Is Facebook making us lonely? No! Sometimes there are actually clear answers to rhetorical headline questions. Claude Fischer, a professor of sociology at Berkeley, gets empirical in the Boston Review. […]
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New draft guidelines drawn up by the German government say that future military missions should not be focused on spreading Western conceptions of democracy
Americans too often forget just how young a country we still are in comparison to the countries of Europe. Like any other youth, we copied our elders growing up. Our […]
Vuzix develops video eyewear and personal display devices for a wide range of applications. Their Smart Glasses allow the user to view video in both 2-D and 3-D as well utilize […]
Researchers in the field of school technology leadership are focused on how technology changes education (for better or worse) and how leaders can ameliorate those changes. With the exception of […]
In honor of the birthday (and death date, we think) of the greatest writer in the English language, today, April 23rd, is Talk Like Shakespeare Day. In cities from Chicago […]
William Shakespeare: Playwright, language innovator, father of product placement
The US is now the world’s leading producer of natural gas but can the fuel be harvested in an environmentally sustainable way? And can we build the needed infrastructure fast enough?
For the past several years I have been arguing that the US has to do a better job of framing the war against al-Qaeda in Yemen. The war should never […]
At Canada’s Globe and Mail today, University of Alberta professor of law Tim Caulfield observes that North American culture appears to have lost its infatuation with genetics and stem cell […]
Technological change is quickly arriving which will transform society on a scale similar to England’s textile mills and Ford’s production line, if governments allow the changes to occur.
The story of a smooth power transfer began to unravel last February when a Party official was accused of murder. The tale is emblematic of the State’s problem with transparency.
My father, a journalist, died a few days ago. He taught me that journalism is not just a job but a calling, a high form of public service. I […]
On Saturday Bruce Ackerman of Yale Law School published this op-ed in the Washington Post on the CIA’s reported request to employ signature strikes in Yemen. The legal issues that […]
Certain cognitive tests that improve attention and working memory have been shown to increase people’s IQ scores, once considered a fixed measure of how smart someone is.
It’s not over yet. Nicolas Sarkozy has to endure the indignity of a runoff following his second place finish to Socialist candidate François Hollande. Polls indicate Sarkozy will almost certainly lose the […]
When women watch pornography, their brains play down the role of the visual cortex, focusing instead on physical arousal. This contrasts how the brain reacts to most other visual stimuli.
Famed biologist E.O. Wilson thinks art and science can be reconciled by understanding the neurological processes which inspire our appreciation of art. But does that serve the artist?
Sherry Turkle is at it again in the NYT. When we expect more from technology, her story goes, we inevitably expect less from ourselves. In a high-tech world, we flee […]
What is the Big Idea? French voters go to the poll today for the first round of the presidential election. Nicolas Sarkozy, and his Socialist challenger, François Hollande, will probably emerge as […]
Over the past year, I’ve read about a half dozen of Norwegian crime writer Jo Nesbo’s novels. If you are heading on vacation this summer, I recommend you pick a […]
Men and women prefer best friends of the opposite sex and second-best friends of the same sex. Until middle age, that is, when friendship patterns change in ways important to evolution.
When you ingest cannabis, the chemical THC binds to the body’s cannabinoid receptors which influence of the functioning of everything from your appetite to short-term memory.
The weekend is a good time to get some culture, and since there are a lot of things lately that I’m enjoying, I figured I’d write one completely miscellaneous post […]
Michael Sandel, the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Government at Harvard,writes: As naming rights and municipal marketing appropriate the common world, they diminish its public character. Beyond […]
My friend Matt Zwolinski, a professor of philosophy at University of San Diego, wonders why folks who think taxes ought to be higher, like Warren Buffett, don’t just go ahead and […]
A new study of over 200,000 Australians suggests that leading a sedentary lifestyle is unbelievably bad for you, greatly increasing your risk of death within the next three years.
(Author’s Note: The following review was solicited and is written in accordance with this site’s policy for such reviews.) Summary: A surprising, welcome reminder that atheism has a long and […]
As technology changes our relationship to the office, we need to change how we take breaks from work. That means using the flexibility of our technology to treat ourselves well.
In a dream-like scene from Charlie Chaplin’s The Great Dictator, the titular tyrant [1] gently plucks a large globe from its standalone frame, holds it longingly in his arms and […]