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History and Society
From a hot, dense, uniform state in its earliest moments, our entire known Universe arose. These unavoidable steps made it all possible.
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.
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.
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.
Will "Sausage Party" survive the test of time?
Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.
In 2021, residents of the top America could expect to live 20.4 years longer than residents of the bottom America.
We have very specific predictions for how particles ought to decay. When we look at B-mesons all together, something vital doesn't add up.
A new railway will switch the Baltic region's train gauge from Soviet to standard European — a megaproject with political, economic, and military dimensions.
By looking back at future dreams we can see our current hopes and visions in a whole new light.
For J.R.R. Tolkien, the single most important element of a fairy tale was the dramatic reversal of misfortune in the story's ending.
The Sombrero is the closest bright, massive, edge-on galaxy to us. JWST's new image, taken with MIRI, finally shows what's under its hat.
The nonprofit made a bold gamble on the limits of "fair use" — and federal courts have not backed their play.
How many scientists does it take to ruin a good conspiracy?
Around the world, biofuels, so-called green energy sources, are waving major red flags.
Two great philosophies — but do they work better together?
In November 1974, astronomers used the radio telescope at Puerto Rico’s Arecibo Observatory to send a hello to the universe.
Scalars, vectors, and tensors come up all the time in physics. They're more than mathematical structures. They help describe the Universe.
Both nations made missteps, but China still has a chance to make up lost ground.
If you're an atheist with a vocation, who laid that path for you?
Magnificent time-tested buildings are filled with lessons in resilience and stability — and the benefits for investment strategy can be huge.
The most massive early galaxies grew up faster, and have more stars, than astronomers expected, according to JWST. What does it all mean?
While we’re busy wondering whether machines will ever become conscious, we rarely stop to ask: What happens to us?
Astronomer Adam Frank asks: With so many extraordinary claims, why can't anybody produce the proof?
The truly talented are those who got to where they are despite preconceived expectations.
When we see pictures from Hubble or JWST, they show the Universe in a series of brilliant colors. But what do those colors really tell us?
In the 18th century, David Hume argued that we are only motivated to do good when our passions direct us to do so. Was he right?
A member of a species that kills trees, this mushroom is not the first to be called the Humongous Fungus — and perhaps not the last.
"The evolution of digital media makes stricter regulation of online behavior not only feasible but inevitable," writes media ecologist Andrey Mir.
The cat-and-mouse game between China and the world’s semiconductor companies is already having enormous consequences.