Virginia Postrel
Author; Blogger; Editor
Virginia Postrel is an author and speaker whose work spans a broad range of topics, from social science to fashion, concentrating on the intersection of culture, commerce, and technology. Postrel has also been a columnist for The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, The New York Times, and Forbes and its companion technology magazine, Forbes ASAP. Her latest book, The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World, examines the development of technology, industry, and commerce through the history of textiles, from prehistoric times to the near future.
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How fabric helped build modern civilization.
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You can gain a lot of insights about the operation of human psychology and human societies from biology.
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5 min
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The many positive benefits of the knowledge and creativity dispersed throughout the world.
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Technological advancement and the ensuing social consequences and philosophical debate.
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6 min
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In the potential of the individual and the value of learning.
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10 min
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A great idea, but more focused, interesting, and less mainstream panels are needed.
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People assimilate seemingly radical changes into their normal world.
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Today’s cultural cross-pollenization is making differences ever more subtle.
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What do you do about when you find the biological roots of behavior?
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The drive to improve has shaped humanity.
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Ideas germinate during the twilight zone.
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Postrel realized the magnitude of the problem when she donated a kidney to a friend.
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2 min
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Nonfunctional designs are the most interesting ones, Postrel says.
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6 min
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The former Reason magazine editor at Atlantic writer discusses the Libertarian ethos.
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7 min
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After World War II, the U.S. South was basically a rich third world country.
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4 min
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Postrel gives people a deeper sense of the strengths of individual freedom.
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3 min
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Postrel is a synthesizer and an intellectual arbitreasurer.
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