Latest

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A hand with emotional intelligence dials a vintage rotary telephone, its coiled cord adding to the nostalgia of the black-and-white scene.
Encouraging thoughtful responses over impulsive reactions can help prevent AI exploitation in decision-making.
A healthcare worker wearing blue gloves gently inserts an IV into a man's hand as he lies on a hospital bed, battling lung cancer.
For a substantial part of human history, people thought smoking tobacco was perfectly healthy. Native American tribes, who introduced the tobacco plant to Europeans and — by extension, the rest […]
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Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.
moon landing Apollo 11
Sixty years ago, the Soviet Union was way ahead of the USA in the space race. Then one critical event changed everything.
A collage featuring hands holding a plant, additional hands in sepia tone, a grid background, orange accents, and the text "Reclaim Meaning" with the number 4.
What if the barrier to a fulfilled life isn’t technology but culture?
A digital vortex with glowing cyan concentric circles and geometric shapes giving a sense of depth and motion.
The problem for galactic-scale civilizations comes down to two numbers.
atoms
If atoms are mostly empty space, then why can't two objects made of atoms simply pass through each other? Quantum physics explains why.
Black and white portrait of a man with a thick mustache and short hair, looking slightly to the side.
“Could you create a god?” Nietzsche's titular character asks in "Thus Spoke Zarathustra."
Two young children with curly hair in striped sweaters enjoy lollipops, showcasing the whimsical nature of genes and behavior. The black-and-white photo gives a nostalgic feel.
When it comes to behavior, genetics may play a larger role than you think.
A large anthropomorphic figure blows bubbles labeled with financial terms, while a crowd of people chase after them, unaware of the bubble revisionism at play.
From tulips to Bitcoin, bubbles have been given a bad rap as destroyers of dreams — but they’re essential for our brightest future. Here’s why.
evolution universe cosmic history big bang
From a hot, dense, uniform state in its earliest moments, our entire known Universe arose. These unavoidable steps made it all possible.
A grand, ornate setting with three figures in flowing attire standing before a large, luminous circular window overlooking a vibrant cityscape.
With no reliable way to discern the author of an artwork, we may eventually abandon the question of whether something was made by humans or not.
A sky full of stars with a large central galaxy, surrounded by smaller galaxies and bright spots on a dark background.
It was barely a century ago that we thought the Milky Way encompassed the entirety of the Universe. Now? We're not even a special galaxy.
A painting on an easel at the entrance of Plato's cave overlooks misty mountains, with a small fire flickering nearby.
Plato's cave metaphor illustrates the cognitive trap of ignorance, where we may be unaware of the limitations of our understanding.
Two scientists in lab coats and gloves examine a small transparent plate with colorful dots, held by tweezers, in a laboratory setting.
It’s been 65 years since Richard Feynman saw “plenty of room” in the nano-world. Are we finally getting down there?
Illustration of a galactic collision, showing one galaxy colliding with the Milky Way, creating a loop of stars and cosmic material against a black background.
Even with just a momentary view of our galaxy right now, the data we collect enables us to reconstruct so much of our past history.
A man looking at a mirror.
"Personhood" credentials could cleanse the internet of bots — but are the costs worth it?
black hole
50 years ago, Stephen Hawking showed that black holes emit radiation and eventually decay away. That fate may now apply to everything.
Satellite view of the United States at night reveals illuminated cities and areas, with dense clusters of lights in the eastern region, highlighting vibrant economic hubs reminiscent of workforce data concentrations, contrasted by the sparser illumination in the western regions.
A National Center for Data and Evidence could supplement our archaic and expensive system and more accurately measure AI's impact on jobs.