Robert de Neufville

Robert de Neufville

Contributor, Big Think

I lecture and write about politics and philosophy. I hold degrees in politics from Harvard and Berkeley, and have studied complex systems at the Santa Fe Institute. Other interests include theoretical physics, cognitive science, evolutionary biology, and the game of Go. You can find me on Twitter at @rdeneufville.

Last week, I wrote about the dangers of waiting until the chemicals we are exposed to are conclusively proven to be dangerous before regulating them, especially when most studies on […]
Bisphenol A—generally known as BPA—is an organic compound used in the manufacture of plastics. It’s also what’s known as an endocrine disruptor. Because it’s chemically similar to our own hormones, […]
In a special election Tuesday, Democrat Bill Owens won a seat in upstate New York that the Republicans had controlled since 1872. And if the Republican party had been able […]
On Tuesday—on the anniversary of President Obama’s election—Republicans won significant victories in a handful of off-year elections around the country. In particular, they won both open governor seats. In Virginia, […]
In 2005, The New York Times revealed that under a presidential order signed in 2002, the National Security Agency (NSA) had been monitoring the phone calls, e-mails, and internet traffic […]
In 2006 incumbent Connecticut Senator—and former Vice Presidential candidate—Joe Lieberman lost in the Democratic primaries to Ned Lamont, a relative unknown who had challenged Lieberman’s support of the Patriot Act […]
Perhaps it’s not surprising that people take political results personally. We come to identify with our favored candidate—and sometimes to revile their opponent. When our party wins, we are elated; […]