“Today, the exploration of new places and new ideas seems self-evidently a good thing. For much of human history, though, priests, politicians, and philosophers cast a suspicious eye on curious folks.”
Category: ideas
The Loneliness Loop: Why Feeling Sad Makes Us Shop and Shopping Makes Us Sad
“A well-timed trip to the mall is a long-approved variety of psychic medicine. No matter how preposterously officious the term ‘retail therapy’ might sound to you, research has consistently found that shopping our way out of an emotional hole really does work. Sometimes.”
If You Insulted A Dolphin 20 Years Ago, He’s Probably Still Bitter About It
“Dolphins, it turns out, have the longest social memories of any species besides humans. And we’re learning more and more about how lengthy those memories can actually be.”
Rise Of The Machines: Algorithms Are Increasingly Creating Content (and That’s Bad Because…)
“The algorithms they use are acting less and less like a card catalog for the web and more and more like an author. In other words, the machine isn’t just a dumb hunk of silicon: It’s a living creator. It’s less like a dull machine and more like a fully functional, content-producing Terminator.”
The Book That Changed Reza Aslan’s Mind About Religion, Jesus, And Everything Else
The religious historian and author talks about the profound effect that the Grand Inquisitor scene from The Brothers Karamazov had, and still has, on his life.
Grammar Scolds, Unite! Embrace Your Inner Schoolmarm!
“Even those of us who otherwise celebrate invention and creativity within English, and embrace the frequent evolution of vocabulary, spelling, and grammar, still cringe now and then at a particular usage. But who died and left us in charge? Well, Noah Webster for starters.”
Digital Impermanence – Maybe Paper Was Safer?
“Information technology now develops faster than any of us can keep up with, and to what end? If there is no permanence to the formats we use to store information, what is the point of storing information in them?”
Parsing The Body Language That Leads To A Fight
“Oddly enough, it seems no one in academe has really looked at the subtle non-verbal cues that indicate we’re going to exchange blows. Until now.”
What Defines An Entrepreneur?
“In essence, entrepreneurs are contrarian value creators. They see economic value where others see heaps of nothing. And they see business opportunities where others see only dead ends.”
Eventually, That Broken Heart Might Mend Damn Fast Via Computer Interfact
“Sure, it sounds like movie fantasy right now, but don’t laugh off the imagination of Hollywood screenwriters; sometimes the movies can be a great predictor of things to come.”