Science
Headset Hypocrisy
By the 2020 election, the market for virtual reality is projected to increase twentyfold. That's great news for VR's proponents who relish the technology's persuasive powers, but what does it mean for those inside the headset?
Introducing “What Nature”
The poems collected in What Nature were written in the predawn of the Sixth Extinction Event.
The Instagrammable Charm of the Bourgeoisie
The modes of perception and living that we attribute to Instagram are rooted in a much older aesthetic of the picturesque.
Gamifying the Ocean
Silicon Valley has turned the problem of marine plastic waste into yet another avenue for “disruption.” But why should clean oceans have to make good business sense?
Who Owns the Wind?
There is more than enough wind energy to power our future. But our model of paying for it is stuck in the past.
Monopoly Men
After an eventful summer in Silicon Valley, there is blood in the water. At stake is democracy itself.
Know Thy Futurist
Many visions of the future proliferate in Silicon Valley. Which one is worth fighting for?
The Global Calculus of Climate Disaster
Global capitalism is no longer simply characterized by uneven development, it is characterized by uneven disaster.
Tweeting @ Thoreau
Walden is often championed as an anti-technology manifesto. But this misses the value Thoreau found in conversations spread across vast spans of time and distance.
The Man Who Invented Information Theory
Of the pioneers who drove the information technology revolution, Claude Shannon may have been the most brilliant.
Silicon Valley to Liberal Arts Majors: We Want You
Tech billionaires love to declare the death of liberal arts, but could they instead be the future of Silicon Valley?
The Death and Life of America’s Waters
From the Great Lakes to the Flint River, we have devastated our waters through negligence, lethargy, and good intentions.
The Seed Vault Flooding Is Only the Start of Our Problems
Biodiversity should be maintained by using it, not by storing it under ice.
Making Chinese Officials Accountable, Blog by Blog
Despite the risks, Chinese social media users are beating online censorship.
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