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For a substantial part of human history, people thought smoking tobacco was perfectly healthy. Native American tribes, who introduced the tobacco plant to Europeans and — by extension, the rest […]
Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.
Sixty years ago, the Soviet Union was way ahead of the USA in the space race. Then one critical event changed everything.
What if the barrier to a fulfilled life isn’t technology but culture?
The problem for galactic-scale civilizations comes down to two numbers.
8mins
“Self-awareness, it's the least visible part of emotional intelligence, but we find in our research that people low in self-awareness are unable to develop strengths very well in other parts of emotional intelligence.”
If atoms are mostly empty space, then why can't two objects made of atoms simply pass through each other? Quantum physics explains why.
“Could you create a god?” Nietzsche's titular character asks in "Thus Spoke Zarathustra."
When it comes to behavior, genetics may play a larger role than you think.
From tulips to Bitcoin, bubbles have been given a bad rap as destroyers of dreams — but they’re essential for our brightest future. Here’s why.
From a hot, dense, uniform state in its earliest moments, our entire known Universe arose. These unavoidable steps made it all possible.
With no reliable way to discern the author of an artwork, we may eventually abandon the question of whether something was made by humans or not.
4mins
Americans are getting older, and so are traditional healthcare methods. CEO of Northwell Health Michael Dowling shares his take on how we can develop the best care for our elderly loved ones.
Northwell Health
It was barely a century ago that we thought the Milky Way encompassed the entirety of the Universe. Now? We're not even a special galaxy.
Plato's cave metaphor illustrates the cognitive trap of ignorance, where we may be unaware of the limitations of our understanding.
It’s been 65 years since Richard Feynman saw “plenty of room” in the nano-world. Are we finally getting down there?
Even with just a momentary view of our galaxy right now, the data we collect enables us to reconstruct so much of our past history.
"Personhood" credentials could cleanse the internet of bots — but are the costs worth it?
Will "Sausage Party" survive the test of time?
9mins
"Humans, like most mammals, tend to shut down in really frightening situations for which they have no training or prior experience. Researchers call it negative panic. People do nothing. They shut down."