All Articles

Clay Johnson, author of The Information Diet, argues that software developers should take responsibility for the vital role they play in a digital society, and individuals need to be aware of the basic digital literacy skills we need to possess in order to be programmers, not just subjects who are programmed.

This week, in the final installment of a 3-part series, we look to five trends that will shape the Future. 

Perfect beauty, HD photography, 3D printing, Elective Bionic Surgery, biohackers, and no religion are all trends to watch for 2013. 

Researchers at the Berkeley Seismic Laboratory are helping to develop a seismometer app that will provide detailed information on who felt what and where.

As we think about how we’re going to eventually close a big debt gap, Daniel Altman says we need to think beyond two-year election cycles.

I was shocked to see a video where a Mesa, AZ principal forced two boys to hold hands as a punishment for fighting (Per AV’s comments below, the boys were […]

They are blamed for or suspected in the unexplained failure of electronic devices ranging from coffee makers to commercial satellites. A student recently received a major award for figuring out why they develop.

Named for their size and bright color, these objects allow astronomers a new look into the lifespans of galaxies and the black holes at their centers.

A new report indicates that more than 75 percent of savannah normally used by lions has been lost over the last 50 years due to increased human land development.

The 35-year-old spacecraft is currently traveling through a previously undiscovered zone between the heliosphere and interstellar space.

In my previous post on “Southern Slavery As It Was”, I cited two modern-day Christian pastors who claim that black slavery was a positive and beneficial institution. To throw some […]

In general, I avoid free literature thrown my way on subways and street corners. Recently passing by a stack of cheaply printed books while leaving Samosa House in Culver City, […]

When it comes to bandwidth, sharing can be good: Anyone within 100 feet of a person’s Karma wireless modem is offered 100 Mb of free bandwidth. If they accept, the modem owner gets an extra 100 Mb as well.

We defy entropy, by creating beauty and order and complexity.

A growing number of neuroscientists are engaging with the question of how religious experiences change your brain.

Being a practicing member of a religion is distinct from being a true believer. We can understand this from a theological point of view, but can belief be scientifically observed, or even measured? 

Just published last week, Verizon’s patent application enables TVs with specially-outfitted cameras and microphones to detect what’s happening in a room — such as arguing or talking on the phone — and display appropriate advertising.

Two months before a plagiarism scandal rocked his career, popular science writer Jonah Lehrer discusses failure as a learning opportunity.

As more people derive their income from careers that rely on public exposure, the cachet and economic appeal of simply being a celebrity will decrease. 

Dartmouth professor Marcelo Gleiser tackles the headache-inducing question of whether we can arrive at the end of knowledge. 

I’m going to write the unpopular thing and go Tough Love on my own people.  A modest proposal: Women need to act like the successful grown-ups that they are or […]

Inspired by the 1960s TV show Mission: Impossible, the founders of Wickr say that their app helps put users, not companies or governments, in control of their communication.

How is it that such a persistent stereotype — which is certainly not unique to Jersey Shore– has been reproduced for so long, and continues to resonate in today’s culture? 

The football helmet was designed to protect players against harm (by skull fractures), but the new behavior created a new threat (of concussions and other brain injuries).

Joi Ito says the key to innovation is not the ability to see things through a crystal ball, but rather, to figure it out as you go along.

So here’s an article (really blog) from the interesting journal The American Conservative. The AC has two themes:  America ought to be a republic, and not an empire.  And America […]

Last night, the group of researchers responsible for the creation of the SPAUN project – that just published the first large scale model of a functioning brain to produce complex behaviours began […]

The great American poet Wallace Stevens, author of “The Emperor of Ice-Cream” and many other famous works, was also a longtime insurance executive. While researching him for my previous post, I decided […]

As government budgets continue to tighten, several Web sites are enabling citizens to contribute funds towards building, repairing, and/or maintaining public spaces.