Josh Kastel prior to it being auctioned “This is the first time we’ve been here,” Bret Cleveland “We bred one of Josh’s bulls and he allowed us to bring it up here to sell it.” Cleveland’s heifer sold for $3,200 that day “I’ve never been to a cattle sale before so this is my first.” the event hosted between 400 and 650 people over two nights Saturday night was a customer appreciation day viewing of the calves and a performance by a live band despite the severe thunderstorms in the area Even though all the rain and mud and everything else “(The storms) cleared up so we got a generator with a light tower and we put those calves underneath that light and people were out there with umbrellas looking at the calves in the mud — which is a lot of die-hards bred cows (cows that are already pregnant) and embryos are bought by farmers to breed for their own farms The visitors to the farm were mostly from Michigan Ohio and Indiana but buyers from states as far as Oklahoma West Virginia and Texas were also present to name a few it’s about the kids,” Michelle Kastel said “We love working with the kids and their family and the kids that show our cattle end up being like our family.” “It’s one of the biggest sales in the country and that’s the honest truth,” Andy Chamberlain selling and purchasing cattle as well as helping the event by selling the Kastels hay and straw from his farm “Josh has helped us out so we love coming to this and seeing cattle And I showed cattle growing up too,” Mackenzie Chamberlain “He puts in the hours from morning to night with everyone that he sells them to So when you buy an animal here (he’ll) stick with you till the end or when you breed it so he keeps people coming back.” When Josh Kastel returned from veterinary school in 2000 The Kastels realized that Michigan was lacking a good cattle auction and Josh said that he went around to his breeder friends in the area pitching the idea I’m thinking of putting this sale together would you be interested in being part of it?’ Because obviously at the time I didn’t have enough calves,” Josh Kastel said it will never fly in the state of Michigan because we’re not out west… .” “So that kind of made me strive to make this thing the best it could be … and give a place for kids to come and get a good quality calf for a reasonable price.” Michelle Kastel said that the auction first began as a small board auction and transitioned to a live auction seven years ago Both Josh and Michelle Kastel showed cattle when they participated in 4-H a program to teach children agricultural skills such as raising livestock and the responsibility and hard work that comes with it Josh Kastel talked about one girl who was brought to tears from happiness Sunday after her family won the auction for the steer she wanted it’s kind of like handing down the torch,” Josh Kastel said “‘We show calves and our kids are going to show calves and their kids are going to show calves.’ That’s what it all boils down to.” While still a student Roger had his first paperback book cover published in the 1960’s by Pocket Books (Simon Schuster) Roger estimates that he has done over a 1,000 illustrations for various publishers a painting of Roger’s won first prize from the National Fire Underwriters This painting was made into a fire safety poster that was used for many years and had high visibility By the 1970’s Roger Kastel hit full stride as an artist becoming one of the most well respected illustrators in the business working for every major publishing house in New York If his work was not yet recognized globally that was about to change in a big way when he accepted the challenge of illustrating the paperback cover of Peter Benchley’s bestselling classic JAWS for Bantam Books purchased the right to use this image as the poster for the movie This was the first time that a poster image became a merchandising product in itself Forty years later Roger’s illustration is still as instantly recognized throughout the world as when it first exploded onto the scene Roger’s reputation as a top flight illustrator now made its way to Hollywood and he was asked to paint the movie poster for George Lucas’ highly anticipated sequel to Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back This poster also became an instant classic and is considered one of the most influential movie posters every produced posted to X about his friend and colleague’s passing: https://twitter.com/DrewStruzan/status/1724819908192804941 New York and worked in fine art and commissioned portraits towards the end of his career When she isn't watching her friends and family's eyes glaze over at the mention of The Clone Wars or on the couch with a book in one hand and a drink in the other By the end of the winter show season in California Charlotte Jorst was a little burned out on dressage She’d had success with her string of horses but with a new grandchild to fawn over and family that she felt she’d neglected the last few summers Jorst spent the summer in Denmark and only just got back on a horse last Wednesday before heading to the U.S Dressage Festival of Champions with Kastel’s Nintendo “I went a little bit berserk with this whole dressage thing,” she said beautiful family that I’ve been away from the last couple of summers competing in Europe so I just said I’m not going to do that anymore.” Charlotte Jorst and Kastel’s Nintendo Although Jorst admitted she was a little rusty last week getting started again you certainly couldn’t tell as she won the Grand Prix yesterday and topped the Grand Prix Special today with a 68.80% “I still didn’t achieve my goal of no mistakes but Nintendo as usual was doing his very best and I can’t believe what a great horse he has been to me I’m just so incredibly grateful for owning him.” a 15-year-old Dutch Warmblood stallion (Negro—Rodieni R grazing and then hacking with her groom Alexia Attard There’s lemons and beautiful things all over It’s a really great place for a horse to relax I think they need to clear their minds sometimes Watch Jorst’s winning ride via USEF Network Winning Ride: Charlotte Jorst and Kastel’s Nintendo“Nintendo was as usual doing his very best and being out there for me It’s going on 5 years now and I cant belive what a great horse he is and I’m so incredibly greatful for owning him.” Charlotte Jorst and Kastel’s Nintendo hold their lead in the USEF Grand Prix Dressage National Championship scoring a 68.80% to win the Grand Prix Special at #FestivalofChampions Posted by USA Dressage on Friday “It’s been a fantastic summer for all of us and the horses are certainly fresh and ready,” she continued “I was a little exhausted when I started out with two lessons on Saturday I think sometimes you have to think and wake up and say ‘Do I really love doing it like this or do I want to restart everything?’ So that’s what I’m doing.” Jorst is excited to ride a new freestyle on Sunday although she’s never ridden to the music and was only able to listen to it for the first time today “I’m really excited about the music and how it all pans out on Sunday,” she said Jennifer Schrader-Williams and Millione finished second in the Grand Prix Special on 68.17% Nick Wagman and Don John finished third in the Grand Prix Special with a 67.47% Mette Rosencrantz and Marron were fourth in the Grand Prix Special with 66.97% For full results, click here For more coverage from the weekend, click here USEF Network is live streaming the competition each day Dressage of Festival of Champions and the Markel/USEF Young and Developing Horse Dressage National Championships check out the Sept 24 print edition of The Chronicle of the Horse you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse Copyright © 2025 The Chronicle of the Horse We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze how you use this website and provide the content and advertisements that are relevant to you These cookies will only be stored in your browser with your prior consent You can choose to enable or disable some or all of these cookies but disabling some of them may affect your browsing experience Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns Learn how to describe the purpose of the image (opens in a new tab) Leave empty if the image is purely decorative celebrated for his iconic poster design for the classic Steven Spielberg film Jaws leaving behind a legacy that transcends the world of cinema.  featuring a mako shark - and not a great white shark - rising from the depths towards a lone swimmer became instantly recognisable and synonymous with the suspense and terror of the film Kastel didn't head to the ocean for inspiration instead he paid a visit to the American Museum of Natural History he took a some photos of stuffed mako sharks waiting to be cleaned but in the finished artwork the shark is positioned as if it is rising through the water Not that the now iconic image started life as the film's poster Roger's work was not yet recognised globally but that was about to change in a big way when he accepted the challenge of illustrating the paperback cover of Peter Benchley’s bestselling classic JAWS for Bantam Books. Universal Studios said: "Kastel's ability to distill the essence of a movie into a single image was unparalleled The JAWS poster captured the primal fear associated with the unknown lurking beneath the ocean's surface setting a new standard for movie marketing The image not only contributed to the film's success but also solidified Kastel's reputation as a master of visual storytelling." And that original JAWS poster artwork that Kastel created Kastel's other iconic contribution to the world of film posters and popular cinema was that for the sequel to Star Wars creating the classic Gone With The Wind-style poster.  As news of Kastel's passing reverberates through the creative community film fans and JAWS fans at the loss of this key JAWS creative While Roger Kastel may no longer be with us his artistic legacy lives on through the timeless images he created The JAWS poster remains a testament to his talent and the power of visual storytelling.  As the world mourns the loss of a visionary artist his work continues to inspire (and thrill and frighten) generations ensuring that Roger Kastel's contributions to the art of cinema and beyond will be remembered for years to come Words by Dean Newman If you would like to write for The Daily Jaws, please visit our ‘work with us’ page For all the latest Jaws, shark and shark movie news, follow The Daily Jaws on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook Team Vacancies Site Map Privacy Policy Use of Cookies Charlotte Jorst’s beloved Nintendo has been made available to North American Breeders for fresh cooled After an impressive international career in the Grand Prix with his rider and best friend Charlotte the KWPN bred stallion Nintendo (by Negro x Monaco) has excelled in another equally important career path: creating his legacy With career highlights including 25 FEI CDI wins and representing the United States at the FEI World Cup Finals Nintendo has done it all to an extraordinary standard Nintendo and Charlotte have enjoyed years of an inspiring competitive career together and have gotten to travel the world as partners As much as Charlotte misses having her heart horse around the barn she knew that giving North American breeders this opportunity was one that would be immensely helpful for the sport At the 2021 CDIO Aachen (Photo © Astrid Appels)"I love this horse He’s taken me to places I only dreamed about with his quiet intelligence the incredible heart that would carry you through any situation," said Jorst how he looks forward to every day and I cannot wait for him to give that to all his foals and have so many people feel that Everyone deserves to have a Nintendo in their life Everyone deserves to be successful and taken care of." Charlotte has entrusted Stacy Brass of Brass Stables in the Lexington Stacy is herself a USDF Gold Medalist Grand Prix rider but also an avid breeder with years of experience with stallions “I consider it the opportunity of a lifetime to proudly represent Kastel’s Nintendo this season," said Brass "He is one of the kindest stallions I have had the pleasure of working with and his international accomplishments speak for themselves We have had a wonderful early response to our announcement of him becoming available to the North American market and are looking forward to continuing to work with breeders this season both with fresh cooled and frozen options." Nintendo standing at Brass Stables in KentuckyNintendo has had fabulous reports on the quality of his fresh and frozen semen’s total and progressive motility making it some of the most desirable in the industry Brass Stables is collaborating with the world renowned Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital to ensure a professional experience offering the best results possible for breeders For more information on securing fresh or frozen breedings to Kastel’s Nintendo Stalls for Rent at Durondeau Dressage in Peer, Belgium Exceptionally Well Located Equestrian Facility in Wellington, Florida Well-built Equestrian Estate With Multiple Business Opportunities in Sweden Stable Units for Rent at Lotje Schoots' Equestrian Center in Houten (NED) For Rent: Several Apartments and Stable Wing at High-End Equestrian Facility Stable Wing Available at Reiterhof Wensing on Dutch/German border Real Estate: Well-Appointed Country House with Extensive Equestrian Facility in the U.K. Rémi Blot Lilli Kastel of Deerfield didn’t let the coronavirus pandemic ruin her chance of winning the hog showmanship title in 4-H for the second straight year The 15-year-old daughter of Brent and Vicki Kastel was up to the challenge and was named the top overall showman in the swine division of the first 4-H virtual learning showcase and auction being held this year in place of the Monroe County Fair She defended her title from 2019 that she won in person at last year’s fair “It was not as fun as last year,” the sophomore at Blissfield High School said Tuesday about the virtual competition in 2020 that was judged by someone online We got some feedback online that was helpful I learned that even if times are difficult (like this year) Griffin Linn was the reserve champion in showmanship To help boost her confidence and hone her showing skills Lilli and her family traveled to jackpot shows in Michigan and Indiana before the showcase to gain more experience showing livestock She generally took about a half-dozen pigs with her She had a barrow she showed last winter that brought her lots of success He was champion overall at shows in Ohio and Michigan earned Top 5 overall at six other shows She also showed pigs at virtual shows held nationally before the showcase One of her gilts took eighth overall in the United States and she placed eighth nationally in showmanship but entered only two of them – both barrows -- in the market division of the showcase She sent in photos of her 280-pound barrow called “Bucket Head Fred” that she showed in showmanship The barrow was purchased from breeder Jeff Winter of Dundee “I spend a lot of time with them and bond with them,” she said “Some are quite different from” other hogs she has raised in the past a senior at Blissfield HS – also showed pigs in the showcase She also showed a Californian rabbit in the market division of small animas at the showcase She will sell both pigs and her rabbit in the online auction being held this week Lilli is hoping next year the fair will return and 4-H can “go back to normal and we can show live in person You'll find Monroe County 4-H virtual showcase and other Monroe County Fair news at this link This work, Soldiers from, U.S. Army Europe and Africa to participate in AUSA, Warriors Corners, by Casey Slusser, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright The L'Chaim of Aaron Kastel of Sydney, Australia and Tzippy Jacobs of Cleveland, Ohio took place at FREE Hall in Crown Heights. Photos Mazal tov mazal to Aaron and his fabulous family Loved seeing your picture Hemda on col Lots of mazal tov from Alizah Hochstead in beitar /Clevelander in my roots Mark Kastel is Executive Director of OrganicEye He’s been involved in dairy policy analysis for almost 35 years When comparing milk and its alternatives misleading marketing is an important issue worth talking about Magnet fishing is a craze attracting fishers from all walks of life I’m not referring to fishing for lost refrigerator magnets from underneath your fridge though that might be the next sport to give pickleball a bit of competition I got hooked on magnet fishing about a year ago this activity has little to do with fish and all to do with fishing Magnet fishing is the act of casting a large magnet on a rope into a body of water to retrieve magnetic treasures but realistically one usually reels in unique garbage Over the past year that I've been magnet fishing I have caught large rusty nails 4 or 5 inches long from wooden docks that are no longer in existence I’ve hooked square nails and flat head screws both of those are fun to try to estimate their age by looking up their likeness online I’ve landed enough fishing paraphernalia to fill a tackle box; some of which is usable daredevils and spinner baits Some of these were attached to yards and yards of fishing line and each of which I’m sure has an accompanying story of the one that got away you may also want to check out the web version of this story as it includes photos of my magnet fishing finds the license plate was found underground with a metal detector and unearthed with a shovel Perhaps metal detecting will be my next Tri States Public Radio commentary And you can be the judge of which of these finds is worthy of the title “catch of the year.” My vote is for the 17 lbs red boat anchor that was so slimy and gunk ridden that it took two magnets to haul in Now that I’ve been magnet fishing for some time I have a bucket list of sorts of things I’d like to catch one day preferably ones that were just lost where the owner is still in the vicinity I feel like a cast iron skillet would be a fun one to try to reel in catching a fishing pole and reel would be meta and I’d love to go magnet fishing in a country where the coin currency is magnetic If you’re feeling that magnet fishing is a hobby you’d like to try let me share some tips I’ve learned to get you started off on the right … magnetic pole and the benefit of this is that the rope comes with a carabiner to allow you to quickly switch between using a magnet and a grappling hook which is another useful tool for helping to hall in objects that may not be fully magnetic I did magnet fish in Canada this past summer nearly landing a shopping cart on the Canadian side of the Detroit River What held me back was not the need for a fishing license or that I had reached my daily limit of shopping carts It was the fact that this was a blue plastic shopping cart and I could only get my magnet on the wheels or the handle bar I did not own a grappling hook or second magnet and rope either of which would have helped in this endeavor I don’t know what I would have done with a muddy corroded shopping cart if I had landed that beauty I find it useful to keep containers for recyclables and trash because much of magnet fishing is removing detritus left in the anthropocene This is one of the feel good parts about magnet fishing cleaning up a body of water while being out in nature and enjoying the excitement of the next unknown catch The mystery of the next object to be hauled up from the depths I also like to keep a knife or scissors to cut fishing line gloves to protect myself from cuts and dirt and a must-have is a container for sharp objects It’s fun to use the same phrases from fishing for fish to describe magnet fishing or “oh that’s whopper,” or my favorite from childhood was my parent yelling get the net,” whenever me or my siblings had a big fish on the line that big fish was just us hooked on the bottom of the lake although instead of getting caught on the bottom it’s usually wedging one’s magnet in between two rocks I have found myself going swimming to help get my magnet unstuck One of my favorite parts about magnet fishing is the detective work that goes into finding a good spot to fish and there’s always good magnet fishing in spots where a lot of people have been fishing for actual fish But I typically avoid those areas if there are people actively trying to catch fish as the sploosh of my magnet might be an unwelcome guest Now that I’ve shared a bit about my newest hobby I hope I’ll see some of you out there on the water Magnet fishing is one activity that reeled me in It caught me in the fun from my very first bite; hook Jade Kastel (she/her) is the music librarian and the libraries' diversity officer at Western Illinois University She is also the 2023 Illinois Academic Librarian of the Year selected by the Illinois Library Association The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of Tri States Public Radio or WIU Diverse viewpoints are welcomed and encouraged.