Curious Loop

The popular consciousness has accepted many dietary villains over the course of the last half century, ranging from fat, to protein, to salt, to dcarbohydrates. More often than not, dietary constituents that have fallen under such scrutiny have been exonerated in time, as more and more scientific data is brought to light. I suspect that there is a growing number of people who are now wrongfully demonizing vegetable oils as well. Both skepticism and generally negative attitudes toward these oils

Half a century ago, Lewis Mumford developed a concept that explains why we trade autonomy for convenience

Free Software is an abject failure. It may sound like a good concept on its face—especially with the kind of language often used to describe the movement and its opponents—but, when put under scrutiny, the institutions and practices that make up the Free Software movement fundamentally fail at their stated goals and harm the software ecosystem as a result.

The coming defeat of the platform monoculture.

We are bad at nurturing the people who keep the frontier open.

Cognition researchers are discovering surprising capabilities among a group of itsy-bitsy arachnids

Understanding what makes Tokyo so special is noticing the aspects of Tokyo’s urban design that make the city so easy to be in.

The first true crime craze – the distant antecedent of our own docu-drama craze – proved to be an essentially...

To build a nuke or (can) not build a nuke

In this joint commission from The Lancet and Financial Times on Governing Health Futures 2030, we explore how AI and other digital advancements are being harnessed to improve healthcare in the world’s poorest regions

The FTC’s very young new boss thinks corporations such as Facebook are abusing their power. To fight them, she’s consolidating some clout of her own.

Facebook’s new name is “Meta,” and its new mission is to invent a ‘metaverse’ that will make us all forget what it’s done to our existing reality.

"As Mises summarized the fate of a fully socialized economy, 'As soon as one gives up the conception of a freely established monetary price for goods of a higher order, rational production becomes completely impossible.'" ~ Donald J. Boudreaux

Martha Lillard had just turned 5 years old when polio incapacitated her. She still uses a form of the ventilator that saved her life as a child — though now she worries about replacement parts.

Banks, gangsters and the strange resurgence of cash

Every story has a beginning.

Researchers found that tapering your offer — making smaller concessions each round — yields the most value in the end.

Researchers use artificial intelligence to spot Veterans at high risk of hospitalization or death, helping these Veterans get the best care.

Hazel Scott was the gorgeous face of jazz at the mid-century; the most glamorous, well-known Black woman in America, making more than $100,000 per year, draped in custom-designed jewelry and furs. Her remarkable career is preserved in the Library's Music Division.

Why are the most attractive urban residential areas the ones that were built decades or even centuries ago?

It helps us pay attention to the things that matter.

The best detectives seem to have almost supernatural insight, but their cognitive toolkit is one that anybody can use

We are all familiar with vending machines dispensing sugary drinks and confections at various locations around our fine city, but did you know that some of the earliest vending machines were built into the bases of gas lamps?

Down the rabbit hole: my brief odyssey into the esoteric world of the tight-knit time zone data maintenance community.

The Overly Analytical Guide to Escorting