Guest Thinkers — August 16, 2010

The Problem of Choice: Few Americans Seek Public Affairs News Online

By way of the Internet, Americans today have more public affairs and science-related information available to them than at any time in history. Yet the availability of information does not mean people will use it. Given the many competing alternatives across entertainment, celebrity culture, and other diversionary content, only those Internet users with a very strong preference for public affairs will use the medium for “hard” news on a regular base.

This general pattern of Internet consumption is once again reflected in the just released “Pew State of the News” survey. In the section focusing on “online news,” as graphed above, though roughly 70% of Americans say that they have sought news online in the past, only roughly 30% of Americans are regular online news consumers, or “got news online yesterday.” In the same survey, 3% of respondents reported reading a “news blog” yesterday.

Strange Maps

America’s news deserts are growing

Most counties in the U.S. have only one local newspaper, often one that publishes weekly instead of daily.

Two people walking past a dark brick wall with numerous security cameras pointing in various directions.

The Present

Are smart cities a wise idea?

When Google runs a smart city, who owns the data?

Illustration of a young woman with closed eyes, smiling, next to a large, detailed eye and surrounded by vibrant, abstract elements and smiley faces.

Neuropsych

Eyes wide shut: Why closing your eyes intensifies psychedelic trips

A recent study suggests that exposure to visual stimuli can diminish the effects of psychedelic drugs.

Starts With A Bang

The big idea of Grand Unified Theories of physics

If the electromagnetic and weak forces unify to make the electroweak force, maybe, at higher energies, something even grander happens?

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The Future

Making microbots smart

What would it take to create a truly intelligent microbot, one that can operate independently?

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