0010 - Abney's law (Physics) - Yusef Boulanouar (ZAYD)

In the tenth episode, Robert and guest Yusef Boulanouar (ZAYD) discuss Abney’s Law, a physics concept describing how adding white light to a spectral color shifts its perceived hue. The conversation moves fluidly from the "dangerous" informality of their past student-teacher dynamic to the modern cat-and-mouse game of detecting AI plagiarism in essays. They examine the "snaky" economics of the music industry, contrasting Yusef’s optimistic "synthy jazz fusion" ambitions with Robert’s gritty memory of a death metal bandmate’s wife fleeing to Las Vegas with their earnings. Topics range from the aesthetic influence of directors like Wes Anderson and Akira Kurosawa to the racial performativity of Robert’s grandfather playing the "bad guy of the week" in classic westerns, and they explore the existential threat of the "infinite slop machine" of generative AI and the cyclical theory that society is drifting into a new "Middle Ages".You can find Yusef's music on SPOTIFY.IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE ON CROSS THEORY, EMAIL [email protected] ARE WELCOME. I DON’T CARE WHO YOU ARE OR WHAT YOU’RE SELLING.