Science & Technology

"The nineteenth century believed in science but the twentieth century does not." — Gertrude Stein

On Floating Upstream
In a review of Markoff’s biography of Stewart Brand, W. Patrick McCray notes that Brand’s ability to recognize and cleave to power explains a great deal of his career.
W. Patrick McCrayMar 22, 2022
- Science & Technology
Dark Transparency: Hyper-Ethics at Trump’s EPA
Mario Biagioli and Alain Pottage get to the bottom of how scientific norms were radicalized by Trump’s EPA to turn against themselves.
Alain Pottage, Mario BiagioliMar 19, 2022
- Science & Technology
Weird Science
From anti-vaxxers to Flat Earthers, the public’s (and scholars’) perception of science shifted sometime between 1990-2010, writes Michael Gordin.
Michael D. GordinMar 14, 2022
- Science & Technology
Putting California Buddhism to Work in Silicon Valley
Fred Turner describes “Work Pray Code” as a fine-grained map of the traffic between religion and profit-seeking in Silicon Valley.
Fred TurnerMar 8, 2022
- Science & Technology
Take Nobody’s Word for It: A Conversation with Wes Jackson
Wes Jackson, who won a MacArthur for the idea of perennial grains grown in mixtures, is quite sure we are getting less intelligent.
Robert JensenFeb 20, 2022
- Science & Technology
The World Is a Strange Madhouse: 100 Years of Relativity
Paul Dicken marks the centenary of “The Meaning of Relativity,” Einstein’s attempt to explain his runaway theory and correct its “mad” cultural appropriations.
Paul DickenFeb 10, 2022
- Science & Technology
Every Age Gets the Mythology It Deserves
Colin Burgess’s “The Greatest Adventure: A History of Human Space Exploration” fails to take off.
Michael D. GordinJan 19, 2022
- Science & Technology
The Sleep of Reason Produces Cats
The so-called “scientific method” may be a cage of sorts.
Michael RossiJan 10, 2022
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Wages for Climate Stewardship?
Sayd Randle considers the problems of “Climate Stewardship,” the new book by Adina Merenlender and Brendan Buhler.
Sayd RandleJan 2, 2022
- Science & Technology
Mystery Illnesses Writ Large
Modern medicine fails abysmally to account for mass psychogenic illnesses — they’re uncanny and paradigm-altering.
Jeff WheelwrightDec 24, 2021
- Science & Technology
On Kinds of Minds and Kinds of Racism
To understand what kind of racism we face, argues George Makari, we need to understand the type of mind that undergirds it.
George MakariDec 14, 2021
- Science & Technology
Space Tourism and Nature Writing
Christopher Schaberg considers "Four Fifths a Grizzly" and the future of nature writing.
Christopher SchabergDec 12, 2021
- Science & Technology