book excerpt

Still, a less abusive association with insects will have to include some new ideas. If we are to intensively farm smaller areas in order to surrender space…

When Kant proclaimed in the Critique of the Power of Judgment that there will never be a “Newton for the blade of grass”—that is, that no one will account…

This story is adapted from Spies, Lies, and Algorithms: The History and Future of American Intelligence, by Amy B. Zegart.We’ve seen technological advances…

All this raises crucial issues about the ethics of near-​term virtual worlds. How should users act in a virtual world? What’s the difference between right…

Zhi felt greatly encouraged. His solitary work was running parallel to these larger efforts. Most of them, though, still had not been able to free themselves…

Myspace was many music fans’ introduction to the new landscape of social media. For a half-decade following its founding in 2003, the site was the…

We do this in our homes, hospitals, backyards, farm fields, and even, in some cases, forests when we use antibiotics, pesticides, herbicides, and any other…

Childcare is the most intimate of activities. Evolution has generated drives so powerful that we will risk our lives to protect not only our own children,…

“It blew my mind,” he told us. “And it made our team realize that the planning of the office was fundamentally flawed.” His realization was straightforward:…

At the turn of this century, when Seamless was launched, mostly as a tool for offices to place large orders from restaurants and caterers, it didn’t register…