book excerpt

Let’s face it: Nobody likes to travel.Whether they’re traveling to get to an exotic location for vacation or traveling to work on a daily commute, nobody…

Tactical Studies Rules, the company cofounded by Gary Gygax to publish the rules for Dungeons & Dragons, held its annual “GenCon” convention in the…

The ritual goes a little bit like this. Once or twice a month, I prance expectantly into my little bathroom and greet my face in the mirror. In the private…

It’s easy to think that sea ice would impact only the ocean, but there are many energy exchanges between the terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Seabirds, for…

“Why don’t you go join them?” asked Ozioma. Showing up behind Amaka on the balcony, the landlady lit an English-brand cigarette, leaned against the railings,…

When I lived in the Bay Area, I used to get together with my friend Jaron Lanier to explore the implications of spectacularly weird thought…

Nobody could say exactly when the robots arrived. They seemed to have been smuggled onto campus during the break without any official announcement,…

This loss of radio quiet has coincided with a loss of audible quiet. In 2000, the director of the US National Park Service passed an ordinance on “soundscape…

There were 16 pathogens on the terrorist’s list, written in tall, spiky scribbles that slanted across the page. Next to each one was the incubation period,…

After several days conducting military drills off the coast of California, the USS Palau was headed home. The massive aircraft carrier, large enough to…