Let us now praise electronic books.
Source: The New York Review of Books
Posted on February 22, 2012
"I distrust the perpetually busy." So begins a classic essay in praise of idleness. (Ignore the inane political diatribe in the last third of the piece.)
Source: Harper's
Posted on February 22, 2012
Superb send-up of those of us who often run too fast in crowded spaces.
Source: McSweeney's
Posted on February 22, 2012
Google is now officially evil.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Posted on February 17, 2012
Irony thick enough to chew: Dude has a heart attack eating a "Triple Bypass" burger at the (now all-too-aptly named) Heart Attack Grill.
Source: The Seattle Times
Posted on February 15, 2012
Anesthesia is a modern medical marvel. The trouble is that "we still can't quite tell you how it works."
Source: Technology Review
Posted on February 15, 2012
Eyebrows up: John Tyler, 10th President of the United States, born in 1790, has two living grandchildren!
Source: Futility Closet
Posted on February 10, 2012
"Life demands to be lived. Inaction, save as a measure of recuperation between bursts of activity, is painful and dangerous to the healthy organism."
Source: Letters of Note
Posted on February 7, 2012
"The central function of imaginative literature is to make you realize that other people act on moral convictions different from your own."
Source: Milton's God
Posted on February 6, 2012
Yikes!: "Facebook sent Mr. Schrems a computer disc containing 1,222 pages of [his personal] information."
Source: The New York Times
Posted on February 6, 2012
Remember when we used to surf the web? A lament for those bygone days, wrecked by apps and social networking.
Source: The New York Times
Posted on February 6, 2012
Stunning photos of underground Toronto.
Source: blogTO
Posted on February 2, 2012
I dislike driving long distances, so I for one will welcome our new autonomous car overlords.
Source: Wired
Posted on February 1, 2012
A cautionary tale for those of us with aging parents.
Source: Atlanta Magazine
Posted on January 27, 2012
A wonderful parting gift from the late Christopher Hitchens.
Source: Vanity Fair
Posted on January 19, 2012
No Wikipedia today, so why not try something new? This essay on the pleasures of serendipity is a good place to start.
Source: More Intelligent Life
Posted on January 18, 2012
Based on this absorbing profile by Carl Zimmer, I would like to be Neil deGrasse Tyson when I grow up.
Source: CarlZimmer.com
Posted on January 18, 2012
If you only want to read one article about SOPA and PIPA and the reasons behind today's protests, this is it.
Source: Techdirt
Posted on January 18, 2012
"Orwellian bullshit makes me sad." The Oatmeal's irreverent and right-on SOPA protest.
Source: The Oatmeal
Posted on January 18, 2012
An excellent reminder from "the father of the Internet" that technology is a tool to achieve an end, not an end in itself.
Source: The New York Times
Posted on January 11, 2012
One more for the road: Salman Rushdie's superb tribute to his great friend and defender, Christopher Hitchens.
Source: Salman Rushdie
Posted on January 10, 2012
The proposed explanations of the greatest conundrums in science are undermining some of science's fundamental tenets.
Source: Harper's
Posted on January 6, 2012
Eyebrows up: Kodak, the company that invented the digital camera, may file for bankruptcy.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Posted on January 6, 2012
Nicholas Carr on printed books as a "cultural preservative," and how the advent of eBooks will change all that.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Posted on January 5, 2012
A classic essay from the late, great, and still very much missed David Foster Wallace.
Source: Esquire
Posted on January 5, 2012
Fascinating look at scientists' attempts to redefine the kilogram in terms of the laws of nature instead of a platinum brick.
Source: Wired
Posted on January 5, 2012
This essay tackles a huge question: Is our current malaise the result of a lack of large-scale technological progress?
Source: National Review
Posted on January 4, 2012
"I am concerned by what it means to be literate today. Is it possible to be literate if you do not understand non-linear equations?"
Source: Presseurop
Posted on January 4, 2012
The inspiring tale of Philippa Fawcett who, despite systemic sexism, won Cambridge's highest academic honor in 1890.
Source: The Smithsonian
Posted on January 3, 2012
Think the New York Times is trying to tell us something? First this: http://nyti.ms/uBPPj1, then this: http://nyti.ms/Vxvaky, and now this: http://nyti.ms/rwvaAl.
Source: The New York Times
Posted on January 3, 2012
Sobering thought: "We might, far down the line, encounter limits because our brains just don't have enough conceptual grasp."
Source: Newsweek
Posted on January 2, 2012
"[The Jeopardy-playing computer] Watson...consumes 85,000 watts of electricity, while the human brain runs on just 20 watts."
Source: The New York Times
Posted on January 2, 2012
I had high hopes that tidal power would solve our energy woes but, alas, no, not when you Do The Math.
Source: Do the Math
Posted on December 30, 2011
A terrific essay on the history and influence of the UNIX operating system.
Source: IEEE Spectrum
Posted on December 29, 2011
Do you use antimicrobial soaps or wipes? Don't waste your money: regular soap is just as effective.
Source: Scientific American
Posted on December 29, 2011
If you're in the least bit squeamish about public washrooms, you do NOT want to read this.
Source: Scientific American
Posted on December 27, 2011
A terrific essay on the history and influence of UNIX.
Source: IEEE Spectrum
Posted on December 27, 2011
One of my favorite writers, the physicist and novelist Alan Lightman, tries his best to reconcile science and religion.
Source: Salon
Posted on December 27, 2011
Call it "pedestrianology", the surprising science of pedestrian behaviour.
Source: The Economist
Posted on December 27, 2011
Have styles remained essentially unchanged for the past two decades? This thought-provoking essay argues for the affirmative.
Source: Vanity Fair
Posted on December 27, 2011
I can't believe I'm only finding out about this combination iPhone case/bottle opener two days before Christmas!
Source: Opena Case
Posted on December 23, 2011
Another moving tribute to Christopher Hitchens, this one from the great novelist Ian McEwan.
Source: The Guardian
Posted on December 21, 2011
The riposte: "I hadn't even realized that there was a correct way to use the Web."
Source: Rough Type
Posted on December 21, 2011
The quote: "People who think the Web is killing off serendipity are not using it correctly."
Source: Steven Johnson
Posted on December 21, 2011
A funny, moving tribute to a friend: Christopher Buckley memorializes the late Christoper Hitchens.
Source: The New Yorker
Posted on December 16, 2011
Can you legislate morality? Yes, through dog poop.
Source: Dallas Observer
Posted on December 16, 2011
"I know enough that I look at the world differently." Beautiful meditation on how science enhances wonder.
Source: The Last Word On Nothing
Posted on December 12, 2011
A superb, unnerving tick-tock of the last few minutes in the cockpit of the doomed flight of Air France 447.
Source: Popular Mechanics
Posted on December 12, 2011
Highly entertaining look at, of all things, the history of airline safety cards. First-rate writing by Avi Steinberg.
Source: The Paris Review
Posted on November 30, 2011
"We are still a movement, coalesced around a cause, sleeping two and sometimes three people to a villa."
Source: The New Yorker
Posted on November 22, 2011
The origins of the Occupy Wall Street movement.
Source: The New Yorker
Posted on November 22, 2011
Eyebrows up: Since 2000, 171 people have disappeared from cruise ships.
Source: The Guardian
Posted on November 21, 2011
"Mr Ford has identified over 50m jobs in America...which, to a greater or lesser extent, could be performed by...software."
Source: The Economist
Posted on November 16, 2011
If you're a geek, you need to know these essential equations (and these ones, too).
Source: Wired Science
Posted on November 11, 2011
"With an entire body at your command, do you seriously think the Future Of Interaction should be a single finger?"
Source: Bret Victor
Posted on November 9, 2011
Malcolm Gladwell argues that Steve Jobs wasn't an inventor, but rather a tweaker of other people's work. He means it as a compliment.
Source: The New Yorker
Posted on November 9, 2011
A return to the time when "flaming" was new and the word "net" was written using that's-what-all-the-kids-are-saying quotation marks.
Source: The New Yorker
Posted on November 1, 2011
A fascinating look at how Steve Jobs' Buddhism affected his life and his work.
Source: NeuroTribes
Posted on November 1, 2011
If you're a teacher or you know a teacher, these terrific stories of lessons learned from teachers are a must read.
Source: NeuroTribes
Posted on October 7, 2011
In an age of increasingly disposable media, what form will our future nostalgia take?
Source: Grantland
Posted on October 4, 2011
The exquisite pain of being a sports fan in Toronto, "the worst sports city in the world".
Source: Grantland
Posted on October 3, 2011
"Why, just now, I created a social app that allows the user to 'hornswoggle a flibbertigibbet.'" Sign me up for that app!
Source: The Atlantic
Posted on September 30, 2011
"[Google's] systems...have grown so complex that no Google engineer fully understands them."
Source: The New Republic
Posted on September 30, 2011
The IAAF's decision to no longer recognize women's marathon records run in "mixed" races is "boneheaded and heartless". Agreed.
Source: The Guardian
Posted on September 30, 2011
When faced with ambiguity and situations that excite their natural curiosity, children act like scientists.
Source: The Frontal Cortex
Posted on September 30, 2011
Lots of Amazon Fire punditry the last couple of days, but you won't read anything smarter than this Nicholas Carr piece.
Source: Rough Type
Posted on September 30, 2011
Are we inherently selfish creatures? Recent studies and experiments show that the answer is, surprisingly, "No, not really."
Source: Harvard Business Review
Posted on September 28, 2011
NPR icon Ira Glass talks about what makes Radiolab such a great show.
Source: Transom
Posted on September 27, 2011
A terrific, engaging New Yorker story about a druggist who's the heart and soul of a small Colorado town. Highly recommended.
Source: The New Yorker
Posted on September 22, 2011
"Information doesn't want to be free. Nor does it want to be expensive. Information wants to be reasonably priced."
Source: Rough Type
Posted on September 21, 2011
An entertaining, behind-the-scenes look at how Will Shortz edits a New York Times crossword.
Source: The Atlantic
Posted on September 16, 2011
An oddly written but still entertaining profile of Jon Stewart, by Esquire's Tom Junod.
Source: Esquire
Posted on September 15, 2011
Steven Johnson: "There is no contesting the fact of Steve Jobs's genius-just a debate about its defining qualities."
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Posted on September 15, 2011
You wouldn't think Caster Semenya's testosterone levels would make interesting reading, but you'd be surprised.
Source: The Science of Sport
Posted on September 14, 2011
Speaking of "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite", ever wondered who Pablo Fanque was? Wonder no more.
Source: The Smithsonian
Posted on September 13, 2011
?"Over Men & Horses, through Hoops, over Garters, and lastly, through a Hogshead of REAL FIRE!" The original playbill that inspired John Lennon to write "Being For the Benefit of Mr. Kite".
Source: The Smithsonian
Posted on September 13, 2011
Terrific reminiscence of the last great race of the incomparable Sebastien Coe.
Source: Running Times
Posted on September 9, 2011
"Dilbert" creator Scott Adams sings the praises of boredom. Yes, that's right, boredom.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Posted on August 15, 2011
If you're a Google+ user, better get your "+1" verb forms right. Here's a primer.
Source: The Boston Globe
Posted on August 13, 2011
A fascinating - and slight scary - talk about the just-barely-under-control algorithms that run our world.
Source: TED
Posted on August 13, 2011
Everything old is newish again.
Source: The New Republic
Posted on August 13, 2011
If I ever work in an office again, I want it to be one that Sheryl Sandberg runs.
Source: The New Yorker
Posted on August 12, 2011
"What it means to own information is very much in flux." Great state-of-the-Google essay by James Gleick.
Source: The New York Review of Books
Posted on August 4, 2011
A cri de coeur for basic human decency and ethical behavior from Web 2.0 entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.
Source: TechCrunch
Posted on August 4, 2011
Ever-so-slightly tongue-in-cheek essay on how introverts can use technology to keep the extroverted world at bay.
Source: The Atlantic
Posted on August 4, 2011
Was Carl Lewis once robbed of a 30-foot long jump? Find out in this entertaining piece told in the exuberant SI style.
Source: Sports Illustrated
Posted on August 4, 2011
"Sure hope you become a writer." A moving tribute to a teacher who made a difference, by the writer Dave Eggers.
Source: Salon
Posted on August 3, 2011
Some online videos go viral because they satisfy an ancient social instinct.
Source: The Frontal Cortex
Posted on August 3, 2011
A brief history of the high five.
Source: ESPN The Magazine
Posted on August 3, 2011
"Introverts are people who find other people tiring." Very funny essay on introverts and the people who love them.
Source: The Atlantic
Posted on August 3, 2011
A detailed and ultimately convincing argument in favor of using pseudonyms in social networks.
Source: TechnoSocial
Posted on July 29, 2011
Why are we kind to strangers? Because there's a chance, however small, that we might meet them again.
Source: The Economist
Posted on July 29, 2011
If only every book reviewer would follow these three simple rules.
Source: Slate
Posted on July 28, 2011
"His books read like accounts of acid trips written by a bureaucrat." Nicholas Carr on Marshall McLuhan.
Source: Rough Type
Posted on July 28, 2011
Einstein did not, I repeat, he did not flunk math.
Source: Time
Posted on July 28, 2011
Is the appreciation of beauty -- in art, music, poetry, etc. -- just an enhanced version of curiosity?
Source: The Frontal Cortex
Posted on July 27, 2011
Christopher Hitchens offers some welcome perspective on the British tabloid scandal.
Source: Slate
Posted on July 27, 2011
Richard Feynman, superstar.
Source: The New York Review of Books
Posted on July 27, 2011
If you love *great* coffee, the next time you're in Toronto I highly recommend my local coffee joint, Mercury Espresso Bar.
Source: The Leslieville'r
Posted on July 27, 2011
Superb TED talk by cosmologist Sean Carroll on time, the universe, and everything.
Source: TED
Posted on July 26, 2011
Early Net cheerleaders failed to anticipate (and so set up defenses against) negative developments such as spam and scams.
Source: Prospect
Posted on July 26, 2011
Online anonymity leads to "deindividuation", which can turn regular folk into spewers of bile and venom.
Source: The Guardian
Posted on July 26, 2011
Apparently, news of the imminent demise of the New York Times was greatly exaggerated.
Source: New York Magazine
Posted on July 26, 2011
The world's favorite numbers are, surprisingly, all primes. Go to http://favouritenumber.net to cast your own vote.
Source: Krulwich Wonders
Posted on July 23, 2011
Superbly written essay by Harper's editor Paul Ford, lamenting the lack of story arcs in a socially-networked world.
Source: New York Magazine
Posted on July 22, 2011
TED's Chris Anderson presents a few sensible rules for making email less of a timesuck.
Source: Chris Anderson
Posted on July 22, 2011
I choose to believe that free will exists. In this post, a cosmologist offers compelling arguments in my favor.
Source: Cosmic Variance
Posted on July 22, 2011
Entertaining essay on the rise and post-911 fall of novelist Alex Shakar's first book.
Source: The Millions
Posted on July 13, 2011
How fast can a human being run? Some think we're nearly at the limit.
Source: Grantland
Posted on July 13, 2011
Incandescent bulbs? Near-obsolete. Compact flourescents? Hideous & soul-destroying. So? Wait just a bit for LED bulbs.
Source: Slate
Posted on July 11, 2011
Great photo essay on classic clocks. Must see: Incredible video of a Lego replica of the Antikythera Mechanism.
Source: Wired Science
Posted on June 29, 2011
"The great contemporary terror is anonymity." Excellent meditation on the virtues of solitude in a too-connected world.
Source: The Chronicle of Higher Education
Posted on June 29, 2011
If you shield kids from hurtful experiences, they never develop the tools to handle such experiences as an adult. Discuss.
Source: The Atlantic
Posted on June 28, 2011
"Reading is an act of resistance in a landscape of distraction." A lovely essay on the pleasures of print.
Source: The Independent
Posted on June 28, 2011
A spirited (and badly needed) defense of introversion and shyness.
Source: The New York Times
Posted on June 27, 2011
A terrific profile of one of my favorite novelists, Rebecca Newberger Goldstein.
Source: The Christian Science Monitor
Posted on June 27, 2011
While I'm on the subject of online mobs: This columnist says "We have seen Big Brother. And he is us."
Source: The Globe and Mail
Posted on June 27, 2011
Online mobs and digital vigilantes just might be scarier than their real-worl counterparts.
Source: The New York Times
Posted on June 27, 2011
Thought-provoking list of the five most common regrets that people have as they near death.
Source: Inspiration and Chai
Posted on June 27, 2011
Dani Shapiro coins "to pull a Franzen": To minimize writing distractions by using a barebones PC with no Net access.
Source: n+1
Posted on June 20, 2011
Sturgeon's Law tells us that "90 percent of everything is crap". Looks like AOL's going for 100 percent.
Source: The Faster Times
Posted on June 20, 2011
Ostensibly a book and film review, but really a compact biography of chess genius (and notorious anti-semite) Bobby Fischer.
Source: The Guardian
Posted on June 17, 2011
Fantastic portrait of scientist Erez Lieberman Aiden and his "nomadic" mind.
Source: Not Exactly Rocket Science
Posted on June 16, 2011
This meditation on city traffic includes a wild video of bikers doing crazy things and a new profession: traffic archaeologist.
Source: NPR
Posted on June 16, 2011
Can physicists cure cancer? Some are giving it a try.
Source: Nature
Posted on June 15, 2011
Can we take steps to boost our intelligence? The answer is a definite maybe.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Posted on June 15, 2011
The U.S. government is financing an "Internet in a suitcase" and other projects to route around censorship.
Source: The New York Times
Posted on June 15, 2011
Here's a feel-good sports story for you: The high schooler who ran a sub-4:00 mile in his last race. Great athlete, great kid.
Source: ESPN
Posted on June 15, 2011
Steve Silberman gets some solid advice on writing a book from the likes of Carl Zimmer, Cory Doctorow, and ... Anonymous!?
Source: NeuroTribes
Posted on June 13, 2011
What the...? Synthetic biologists have created a DNA sequence that can calculate square roots!
Source: Wired Science
Posted on June 10, 2011
Beware the "DM fail": Putting "@" (public reply) instead of "D" (private direct message) at the beginning of a tweet!
Source: Huffington Post
Posted on June 10, 2011
Whatever you think of Lady Gaga, this refreshingly uncynical profile by Stephen Fry (yes, that Stephen Fry) is a treat.
Source: Financial Times
Posted on June 10, 2011
Fans of the The Big Bang Theory will love this frame-by-frame list of the rapid-fire images that appear during the show's intro.
Source: Harald Kraft
Posted on June 9, 2011
Get your geek on: Project Euler encourages people to learn (or improve) programming skills by offering problems that require code to solve.
Source: Project Euler
Posted on June 9, 2011
Why do Indian-American kids dominate the National Spelling Bee? They have a "minor league" circuit to hone their skills.
Source: Slate
Posted on June 8, 2011
This author argues (and I agree) that fears of cellphone-caused brain cancer are irrational and unsupported by the evidence.
Source: Slate
Posted on June 3, 2011
Fascinating idea: The steep drop in crime over the past two decades is a result (in part) of reduced lead exposure over that time.
Source: The Frontal Cortex
Posted on June 2, 2011
Missing the smell of books while using your eReader? Karl Lagerfeld can help.
Source: The Dabbler
Posted on June 1, 2011
The concept of the immortal soul runs up against the standard model of physics. Hint: the immortal soul loses. Badly.
Source: Scientific American
Posted on June 1, 2011
I believe this will turn out to be true: Many scientists now believe that we are hard-wired for optimism.
Source: Time
Posted on May 30, 2011
What our bestselling books tell us about ourselves and our culture: a 100-year restrospective.
Source: Bookforum
Posted on May 30, 2011
Excellent article about "extreme commuters", people who travel 90 minutes or more each way to work.
Source: The New Yorker
Posted on May 30, 2011
This historian and philosopher of science argues that common sense is a product of evolution.
Source: Scientific American
Posted on May 30, 2011
A great post by Robert Krulwich, but the payoff is the hilarious video of Kurt Vonnegut "graphing" our most common story arcs.
Source: NPR
Posted on May 27, 2011
It's hard to imagine Guinness being any tastier, but apparently it does taste better in Ireland.
Source: Slate
Posted on May 25, 2011
Some amazing ingenuity on display in this terrific story about building a better rib spreader (no, really).
Source: The New York Times
Posted on May 25, 2011
This philosopher says he and his peers need to be more open to creative rather than rigorous argument.
Source: The New York Times
Posted on May 25, 2011
A trip to the International Tolstoy Conference is the basis for this wry account by one of my favorite new writers, Elif Batuman.
Source: Harper's
Posted on May 25, 2011
An entertaining look at MIT, where ideas that transform the world are rated higher than Nobel prizes.
Source: The Guardian
Posted on May 25, 2011
"Science is not much talked about in society today." A mind-opening interview with the director of CERN.
Source: The European
Posted on May 24, 2011
"Serial killers ruin families. Corporate and political and religious psychopaths ruin economies. They ruin societies."
Source: The Guardian
Posted on May 24, 2011
Fascinating inside look at some of Nigeria's 419 scammers. The bad news: They're *way* smarter than you think.
Source: TechCrunch
Posted on May 24, 2011
We stick with big novels because the authors are captors and we're hostages with Stockholm Syndrome-like symptoms. Or something.
Source: The Millions
Posted on May 24, 2011
It's a paradox: Those "Slow: Children at Play" signs actually make kids less safe.
Source: Slate
Posted on May 23, 2011
Outstanding article on the mind-blowing weirdness of quantum mechanics and quantum computing (sub req'd).
Source: The New Yorker
Posted on May 23, 2011
Well-argued essay on the superiority of collaborative knowledge versus individual insight.
Source: The Awl
Posted on May 22, 2011
Excellent smackdown of the you-don't need-privacy-if-you've-got-nothing-to-hide argument.
Source: The Chronicle of Higher Education
Posted on May 22, 2011
Slangmeister Jonathon Green on the craftsmanship of dictionary-making.
Source: The Dabbler
Posted on May 22, 2011
Redefining the word tough: In the 34-year history of this 100-mile race, only 7 people have finished.
Source: Believer
Posted on May 22, 2011
An interesting profile of "Facebook's adult", COO Cheryl Sandberg.
Source: BusinessWeek
Posted on May 22, 2011
That pain you feel during intense exercise? Turns out it's not pain at all.
Source: The New York Times
Posted on May 19, 2011
A timely review of the latest research on how and why power corrupts.
Source: The Frontal Cortex
Posted on May 18, 2011
A fascinating and insightful profile of "information design" guru Edward Tufte.
Source: Washington Monthly
Posted on May 18, 2011
The prodigious talents of Truman Capote, one of my favorite writers, are on full display in this 1957 New Yorker profile of Marlon Brando.
Source: The New Yorker
Posted on May 17, 2011
Eyebrows up: A new survey shows that only 40 percent of wine is quaffed with a meal.
Source: Napa Valley Register
Posted on May 16, 2011
To those North American Scrabble players having a conniption fit over the new slang words, chill: We won't be getting them.
Source: Slate
Posted on May 13, 2011
Absorbing tale of the three Tokelau teenagers who were adrift on the Pacific Ocean for 51 days without food or water.
Source: GQ
Posted on May 11, 2011
"Time is this rubbery thing." A fascinating profile of the neuroscientist David Eagleman.
Source: The New Yorker
Posted on May 11, 2011
Does the phrase "gorgeous octopus" strike you as oxymoronic? It won't after you see this stunning video.
Source: Wired Science
Posted on May 11, 2011
A fascinating and occasionally hilarious visual history of the cell phone.
Source: Business Insider
Posted on May 10, 2011
Want to live longer? Go for a run.
Source: Outside Magazine
Posted on May 10, 2011
The word "friend" is changing before our eyes (assuming we look away from our social media feeds long enough to notice).
Source: The Boston Globe
Posted on May 10, 2011
Why did humans evolve as reasoning creatures? According to this compelling theory, it was so we can win arguments.
Source: Edge
Posted on May 10, 2011
There are many good reviews of The Pale King out there, but I particularly liked this one by Judith Shulevitz.
Source: Slate
Posted on May 9, 2011
Who do you identify with more, the PC people or the Mac people?
Source: Hunch Blog
Posted on May 9, 2011
People behave more socially when they're watched, even if the "watcher" is a pair of eyes on a poster or computer screen.
Source: Scientific American
Posted on May 9, 2011
Pain and itch are closely connected, particularly at the "wasabi receptor" (yes, you read that correctly).
Source: UC Berkeley
Posted on May 4, 2011
This profile of news anchor Brian Williams is hilarious. Yes, that's right: hilarious.
Source: New York Magazine
Posted on April 28, 2011
Mildly frightening story about how little science there is in forensic science.
Source: Texas Monthly
Posted on April 28, 2011
Physicist and Templeton Prize winner Martin Rees makes the can't-we-all-just-get-along? case for science and religion.
Source: New Statesman
Posted on April 26, 2011
This well-written essay on the state of American sport includes the best explanantion I've heard for why soccer will never be big in the U.S.
Source: The New Inquiry
Posted on April 26, 2011
Entertaining meditation on how Elif Batuman's life changed after she published an unlikely bestseller.
Source: The Guardian
Posted on April 26, 2011
Why our brains fool us into discounting scientific facts that contradict our current beliefs.
Source: Mother Jones
Posted on April 26, 2011
Christopher Hitchens #3: Martin Amis calls CH "one of the most terrifying rhetoricians the world has seen." Agreed.
Source: The Observer.
Posted on April 25, 2011
Christopher Hitchens #2: Claws as sharp as ever, the dying lion tells his fellow atheists, "Don't keep the faith."
Source: Richard Dawkins Foundation
Posted on April 25, 2011
3 by Christopher Hitchens: First, a spirited rant against the British monarchy; the perfect antidote to Royal Wedding fluff.
Source: Slate
Posted on April 25, 2011
If you haven't yet read James Gleick's The Information (why not? It's amazing!), here's a fascinating excerpt on memes.
Source: Smithsonian Magazine
Posted on April 25, 2011
Scott Adams (of Dilbert fame) sees Donald Trump's presidential "aspirations" as a classic prank, and he's impressed.
Source: Scott Adams Blog
Posted on April 25, 2011
The most brain-twisting sentence in the U.S. tax code. Approach with caution.
Source: The Economist
Posted on April 22, 2011
Gerry Howard (the editor of my Word Spy book) reminisces about discovering and editing DFW. Lots of great stories here.
Source: The New York Observer
Posted on April 21, 2011
Another Tim Hetherington memorial, this one with a slide show of his incomparable photojournalism.
Source: The New Yorker
Posted on April 21, 2011
I was so sorry to hear about the death of photojournalist Tim Hetherington (of Restropo fame) in Libya. This is just one many tributes from around the web.
Source: The New Yorker
Posted on April 21, 2011
Fascinating look at the challenges and joys experienced by the people who edited David Foster Wallace over the years.
Source: The Howling Fantods
Posted on April 21, 2011
How did natural selection produce altruism? It's one of the Big Questions, and still a controversial one.
Source: Boston Globe
Posted on April 20, 2011
The true state of modern physics: A pessimistic but entertaining survey.
Source: American Scientist
Posted on April 20, 2011
The original Life Magazine article that was the inspiration for the movie Dog Day Afternoon.
Source: Life
Posted on April 19, 2011
Bjørn Lomborg makes the case for continuing investment in nuclear power.
Source: Slate
Posted on April 19, 2011
Social networking attracts people who don't like to think (present company excluded, of course).
Source: Rough Type
Posted on April 19, 2011
Now I know why I'd rather chew tinfoil than watch "The Office": The show literally causes me pain.
Source: ABC News
Posted on April 19, 2011
Need to be creative today? Find a room with blue walls and a high ceiling.
Source: The Frontal Cortex
Posted on April 18, 2011
In a clear example of whale culture, male humpbacks create new songs every year, and those songs get taken up by other humpback groups.
Source: Wired Science
Posted on April 15, 2011
Lessons on self-control from...Ulysses? Yup.
Source: Scientific American
Posted on April 15, 2011
A lament that Silicon Valley's best and brightest are consumed by "ad think", where innovation serves only to get people to click more ads.
Source: BusinessWeek
Posted on April 15, 2011
Better check the list of people you're following on Twitter. One of them might be a "social bot".
Source: The Atlantic
Posted on April 15, 2011
A college chess team "that includes a nightclub bouncer, a security guard, and a courier, beating Ivy Leaguers in the ultimate brain sport."
Source: Miami New Times
Posted on April 15, 2011
How sites like Twitter and Facebook use game-related concepts to keep users hungry for followers, friends, RTs, likes, etc.
Source: An Associate's Mind
Posted on April 14, 2011
Today's good news: Recent studies suggest drinking coffee might help prevent strokes. Plus, it's delicious.
Source: Los Angeles Times
Posted on April 13, 2011
The universe will be around for trillions of years to come. If we survive, what will we do with all that time?
Source: Prospect
Posted on April 12, 2011
Entertaining slide show of six of the most famous ciphers that have yet to be broken.
Source: Slate
Posted on April 12, 2011
This is, to say the least, stunning: Researchers have used embryonic stem cells to assemble an entire retina.
Source: Nature
Posted on April 12, 2011
You know those great fight scenes in The Fighter? They seemed so real because, well, they were real!
Source: 37signals
Posted on April 11, 2011
Nice writeup of the aural awesomeness otherwise known as Radiolab.
Source: The New York Times
Posted on April 11, 2011
The rise and fall of MySpace. What's that? No, *My*Space. M-Y-S-P-A-C-E. MySp... Ah, never mind.
Source: Reuters
Posted on April 10, 2011
Too much of what passes for literary nonfiction today is nothing more than a regurgitation of facts by "ironic Gradgrinds."
Source: n+1
Posted on April 10, 2011
David Foster Wallace remembered by the designer who worked on many of his book covers, including The Pale King.
Source: The Hipster Book Club
Posted on April 7, 2011
A look at "short sleepers," people who thrive on just a few hours of sleep a night.
Source: Wall Street Journal
Posted on April 7, 2011
Amazing (and amazingly detailed) look at the surprising contents of David Foster Wallace's personal library. A must for any DFW fan.
Source: The Awl
Posted on April 6, 2011
Ostensibly a review of the novel Super Sad True Love Story, but really a superb lament on our modern over-connectedness.
Source: n+1
Posted on April 6, 2011
A fine tribute to a true titan of science and one of my intellectual heroes, James Clerk Maxwell.
Source: The Economist
Posted on April 5, 2011
The strange but true story of the plot to "assassinate" the vines of Romanée-Conti, the world's most famous vineyard.
Source: Vanity Fair
Posted on April 5, 2011
Terrific meditation on awkwardness and being human. (Must see: Pic of the cringingly awkward Oscar co-host James Franco.)
Source: The Awl
Posted on April 5, 2011
At 40 gigapixels, this 360-degree photo is the world's largest. Wow factor: Zoom in to see the book titles or the ceiling details!
Source: 360Cities
Posted on April 4, 2011
Jug troupes, steers, stalls, and hooks. The lush lingo of pickpocketing and its odd status as a "lost art".
Source: Slate Magazine
Posted on April 3, 2011
Your brain on video games: There's good news, sure, but there's bad news, too.
Source: Rough Type
Posted on April 2, 2011
Strange, but true: Going up or being in an elevated position makes people act and feel more positive towards others.
Source: Scientific American
Posted on March 31, 2011
David Friedman has been featuring interesting and quirky New York Times Magazine articles from 100 years ago.
Source: Slate
Posted on March 31, 2011
Excellent layman's overview of how tsunamis work.
Source: The New York Review of Books
Posted on March 30, 2011
Big-time traders use IM a lot—on average, 16(!) chats at once—and those who use it most are the most successful.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Posted on March 30, 2011
Oddly charming (or perhaps charmingly odd) essay on running, runners, and (this is the odd part) Michael Cera.
Source: The Believer
Posted on March 29, 2011
Wow: A new brain-computer interface lets paralysed patients play and compose music using just brain waves.
Source: Nature
Posted on March 28, 2011
There are existing and future nuclear power technologies and plant designs that are safer than the current versions.
Source: Business Week
Posted on March 27, 2011
The riveting story of South African Hendrik Coetzee, one of the world's best and most fearless whitewater kayakers.
Source: Outside
Posted on March 27, 2011
The great Nicholson Baker becomes (for a while, at least) a Wikipedian.
Source: The New York Review of Books
Posted on March 26, 2011
Thoughful essay by Sven Birkerts on the history and pleasures of idleness.
Source: Lapham's Quarterly
Posted on March 25, 2011
I'm afraid I have bad news. According to this, "self-control is inherently aggravating," (which at least explains a lot).
Source: The Frontal Cortex
Posted on March 24, 2011
Paywall? We don't need no stinking New York Times paywall!
Source: Neiman Journalism Lab
Posted on March 23, 2011
I subscribe to many publications, so it's weird that I'm shunning the NYT digital sub. Now I see why.
Source: The Understatement
Posted on March 23, 2011
Amazing story of a British POW who infiltrated Auschwitz to "identify the people responsible."
Source: The Telegraph
Posted on March 22, 2011
Cory Doctorow objects to the NYT paywall. Me: The Times will simply ignore users who take "countermeasures" to beat the paywall.
Source: Boing Boing
Posted on March 21, 2011
Excellent overview of the operation of Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant and the problems it's facing.
Source: Wired Science
Posted on March 20, 2011
Is 4chan founder Christopher Poole the anti-Mark Zuckerberg? Yes, very much so.
Source: Vanity Fair
Posted on March 19, 2011
The most successful artists, athletes, and even spelling bee entrants aren't the most talented, they just have the most grit.
Source: Wired Science
Posted on March 18, 2011
Brain scans suggest that watching media coverage of disasters isn't voyuerism or rubbernecking; it's "vicarious coping".
Source: Psychology Today
Posted on March 17, 2011
Fantastic essay exploring the agony and the ecstasy of Istanbul's soccer fanatics.
Source: The New Yorker
Posted on March 17, 2011
Jaw-dropping animation that shows how the Honshu tsunami propagated across the Pacific ocean.
Source: The New York Times
Posted on March 16, 2011
A second helping of Alan Bradley's precocious princess of chemistry, Flavia de Luce. Great read.
Source: Amazon
Posted on March 16, 2011
Nobody could combine cheeky and geeky as well as the inimitable David Foster Wallace, who was in fine form in this 2000 book review (PDF).
Source: Science
Posted on March 16, 2011
The science behind the perfect cup of coffee.
Source: Scientific American
Posted on March 11, 2011
Michel de Montaigne: The original oversharer.
Source: The New York Times
Posted on March 11, 2011
How Facebook Commenting is the not-so-thin edge of the wedge in Facebook's grand plan to rule the web.
Source: steve's blog
Posted on March 11, 2011
Satisfyingly geeky account of how Pinboard survived a mad rush of Delicious users abandoning ship.
Source: Pinboard Blog
Posted on March 11, 2011
Farhad Manjoo makes the case against anonymous commenting.
Source: Slate
Posted on March 10, 2011
When buying memorabilia, our brains regress and are influenced by "celebrity contagion" and "imitative magic".
Source: The New York Times
Posted on March 9, 2011
The math (yes, math) behind why our fingers get all wrinky after a long time in the water.
Source: Wired
Posted on March 9, 2011
A poignant and personal tribute to Aretha Franklin by writer Nell Boeschenstein.
Source: The Morning News
Posted on March 9, 2011
What are the odds an asteroid will plow into the Earth and blow us all to kingdom come? Unfortunately, the answer is "It depends."
Source: The New Yorker -sub req'd
Posted on March 8, 2011
The solution to the persistent lack of women choosing math and science careera? More female math and science teachers!
Source: The Frontal Cortex
Posted on March 8, 2011
The problem isn't finding needles in haystacks, it's dealing with too many needles!
Source: Rough Type
Posted on March 8, 2011
Information overload - it's worse than you think.
Source: Newsweek
Posted on March 7, 2011
Higher costs, quality problems are causing many firms to pull their manufacturing out of China
Source: Wired
Posted on March 7, 2011
Wow: A blind man who uses tongue clicks to "see" by echolocation.
Source: Mens Journal
Posted on March 7, 2011
In people who are born blind, brain structures normally used for vision are used instead for language.
Source: Wired Science
Posted on March 4, 2011
We don't know much about Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, so even this puffball piece is better than nothing.
Source: Vanity Fair
Posted on March 4, 2011
Why trying to choose a breakfast cereal or one of the 350 (!) varieties of toothpaste is like struggling in quicksand.
Source: Wired
Posted on March 3, 2011
Comprehensive and well-researched look at the mysterious and troubling "Stuxnet" worm that was unleashed last year.
Source: Vanity Fair
Posted on March 3, 2011
A review of James Gleick's "impressive" new book, The Information, which is now on my "must read" list.
Source: The Daily Beast
Posted on March 3, 2011
Animal researcher by day, animal activist by night: The strange story of Joseph Harris.
Source: Nature
Posted on March 2, 2011
Ever wondered why Kenya dominates distance running? Read this piece by Adharanand Finn.
Source: The Guardian
Posted on March 1, 2011
Daydreaming and distraction are good for you. Sorry, what was I saying...?
Source: Wall Street Journal
Posted on March 1, 2011
Vladimir Nabokov was not only a famous novelist, but also a surprisingly dedicated lepidopterist.
Source: New York Times
Posted on February 28, 2011
Apparently some folks become insane when walking behind slow people.
Source: Wall Street Journal
Posted on February 24, 2011
Tom Vanderbilt examines the often hostile relationship between drivers and cyclists.
Source: Outside Magazine
Posted on February 23, 2011
Good overview of the sometimes fascinating, but more often absurd worldview of the Singularitarians.
Source: Time
Posted on February 18, 2011
Excellent meditation on AI, the Turing test, and what it means to be human.
Source: The Atlantic
Posted on February 15, 2011
Surprisingly interesting history and current overview of the cut-flower industry.
Source: The Smithsonian
Posted on January 15, 2011
Over at IEEE Spectrum, John Rennie takes a closer look at Ray Kurzweil's supposed talent as a futurist. It ain't pretty.
Source: IEEE Spectrum
Posted on December 16, 2010