Category: Science & Tech
What Earthquakes Teach Us About Embracing Uncertainty
For natural disasters large enough to reshape society, Dr. Lucy Jones explains, “The best fit to the data is that it’s random. And we hate it. Random makes people really upset." But such uncertainty doesn't have to leave us feeling helpless—we should embrace the inherent chaos of the universe.
Virtual Reality is Not an Empathy Machine
Virtual reality can help us better understand the experiences of others but we should remain skeptical whether it can create true empathy.
The Brain Can Be Rewired Through Meditation and Mindfulness
Neuroscience increasingly validates Buddhist practices, like meditation, which unlock the ability of the mind to change the brain.
Economists with Physics Envy Are Harmful
Observing the acclaim physics was having, economists embraced a physical view of human behavior hoping to replicate similar success. However, unlike physics, the social nature of human beings makes any laws of behavior tentative and contextual.
‘Enlightenment Now’ Demands A New Romanticism
There are many who say that Romanticism is dead. But the tensions between Romanticism and the soldiers of the original Enlightenment are rising up again.
Earth’s Carrying Capacity for Human Life Is More Than You Think
The claim that earth has a carrying capacity of 7 billion is based on old concepts—misunderstanding how fertility rates and consumption work.
In Physics, Beauty Doesn’t Equal Truth
Most of physics' beautiful ideas are hard or impossible to test. When we try to rectify a perceived lack of beauty, we waste time on problems that aren’t really problems. Physicists must rethink their methods, now.
Treating Carbon Emissions Like Trash Collection Could Reverse Climate Change
We already have the technology to reverse Climate Change, but one great obstacle remains—Nori is a company that believes it can solve that problem, succeeding where political activism has not.
Workers Can’t Stop Industry Change, But They Can Prepare For It
New technology may erode some industries, but as a whole, it improves lives and productivity; Still, we all have to adapt if we want to withstand the initial shocks resulting from this creative destruction.
How the Toothbrush Mirrors Societal Progress: An Oral History
Just as simple technologies have been abandoned for more beneficial advancements, so should we jettison institutions, laws, philosophies, and cultures which no longer incubate human flourishing.
Medicine Alone Can’t Beat Diseases. We Need Stories Too.
In joining the fight against the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone, one graduate student discovers the psychological power of proper stories, and how their equally impressive ability to challenge practices, were essential to improving medical outcomes.
Lost Communication in a Completely Connected World
Like never before has technology been able to bring people together, from all over the world; yet, we struggle to resists its use as a way to alienate ourselves from one another.
What the Covered Bridge Reveals About Our Struggle Against Nature
All important technologies must be granted the option of becoming passé. In fact, the goal behind any technology should be for it to serve well and to die young.