Martin Robbins
We Must End Our Obsession with Robots That Look Like Humans
Ask someone to picture a robot, and he'll inevitably pick something anthropomorphic, like C-3PO or the Terminator or Bender from Futurama. But these kinds of designs share two things in common—they’re nothing like the most successful robots we...
Let's Face It: the Web Is a Worse Place for Women Than It Is for Men
One of the great myths about online abuse is that it’s pretty much the same for men and women. While male journalists writing about controversial subjects get plenty of abuse too, the sexualized, "you’re a whore" tone taken with women is different, and...
How to Make Atheism Less Awful in 2014
At the start of 2014 there are four broad—and overlapping—schisms in atheism, which can be summed up as: Dicks vs. Cowards, Islamophobes vs. More Cowards, Misogynists vs. Feminists, and Americans vs. Europeans. There has to be a better way.
I Got My Personal Genome Mapped and It Was Bullshit
Before the FDA forced personal genomics company 23andMe to stop marketing its tests to the public, customers would send a spit sample to the firm, who would sequence the DNA and look for genes indicating a risk of up to 254 diseases and conditions...
If You Think You Can Survive on 'Junk Food and Cigarettes,' You're an Idiot
The Daily Mail has been trailing a new book this week by "leading science writer" Tony Edwards. The first extract from the book gave the paper a valuable opportunity to address the important question of whether red wine causes or cures cancer.
Hey, Fat Lazy Adults, Stop Slagging Off British Kids
We're setting children a bad example and blaming them for following it.
We Should Probably Stop Leaving Our Trash All Over Space
Back in space's wild west days nations could go around shooting hundreds of millions of copper needles into orbit in an effort to create a gigantic ring of antennae around the Earth all willy nilly. Now, as a planet, we've collectively realized leaving...
Calling Bullshit on Richard Dawkins and His Little Pot of Honey
After airport security confiscated his nectar, he started arguing, in essence, that we could train border agents by showing them Team America: World Police on loop for a few days.
Our Government Cares More About the Media Than Science
Politicians need a backbone – not a Royal Charter – if they really want to curb the power of the press.
Is Wikipedia for Sale?
Investigating the links between Wiki-PR, a company that specializes in editing Wikipedia on behalf of their paying clients, and the website's trusted editing hierarchy.
Is the PR Industry Buying Influence Over Wikipedia?
Investigating the links between Wiki-PR, a company that specializes in editing Wikipedia on behalf of their paying clients, and the website's trusted editing hierarchy.