When the new BiblioTech library opens in San Antonio, Texas later this year, it will become the nation’s first “bookless public library” — everything is going to be digital, the library will rent out […]
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Texas’ Bexar County residents would have access to thousands of e-books both online and at a physical site to be built, says the county judge who’s behind the proposal.
Have you read the 2008 Supreme Court decision that gives all Americans the right to own guns? Probably not. I hadn’t, until the other day, when I was stunned […]
Since 2002, Fujitsu’s F-series flip phone has had special stealth features that make it the preferred choice for those who like to “play the field.”
What happens when you ban a book? Sales increase. The modern maxim that any press is good press is true. If you really want people to read a book, tell […]
Last Friday Aaron Swartz committed suicide, shortly before his Federal trial was due to begin. According to the US Attorney’s press release, “if convicted on these charges, SWARTZ faces up to 35 years in […]
It’s unclear exactly what he said, but on Monday, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas spoke during an oral argument for the first time in nearly seven years. What prompted the […]
When composer Van Stiefel realized that he wanted to somehow set the paintings of Andrew Wyeth to music, he searched for the words to marry to his expressions in sound. […]
There are recognizable patterns of behavior and personality traits that we can look for to give us insight into Lance Armstrong’s reckless actions, so that this whole affair might be a so-called teachable moment.
So says no less an authority than the United Nations, which has declared this the International Year of Quinoa. Producing countries are experiencing both the pros and the cons of increased demand.
If there is a growing consensus that video games do not cause violence and can be used as valuable learning tools, there are also challenges ahead for an industry that is widely seen as a boys club.
The game is an example of a hot trend: The gamification of many aspects of life that used to be addressed by lectures, pamphlets, informational videos and the like.
Half of the city’s “coffee shops” have closed down and an estimated 400 people have been put out of work since a law restricting marijuana purchases to Dutch citizens took effect.
Over at Edge.org, its impresario John Brockman poses an annual question to his assemblage of scientists, scholars, writers and other insightful people. This year’s (suggested by George Dyson), was this: […]
The group Sexual Minorities Uganda is taking advantage of a 1789 law that “allows foreigners to sue Americans for civil damages for civil…damages for acts committed abroad.”
This year’s Kumbh Mela, a Hindu festival, is expected to draw between 30 and 60 million pilgrims to the Indian city of Allahabad. Teams from disparate Harvard schools will be there to take data.
When it comes to selling, nothing is more important than the power of certainty. After all, when potential customers or clients are uncertain, they hesitate. They don’t want to move […]
Currently the US is the only country using hydraulic fracturing on a large scale. However, many others have natural gas reserves, and some have begun experimenting with the controversial procedure.
Even if you’re not a royals watcher, you can’t avoid the saga of Will and Kate. Kate Middleton—wife of Prince William, current Duchess of Cambridge, possibly future Queen of England, […]
A bizarre ‘planisphere palindrome’ version of the Earth
Some worry that the new American standard for mental illness diagnostics, the DSM-5, actively seeks to pathologize normal human behavior, making sanity as unachievable as being a supermodel.
Evolutionary psychology has proven a powerful theory in explaining behavioral differences between men and women in terms of natural selection, but challenges to the idea have emerged.
A theory of mind called compartmentalization argues that the brain is much like an iPhone, loaded with a host of apps to meet different needs. Not all the apps cooperate, however.
In the middle of writing and reading about gun policy and morality, I was horrified to see responses to writer Sam Harris’ essay on gun control. For example, this one […]
What distinguishes human life from animal life is our ability to search for meaning. Differing from happiness, meaning implies transcending the self while happiness implies its satisfaction.
Certain cognitive biases that make us better at surviving harsh environmental conditions also cause us to make irrational decisions, from betting against the odds to rationalizing wrong decisions.
RIP Aaron Swartz, you will not be forgotten.
Earlier this week, I posted a petition asking the leaders of atheist and secular organizations to support feminism and measures to improve diversity and stop harassment. The petition went up […]
A team of scientists at Manchester University, UK, have created a microscope machine capable of building proteins similar to ones found naturally in the body’s many cells.
New York City’s public hospitals are in negotiations with the doctor’s union to tie a portion of doctors’ salaries to metrics such as patient readmittance rates and how quickly they are discharged.