Historical Narratives

Historical Narratives

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A collage featuring server racks, a robotic hand reaching for a human hand, and network diagrams, with the text “The Night Crawler” at the top—an homage to Eliezer Yudkowsky’s explorations of AI and human connection.
Business
Will AI save us or destroy us?
Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.
Eric Markowitz
Collage of ancient philosophers' portraits partially revealed through cutouts on a textured background with handwritten script, evoking the timeless influence of history.
Mini Philosophy
One of the most quoted lines in philosophy is completely misused and misunderstood
We don't learn from history because we can't learn from history.
Jonny Thomson
A world map comparing landmass outlines of the Equal Earth projection in pink and Mercator projection in green, with grid lines overlaid.
Strange Maps
Africa wants its true size on the world map
The African Union argues that the Mercator projection distorts the continent, both in size and global attention.
Frank Jacobs
A digital illustration of a hermit crab with a shell resembling a human brain, shown in two square sections over the shell.
Mini Philosophy
Think like a crow, choose like a crab: The animals inside our minds
A conversation about intelligence and consciousness with philosopher Peter Godfrey-Smith.
Jonny Thomson
Three white smokestacks emit thick, swirling clouds of orange and white smoke against a black background, hinting at the dramatic effect of going nuclear.
Books
“Going Nuclear” makes the case for an atomic renaissance
Nuclear chemist Tim Gregory joins Big Think to make the case that nuclear energy can still transform the world for the better.
Ross Pomeroy
Map showing Copenhagen, Denmark’s projected 2080 climate as similar to Demigny, France today, with a red arrow connecting the two cities and climate details listed in pop-up boxes.
Strange Maps
Mapped: How warm your city will be in the 2080s
“Climate analog mapping” finds the place that is currently as warm as your city might be in 60 years.
Frank Jacobs
Five World War I soldiers in uniform stand and sit near sandbags in a trench, with a sign reading "Surrey Lane" visible in the background—evoking camaraderie amid the Ring of Fire on the front lines.
Books
Not just the Western Front: “Ring of Fire” rediscovers WWI’s global story
Historians Alexandra Churchill and Nicolai Eberholst reexamine the pivotal conflict from a grassroots perspective.
Tim Brinkhof
A pyramid stands in a desert with three people in front, evoking experimental archeology; a modern McDonald's restaurant is visible in the background on the right.
Books
Science meets sweat: How experimental archaeology brings history to life
In "Dinner with King Tut," Sam Kean examines how a burgeoning field is recreating ancient tasks to uncover historical truths.
Kevin Dickinson
Learn from the world's biggest thinkers.
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