World historians typically divide the previous two centuries into the “Long Nineteenth Century,” stretching from the French Revolution (1789) to the First World War/Russian Revolution (1917), and the “Short Twentieth Century,” running from the inter-war […]
The satirical illustrations of Daniel Garcia pretty much speak for themselves. No matter who you are, odds are there will be something here to offend.
Prior to WWII, the US had a marginal presence overseas. We now have over 800 military bases in 70 countries around the globe — more than any nation in history — including 174 in Germany, […]
When authors and pundits want to highlight some incongruity in the world, they’ll often say we’re in the Matrix, referring of course to the 1999 film. But we’re not in the Matrix. We’re in its […]
—nothing if not ambitious. Like its namesake, it sought to answer some of the biggest and most persistent questions in science—particularly, how much of who we are is determined by our genes and how much […]
By science writer Maggie Koerth, adapted from the litany against fear from the novel Dune: I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my […]
The Bradford pear in our back yard has sprouted its winter berries. As I sat drinking my coffee this morning, I watched a pair of red-breasted robins fight over it. They were both driven away […]
Whether we like it or not, Algorithmic Intelligence is here to stay, and genuine Artificial Intelligence, even though not related, is probably coming at some point in the future. Just like genetic modification of food […]
Brecht Vandenbroucke is one of those artists, like Simon Stalenhag, where I would share every single painting they make. And yet, I realized today that I had featured neither of them on the blog. GASP […]
William Gibson famously observed, a couple decades ago now, that the future had arrived, it just wasn’t evenly distributed. The fact that he had to say that and that people still find it insightful suggests […]
