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From The Conversation: We often hear that Aboriginal peoples have been in Australia for 65,000 years, “the oldest living cultures in the world”. But what does this mean, given all
Alizah Holstein at Literary Hub: I first read Einstein’s Dreams in 1993, very shortly after it was published. The author, Alan Lightman, is a physicist at MIT whose writings have illuminated the
Continue readingOn the Art of Imagining in Alan Lightman’s “Einstein’s Dreams”
From Wisdom of Crowds: Institutions in decay: In the past, Ezra Klein argues, American political parties “were a bulwark against politics becoming about one person.” What we’re seeing today is
Marilynne Robinson in the NY Review of Books: Some years ago I spoke at a conservative church in northern Michigan. I talked about military-style guns and the culture of fear
Jessa Crispin in The Culture We Deserve: One of the more interesting asides in the extensive coverage of Philadelphia’s University of the Arts’ shutdown has been the information that in the past few
The following is a brief segment of a lecture Alan Watts gave on The Psychedelic Experience: In a way, all consciousness-expanding drugs have something to do with death. Why? Because
Sam Alma at Aeon Magazine: You are standing on a boat that is drifting down a placid river. You watch the trees on the shore glide along. For a moment,
Continue readingWhy Medieval Philosophers Cared if Animals Made Mistakes
From Project Syndicate: At the latest Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple announced that it is not only launching its own suite of artificial-intelligence models, but also integrating OpenAI’s ChatGPT into its
When the Spanish Civil War broke out, everyone from Spanish revolutionaries to M.I.6 agents wanted to steal the Holy Grail. Little did they know that a Valencian postwoman had hidden
Continue readingSabina Suey: The Valencian Postwoman Who Hid the Holy Grail in Her Sofa
by Shayla Love at Psyche: It’s Friday night. You’re sitting down to dinner with your best friend, with no limit on your time together. What do you talk about? It’s
Continue readingThe Downsides of Rehashing Problems With Friends
Sveta McShane in Singularity Hub: Over the last several decades, the digital revolution has changed nearly every aspect of our lives. The pace of progress in computers has been accelerating, and
Continue readingRay Kurzweil Predicts Three Technologies Will Define Our Future
Gemma Ware at The Conversation: 3D-printed guns are appearing the world over, including in the hands of organised criminals in Europe and anti-junta rebels in Myanmar. Made using a 3D
Continue readingThe Hunt for the Man Behind the World’s Most Popular 3D-printed Gun