technology-and-philosophy
Not All Bad Science Is Created Equal (Simulated Universes Content)
Maybe you're already familiar with the suggestion by a small pocket of scientists that the universe might be just a big computer simulation. Hopefully, this is the case, and if not, our Vice big sister did "an interview":http://www.vice.com/read/whoa...
Pandora Founder: We Pay Artists Really Well, Now Let Us Stop
Pandora founder Tim Westergren just published this curious humble-brag of an article, which has predictably rippled across the music blogosphere. In it, he explains that his plucky company is super successful and can totally afford to pay the artists...
Why Do So Many Liberals 'Like' Mitt Romney on Facebook?
A typical election season comment drifted through my Facebook feed the other day: "Just got the shock of seeing how many of my friends 'like' Mitt Romney's page. Wow." I laughed, made a sarcastic remark on the post, and then read the comments that were...
Is Facebook the New Philip Morris?
As if you didn't know it already, there's now yet another psych study detailing the addictive qualities of Facebook. Researchers from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business recently enlisted 205 Germans and monitored them for an entire week...
A Modest Russian Proposal to Keep Kids Off Wi-Fi
As Russia prepares for a new SOPA-like Internet restriction law that comes into effect on Nov. 1, the country's communications ministry has gone a step further towards ensuring that the web doesn't harm child welfare: It has proposed banning anyone...
How Did a Florida Man Die From Eating Cockroaches?
Yep, a group of people in Deerfield Beach, Florida gathered at a reptile shop Friday night, to eat some live --insects-- cockroaches; in contest to win a ball python that retails for $700.
In 13 Years, Finland Will Be the First Coal-Free Nation in Europe
Since any coal-powered future is a grim one, the forward-looking nations of the world are already pushing to phase out the ancient energy source. Finland might be the first to do it altogether — that country's economy minister announced yesterday that...
Are We Still on Talking Terms? A Case for Landlines
Here I am, in present day Astoria, Queens, on my landline. There are no tricks in this image, no filters, only a bit of cropping. I'm on my "AT&T trim-line 210":http://www.amazon.com/AT-Corded-Phone-Black-Handset/dp/B00005MITU/ref=pd_cp_e_0. It's no...
Hey Hackers, Today's the Deadline: Where Are Romney's Tax Returns?
Looks like that news spike about those hackers taking Romney's tax records for ransom has dampened. Waiting on hands and knees for a comment from a Romney campaign spokesperson, I've come across Death and Taxes speculation as well as The Tennessean...
Why Everybody Is Afraid of GMOs
Everyone is creeped out by genetically modified foods. We just are. Any new study that shows their potential harm, no matter how credible, get instantly swept up by the media and seized upon anti-GMO campaigners — which makes sense, to an extent. We're...
Mercedes' 2014 Electric SLS Comes With an Imagination
If you haven't already seen it in a malaise of this morning's headlines, Mercedes-Benz has just unsheathed its electric sex machine in Paris. The "$579,417":http://www.egmcartech.com/2012/09/27/mercedes-benz-sls-amg-coupe-electric-drive-740-hp/ 201...
OK, This Samuel L. Jackson 'Wake the F*ck Up' Pro-Obama Ad is Pretty Good
So, yeah, it was paid for with a big chunk of that ubiquitous, democracy-eroding Super PAC cash that's sloshing around, but this pro-Obama ad starring Samuel Jackson at least provides a strong exception to our rule: it's not "boring as hell":http...