Semantic Infiltration
By Paul D. Miller | Notes from the Edge of Digital Culture
Warfare 2040: The Future of Military Technology [INFOGRAPHIC]
Hypersonic missiles. Laser weapons. Spaceplanes and planes that fly themselves. Welcome to the future of warfare.
Military TechnologyCongress Is Reportedly Drafting a Bill That Will “Mainstream Digital Currency”
The Bitcoin Bill<p>Members of the U.S. Congress are drafting legislation that would protect certain forms of cryptocurrency from being used for illegal …
CryptocurrencyHow Spotify Playlists Create Hits
With more than 60 million subscribers, the streaming service can make or break a song. Here's how the industry is adjusting<p>Last month, Spotify …
MusicA Mark Zuckerberg Presidency Isn’t Ridiculous—It’s Terrifying
Jake BittleThe Facebook CEO destroyed privacy as we know it. Imagine what he’d do in the White House.The post A Mark Zuckerberg Presidency Isn’t …
Mark ZuckerbergWe looked at Trump’s Twitter interactions for more than a year. A lot of them are suspicious.
Accounts that Trump retweeted or quoted are no longer active, raising questions about his social media strategy<p>President Donald Trump tweets . . . a lot. But along with his usual flurry of tweets attacking the media, lamenting fake news, or criticizing practically anyone who disagrees with him, …
Donald TrumpFBI reportedly advising companies to ditch Kaspersky apps
Kaspersky Lab's tussle with the US government could have ramifications for its dealings with the private sector. A new report claims the FBI has been meeting with companies to warn them of the threat posed by the cybersecurity firm. The briefings are the latest chapter in an ongoing saga concerning …
CybersecurityHow a small African figurine changed art
Folk art from Africa and the Pacific changed the modern world by pushing Western artists to be more confrontational, writes Fisun Güner.<p>A small seated figurine from the Vili people of what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo was instrumental in the lives of two of the greatest artists of the …
Art HistoryReplacement screens can be used to hijack your phone
A new study has shown that one of the most common fixes to a stock smartphone ailment can be used to steal your data, and compromise your device. In the newly published paper, researchers from Israel's Ben-Gurion University of the Negev reveal how a replacement screen can easily be altered to …
Ben-Gurion UniversityChernobyl: City of ghosts
PRIPYAT, Ukraine — In a post-Cold War world, the fear of nuclear holocaust has receded from the global consciousness. Donald Trump’s threat of …
European News5 Things You Can Tell Just By Looking At Someone: Backed By Research
Here are the things you can tell just by looking at someone<p>As for personality, you can generally trust your gut when guessing extraversion, …
Self-helpMinorities, the elderly and women are drinking much more alcohol
THE White House has plans to declare the opioid crisis a national emergency. This concern is justified: in their legal and illegal forms, opioids …
EconomicsResearchers say you might as well be your own therapist
Seeking out the perfect therapist can feel as significant and difficult as finding a romantic partner. A study on the effectiveness of trained therapists versus self-help treatment, though, suggests that therapists are not as important as they seem.<p>A meta-analyses of 15 studies, published in this …
Australian UniversitiesThe Dyson of Drones
The Bladeless Drone is aptly named for its brilliant design that ditches dangerous blades for air ducts. The resulting unit is not only safer but so …
DronesGoogle shows how easy it is for software to remove watermarks from photos
To highlight the need for more secure copyright protections<p>Google’s research division today detailed just how easy it is for computer algorithms to bypass standard photo watermarking practices, stripping those images of copyright protection and making them vulnerable to reposting across the …
Photoshop TutorialsIt’s Time for the Lost Cause of the South to Get Lost
The nation has been held back for decades because of Southerners’ dishonest propaganda about the causes of the Civil War. Enough, enough, enough.<p>In 1923, a year after the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial, the Senate voted to appropriate $200,000 for a Mammy memorial in Washington to celebrate the …
HistorySometimes you need a pulsing red circle of data to understand how abnormally hot Earth is getting
Earth is constantly breaking heat records. The latest international State of the Climate report noted that 2016 was the hottest year on record, and NASA just announced that July 2017 tied with July 2016 as the hottest July on record. We’ve heard a variation on this theme, well, a few times: 16 of …
Climate ChangeWhere the “anti-45″ anti-Trump symbol in your feeds came from
Meet Mike Mitchell, the man behind the new symbol of the resistance<p>Symbols have always been integral to political movements. Social media has perhaps made them more so (take the the clenched fist most closely associated with the Resistance, for instance).<p>Currently, you might have noticed a …
RacismWhy can’t white supremacists confront the fact that the source of their economic problems are white economic elites?
Frustrated young white men are facing class divisions more than racial divides<p>There’s no disputing the white anger and rage seen in Charlottesville, even if conservative publications like the National Review say these “angry white boys do not have a political agenda.”<p>Their anger is real and …
EqualityTrump Makes Caligula Look Pretty Good
Even before the media obsession with Hillary Clinton’s email server put The Worst President Ever™ in the White House, historians were comparing Donald Trump to Caligula, the cruel, depraved Roman emperor who delighted in humiliating others, especially members of the empire’s elite. But seven months …
White SupremacistsToppling Monuments, a Visual History
History is littered with the shattered remains of toppled statues, and more are toppling now in the American South.<p>A violent rally this weekend in Charlottesville, Va., centered in part on the city’s plan to relocate a statue of the Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. A memorial to Confederate soldiers …
HistoryIn Ukraine, a Malware Expert Who Could Blow the Whistle on Russian Hacking
KIEV, Ukraine — The hacker, known only by his online alias “Profexer,” kept a low profile. He wrote computer code alone in an apartment and quietly sold his handiwork on the anonymous portion of the internet known as the dark web. Last winter, he suddenly went dark entirely.<p>Profexer’s posts, …
SecurityThe ‘Free Speech’ Hypocrisy of Right-Wing Media
The right-wing media is obsessed with the supposed stifling of “free speech” on college campuses, but it seems to care only about protecting speech it likes. When progressives make provocative statements, conservative pundits react with wounded outrage. This double standard is especially striking …
RacismBertrand Russell Reveals the 4 Human Desires That Make Our World: Acquisitiveness, Rivalry, Vanity & Love of Power
Contrary to Aristotle, the eminent logician, philosopher, and activist Bertrand Russell believed that virtue and morality play little part in …
Bertrand RussellCan We Come Back from Climate Change's Brink?
Unless we can remove carbon from the Earth's atmosphere to restore balance, humanity will face catastrophe of unimaginable scale.
Earth Science