A person typing on a computer

How to Use Zotero and Scrivener for Research-Driven Writing

This month, I’m doing something a little different with my column: I’m sharing the system I use to write it, so that you can use or adapt my system.
A woman wearing a non-existent dress

How Much Would You Pay for a Nonexistent Dress?

Not too long ago, digital-only clothing might have been decried as a scam. But our "extended selves" are increasingly invested in virtual goods.
A RSS symbol

What Happened to Tagging?

Tags decentralized and democratized the organization of information. What became of "social tagging?"
Norsepower Rotor Sails onboard the Maersk Pelican

Wind Power Returns to the Shipping Industry

The industry explored the idea of using actual sails, but modern turbine-based wind power will significantly reduce emissions.
Workers sit in the control room of reactor number two inside the former Chernobyl nuclear power plant

Chernobyl’s Control Room Is Open for Tourists

Who's up for a radioactive selfie?
A box for a 23andMe test kit

The Woman Scholar Who Foresaw the Dangers of DNA Testing

In 2003, Christine Rosen wrote that "[w]e may come to know too much about ourselves to truly live in freedom."
A network server

How Much Carbon Will It Cost to Read This Story?

Just how significant is the internet’s carbon footprint?
A woman reading a newspaper

To Predict the Role of Fake News in 2020, Look to Canada

Canada has taken steps to address the potential for online misinformation ("fake news") in its upcoming election, but the internet changes rapidly.
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ada_Lovelace_portrait.jpg

Ada Lovelace, Pioneer

Ada Lovelace wrote extensive notes on the world’s first computer. Her innovations foreshadowed those used in twentieth-century PCs.
the front panel of the very first Internet Message Processor (IMP), which went to UCLA's Boelter 3420 lab and became the very first node on the ARPANET, which would become the Internet

Happy Birthday to Cyberspace!

The first message sent through the ARPANET was “LO.” It was supposed to be “LOGIN,” but the network crashed after the first two letters.