books

The secret may lie in an old idiom: “Sleep on it.”

The 1,200-year-old “Book of Ingenious Devices” contains designs for futuristic inventions like gas masks, water fountains, and digging machines.

Jules Verne wrote about gasoline-powered vehicles, weapons of mass destruction, and global warming more than a century ago.

The state of global democracy is relatively strong — but there are clear signs of recent erosion.

“Painfully forced” is how one contemporary critic described Fitzgerald’s writing style.

Extreme home environments — either very supportive or harshly negligent — tend to produce more sensitive kids.

As improving biotech offers us longevity, we can prepare to live much better as we age.

Deep underwater, temperatures are close to freezing and the pressure is 1,000 times higher than at sea level.

In a state of “hyperwar,” accidents or unexpected AI decisions could lead to widespread devastation before humans could intervene.

The body uses its own electricity to repair wounds. Faster healing may be possible with additional electrical stimulation.

Democratic freedom, rapturous religion, and newspapers created a hotbed for social experimentation in 19th-century America.

If you lost your religion, it might be because the internet and social media are having a secularizing effect on American society.

This year marks 2,000 years since the birth of the Roman author of the first natural encyclopedia.

In 1934, American Communists translated a Stalinist book about revolution into a children’s game. Curiously, it didn’t catch on.

Skepticism is appropriate when gazing into the futurist’s crystal ball.

Instead of walking a mile in someone’s shoes, try reading a chapter in their book.

According to Peter Ward’s “Medea hypothesis,” photosynthesizing organisms regularly doom most life on Earth by over-consuming carbon dioxide.

Science will lead us to a universal morality and a cosmic religion.

Simple physics makes hauling vast ice chunks thousands of miles fiendishly difficult — but not impossible.

Alibaba has played a key role in China’s meteoric economic rise.

While cities drive national economic growth, their political geography means they cannot effectively deal with inequality, poverty, and other socioeconomic problems.

Forgetfulness isn’t always a “glitch” in our memories; it can be a tool to help us make sense of the present and plan for the future.

Unlock the full potential of your creativity with holistic detachment. This is the way of the editor.

Radical Emotional Acceptance calls on you to celebrate all of life’s emotions — even the negative ones.

Humans are good visual thinkers, too, but we tend to privilege verbal thinking.

Entrenched business wisdom says that community-led economic systems are pure fantasy. Douglas Rushkoff disagrees.

Warm relationships protect your mind and body from the slings and arrows of life.

When we don’t find ways to relieve chronic stress, personal burnout is the likely consequence.

It may be possible to give people the tools to withstand difficulty before it attaches to them.

“Once quantum mechanics is applied to the entire cosmos, it uncovers a three-thousand-year-old idea.”