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We Know How You Feel
The New Yorker: Three years ago, archivists at A.T. & T. stumbled upon a rare fragment of computer history: a short film that Jim Henson produced for Ma Bell, in 1963. Henson had been hired
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What a Child Can Teach a Smart Computer
The Wall Street Journal: Every January the intellectual impresario and literary agent John Brockman (who represents me, I should disclose) asks a large group of thinkers a single question on his website, edge.org. This year
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Why that ‘Facebook copyright’ hoax will never, ever die
The Washington Post: You may have seen a cautionary message on Facebook over the past few days, warning you to repost some legalese or risk sacrificing your almighty privacy to the social network. Alternately, you may
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Why the modern world is bad for your brain
The Guardian: Our brains are busier than ever before. We’re assaulted with facts, pseudo facts, jibber-jabber, and rumour, all posing as information. Trying to figure out what you need to know and what you can
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Smartphones Don’t Make Us Dumb
The New York Times: AS much as we love our digital devices, many of us have an uneasy sense that they are destroying our attention spans. We skitter from app to app, seldom alighting for
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Fitness Trackers Only Help Rich People Get Thinner
The Atlantic: Last year I bought a Lumo Lift, a device that tracks calories and buzzes whenever its wearer slouches. I wore it for about two weeks, wrote an article about it, and put it in