More and more of the soldiers being put in harm’s way in Iraq are actually machines. Scholar and Wired for War author P.W. Singer explains what happens when science fiction becomes battlefield reality.
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The Web has sprung the lid on a Pandora’s Box of new human connections – mirroring and magnifying the best, the worst, and the ugliest aspects of our nature.
I’m back! It was a great week off down in Charleston, but it is now time to get back to work. Rather than try to catch up on all the […]
Neo liberalism is in crisis. Discuss. If only I were back at some red brick university and being asked this question by one of my lecturers! Neo liberalism is in […]
When I first started blogging on BigThink, I compiled a list of people who I admired. I wanted to use those folks as a north star as I was trying to […]
Paul Bogush pushed back (in a nice way) on my recently-popular post, If you were on Twitter. First he wrote about how most educators are too busy to be involved in […]
LulzSec announces “we have blissfully obtained records of every single citizen who gave their records to the security-illiterate UK government for the 2011 census.” What’s next?
The notion of “collaborative consumption” isn’t new but social networking, coupled with “geo-located” smart phones, has super-charged the concept.
Facebook is set to grow its net U.S. display revenues by 80.9% this year to $2.19b, toppling Yahoo to become the largest U.S. display advertiser, an internet research firm claims.
The value of virtual currency Bitcoin has plummeted after a catastrophic hacking on Sunday, raising questions asked about whether it’s the beginning of the end for it.
How gamification can help us achieve mastery and accomplish our goals. Excerpts from an interview with Buster Benson, founder of Health Month.
Everybody, meet Kergolus. This little furry thing is a geo-mascot, shaped like the territory it symbolises. Top marks if you’re able to guess which territory that is, either by the […]
1.3 trillion bricks are manufactured each year worldwide. 10% of them are made by hand in coal-fired ovens, emitting on average 1.4 pounds of carbon per brick or 800 million […]
Understanding the effectiveness of a marketing channel fully requires understanding the revenue impact that the channel drives. Both as a source of a prospect (e.g. prospects who respond to a […]
If the prosecution of John Edwards for campaign finance violations were to succeed, it would set a bizarre precedent. [Photo credit: IowaPolitics.com, Creative Commons.]
Waterbirths are so passe. Today’s elite stunt-birther wants the obstetrical equivalent of a fish pedicure, a koi assisted birth. From the FAQ: Why koi? Koi, or 錦鯉, are ornamental varieties […]
Yesterday, we celebrated Father’s Day. Today, let’s celebrate the wisdom of the female investor – or more specifically, what it is that generally makes her more financially successful over the […]
The online retail revolution has produced spectacular success stories like Groupon and Gilt Groupe. Adam Bryant of The New York Times talks to Susan Lyne, CEO of Gilt Groupe, about where the industry is heading in the future.
1. So my post on NASA provoked a variety of most thoughtful responses. The ones by Brendan were the most detailed and philosophic, but they were all worthwhile. 2. Their […]
The New York State Senate has voted to legalize gay marriage, a major milestone for the gay rights movement in several respects. After Governor Andrew Cuomo signs the bill into […]
Over the past 50 years, severe weather patterns have cost 800,000 lives and a trillion dollars in economic losses. A new report puts much of the blame on climate change.
The global economy has bounced back strongly from the nadir of 2009, but recent data in key advanced economies have been disappointing. So where is the global economy headed?
After high food prices, slow growth, and heavy debt, there’s another force emerging that could block the global recovery: China’s property market is showing signs of rusting.
The Pentagon now has some 7,000 aerial drones, compared with fewer than 50 a decade ago. Whether for spying or unmanned airstrikes, the technology is being tested aggressively.
Cyber attacks against corporations and governments have grabbed the headlines lately but is all the noise just a consequence of new laws that compel the disclosure of such attacks?
The U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan has responded sharply to President Hamid Karzai’s escalating denunciations of American and N.A.T.O. forces and aid efforts in Afghanistan.
European finance ministers say they will release another round of emergency funds to Greece only if its lawmakers make haste in approving tax hikes and deeper spending cuts.
If the Vorticism movement had a headstone, it would confidently read “Here Lies Vorticism, 1914-1919.” Perhaps no other art movement had such a cut and dried beginning and end, yet […]
So, what is the difference between tantric sex and regular sex? The goal of tantric sex is for the man to postpone orgasm as long as possible whereas in regular […]
Capitalist societies believe in the possibility of endless growth. But Plato and other classical philosophers would have begged to differ.