I know, I know: another story set at a gathering of brotastic crypto-utopians. But this one is no scene piece. Instead, it manages to stake out a thoughtful middle ground between the wonkiness of a blockchain white paper and the rolled eyes of “Web3 Is Going Just Great” — smart, incisive, and informative enough for […]
Technology
Posted inEditor's Pick
‘Where the Bats Hung Out’: How a Basement Hideaway at UC Berkeley Nurtured a Generation of Blind Innovators
For decades, an underground hideaway at UC Berkeley’s Moffitt Library — better known as “The Cave” — gave rise to a generation of blind leaders, including Joshua Miele, a MacArthur genius grant winner who now builds adaptive technologies at Amazon. The Cave was where iron sharpened iron, academically — tricks for surviving Berkeley were as […]
Posted inEditor's Pick
Of Course We’re Living in a Simulation
The weirder things get in the world, the easier it is to believe that what we know as reality is in fact happening within the confines of some sort of program. Physicists, despite their love of ideas like quantum entanglement, tend not to agree. But in this shaggy, personable essay, Jason Kehe — under the […]
Posted inEditor's Pick
Driving While Baked? Inside the High-Tech Quest to Find Out
“There is no scientific way to tell if you’re stoned behind the wheel. That’s a problem for police—and you. One company is aiming to fix that.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
What Was the TED Talk?
“I recently watched some of the talks from this conference on my laptop. They hit like parodies of a bygone era, so ridiculous that it made me almost nostalgic for a time when TED talks captivated me. Back then, around a decade ago, I watched those articulate, audacious, composed people talk about how they were […]
Posted inEditor's Pick
After ALS Struck, He Became the World’s Most Advanced Cyborg
“Scientist Dr. Peter Scott-Morgan is pushing the boundaries of what it means to be human.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Typos, Tricks and Misprints
“Why is English spelling so weird and unpredictable? Don’t blame the mix of languages; look to quirks of timing and technology.”
Posted inQuotes
No Escape from Online Memories
The algorithms that drive Facebook, Pinterest, and a million other apps don’t know when your life changes course — and can keep up a stream of painful memories.
Posted inCuration, Highlight, Nonfiction, profile
Dear Mom & Dad: We Need to Talk about QAnon
Children Of QAnon believers are desperately trying to deradicalize their parents.
Posted inQuotes
2020: One Year, Lifetime Consequences
“I think there is a better-than-good chance that our behaviors will change as a result of this pandemic. I am currently creating a ledger and thinking about opportunities, not just for innovation, but for a better humanity.”