Google’s Philosopher
How an Oxford don is helping the tech giant understand the nature of modern identity—and stay out of court.
Browsing Tag
Culture Essays
13 posts
The Long War Between Highbrow and Lowbrow
Despise The Avengers? Loathe the snobs who despise The Avengers? You're not the first.
Who Killed Wikipedia?
A hardened corps of volunteer editors is the only force protecting Wikipedia. They might also be killing it.
How Should We Program Computers to Deceive?
Placebo buttons in elevators and at crosswalks that don't actually do anything are just the beginning. One computer scientist has collected hundreds of examples of technology designed to trick people, for better and for worse.
Can Watching TV Improve Your Health?
Public health wonks have figured out how to influence Hollywood writers: Don't call them, they'll call you.
How the Movies of Tomorrow Will Play With Your Mind
A neuroscientist in California is dreaming up a new visual vocabulary for cinema that could revolutionize the filmmaking business.
Swedish Pop Mafia
How a culturally conservative effort in the 1940s backfired to create the greatest engine of pop music in the world.
What’s In Your Bag, America?
Popular culture has become obsessed with peering into people's bags. Disclosing the things we carry has become a national pastime. But what are we hiding?
Rise of the Robot Artist
Everyone knows computers are good at processing information and humans are good at creativity. What if it's the other way around?
Electric Schlock: Did Stanley Milgram’s Famous Obedience Experiments Prove Anything?
Stanley Milgram's test subjects were not the only ones misled by his famous experiments on obedience.