Bioethicist Paul Root Wolpe questions the basic premise of the Singularity concept, arguing that it “misunderstands the complex nature of biological and physical life.”
Search Results
You searched for: D A
Most atheist writers in America have encountered the phenomenon of “fatwa envy“, where Christian apologists sneer that we wouldn’t dare criticize Islam in the same way we criticize Christianity. (This […]
Love is an epiphany. Maybe that’s the sweetest romantic dream of all. By the big bang theory of mate selection, our soul mate is out there somewhere, and they’re going […]
This is an open letter in response to a religious group, who have argued to remove a piece of entertainment based on their moral values, in a secular society. The […]
It is remarkably easy to report false-positive findings, or results that support an effect that, in reality, does not (or may not) exist.
There’s a very good chance that generating food from traditional farming and livestock practices will not be able to keep pace with the world’s population boom.
To avoid the German air force bombing Paris, the French built a fake version of their capital
This is a polemic: Access to birth control isn’t really about my “health.” It’s not principally about the management of ovarian cysts or the regulation of periods. Birth control isn’t […]
In most workplaces, “you get promoted and promoted and promoted until you don’t perform that well,” says Ariely. But to what end? Ultimately, “if you follow this process, everybody will get to the level of incompetence.”
Pay for a fast food lunch with your credit card then see weight loss ads next time you’re online. That kind of outcome is likely under moves Visa and Mastercard are studying.
Of 271 people exonerated by D.N.A. evidence since 1992, around a quarter of people had confessed or pleaded guilty to the offences of which they were accused.
Last time, in the introductory post, I suggested that evidence is more important than outrage. Outrage indicates how outraged individuals want the world to be; evidence tells everyone how the […]
In the continuing flap over the Obama administration’s decision to require Catholic institutions to provide birth control under the new health care law, both sides have failed to come to grips with the complexities of religious liberty.
The most sterling truth standard in marriage is that you’re both monogamous for life, if you vowed that you would be. You don’t flirt with intent; you don’t have boozy […]
Following the demise of cap and trade legislation, green group leaders acknowledged that despite spending several hundred million dollars to pass the bill, they were unable to create public demand […]
Voter turnout in U.S. presidential elections tends to be lower than other developed democracies and relative to the number of eligible voters., Voter turn-out for those ages 18 to 24 […]
I’d be remiss if I let 2011 slip by without a tribute to Elizabeth Bishop (1911–1979), who was born a century ago and who now looms larger over contemporary poetry […]
Apple’s patent war rages on against Samsung and Google but in what sense has something been stolen from Apple? Timothy Lee says strict patent laws harm the common good.
The world’s population is about to reach seven billion. Can we handle that many humans, let alone the three billion more expected to be added by the end of this century?
A new analysis of carbon meteorites suggests that they likely carried some of the building blocks needed for D.N.A. to the Earth, according to a N.A.S.A.-funded study.
‘Tis the season to be savvy. Here’s a round-up of Big Thinkers’ favorite tech ideas for simplifying – and beautifying – your holiday.
Will the conflict between intellectual property and the value of sharing knowledge be resolved?
When did the world turn so “inappropriate?” It seems to be getting more so by the year. Inappropriate’s already appeared 26,200,000 times in 2011 on Google-indexed material. In 2010, it […]
When we habituate to something, our physical and psychological response becomes so used to it that whatever the “it” is stops being arousing.
New online exchanges aim to turn computer capacity into a globally traded commodity. Already there’s a new crop of startup companies called “cloud brokerages.”
Last week when the Egyptians voted in an open election for the first time in decades, having won the right to this inspirational exercise of democracy by standing up […]
–Guest post by Faizullah Jan, American University doctoral student. Single Page View “We are the 99%,” proclaim the protesters participating in the Occupy Wall Street marches and sit-ins. Without a […]
If you ever want to make even the most cosmopolitan of your friends speechless, telling them you have volunteered to travel to Newark, New Jersey, so you can masturbate to orgasm in an fMRI is a great way to start. Once they overcome the shock, chances are they will start to ask questions. Most I was able to answer.
What do Asian men and African American women have in common? Both are searching for love in very competitive marriage markets and, according to market forecasters, individuals in these groups […]
This semester I am teaching a doctoral seminar on the important questions and trends related to media, technology and democracy. In this post, I introduce several major topics and provide […]