History
5 drugs that changed the world (and what went wrong)
Anesthesia, penicillin, antibiotics, diazepam, and the birth control pill have all radically changed our lives.
The Singularity: When will we all become super-humans?
Are we really only a moment away from "The Singularity," a technological epoch that will usher in a new era in human evolution?
15th century futurism: Leonardo da Vinci’s famous helicopter design finally takes flight
Da Vinci dreamed up a helicopter 400 years before they actually existed. Now, engineers have brought his design to life, but with a twist.
How will humans change in the next 10,000 years?
If humans don’t die out in a climate apocalypse or asteroid impact in the next 10,000 years, are we likely to evolve further?
Widom of Daoism: why Yin-Yang is so much more than a tattoo
Yin-Yang symbolizes not a conflict or struggle but shows that nothing in life is solely either this or that.
How child mortality fell from 40% to 3.7% in 200 years
The collapse in child mortality rates is a testament to the tremendous benefits of scientific, technological, and economic progress.
Archaeologists identify contents of ancient Mayan drug containers
Archaeologists used new methods to identify contents of Mayan drug containers, discovering a non-tobacco plant.
A historian identifies the worst year in human history
The year 536 ushered in the coldest decade in thousands of years and started a century of economic devastation.
Why Einstein is a “peerless genius” and Hawking is an “ordinary genius”
Why some people are considered geniuses while other equally impressive people are not seems largely arbitrary.
How to be a techno-optimist
Technology will not save the world, and it is inherently neither good nor bad. But, when tech is coupled to human virtue, good will prevail.