When the Push Button Was New, People Were Freaked
The mundane interface between human and machine caused social anxiety in the late nineteenth century.
The Whole Earth Catalog, Where Counterculture Met Cyberculture
Long before Facebook or Twitter, an L.L. Bean-style catalog for hippies inspired the creation of one of the world’s first social networks.
What’s the Deal with Crypto Art?
Thirty years after the invention of blockchain, an artist sold a JPG using that technology for nearly $70 million. Huh?
The Invention of the Test Tube
Chemists learned to blow their own glass vessels in the nineteenth century. It definitely beat using wine glasses.
How Technology Got Its Modern Meaning
If we give technology credit for changing history, does that mean we give ourselves less?
Are the Posthumans Here Yet?
Implanting machine components into human bodies, argues one scholar, could make for a better society.
The Black Press and Disinformation on Facebook
The Black Press historically has countered disinformation that targeted Black voters, but now it is financially connected to Facebook itself.
5 Questions to Ask before Joining a Social Network
Clubhouse reminds us of what early adopters forget: Leadership diversity is crucial to platform safety.
Cracking the Malaria Mystery—from Marshes to Mosquirix
It took science centuries to understand malaria. Now we’re waiting to see how the 2019 vaccine pilot works.