In 2008, Japanese creative agency Hakuhodo created a campaign for the World Wildlife Federation that featured photos of
The Tyranny of Meritocracy
In this quick animated excerpt of a longer talk, political philosopher Michael Sandel critiques the idea of the meritoc
The Delicate Microscopic Repair of a 112-Year-Old Painting
Watch as MoMA art conservator Diana Hartman repairs some weak spots of Paula Modersohn-Becker’s 1907 self-portrait. Th
Advice from Cormac McCarthy on Writing Great Science Papers
Since the 1990s, Pulitzer prizewinning novelist Cormac McCarthy has been a fixture at the Santa Fe Institute, a transdi
What Is the Power of Art?
In a letter announcing his resignation from the MacDowell Colony, novelist Michael Chabon considers what art is for.
O
The People and Landscapes of Kazakhstan and Krygyzstan
For decades, Kevin Kelly has been traveling in Asia documenting traditional cultures and environments while they stil
What’s the Fastest Way to Board an Airplane?
In this video, CGP Grey investigates fast and not-so-fast methods for boarding commercial airline flights. Most airlin
25 Fun Facts About Food from Gastropod
The Gastropod podcast turns five years old this month and to celebrate they’ve compiled a list of 25 of their favorite
Do Not Erase: Mathematician’s Chalkboards
Jessica Wynne has been taking photos of mathematicians’ blackboards for the past year or so, some of which were feature
Greasing the Groove: Lift Weight, Not Too Much, Most of the Days
For the Atlantic, Olga Khazan writes about an approach to physical fitness called “greasing the groove”, which some peo
The Mother of Forensic Science and Her “Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death”
(Note: This post contains images of simulated crime scenes.) Frances Glessner Lee is known as “the mother of forensic s
Tony Hawk on the 21 Levels of Complexity of Skateboard Tricks
Legendary skater Tony Hawk breaks down 21 increasingly complex skateboarding tricks, from a standard ollie to a kickfl
A Dreaming Octopus Changes Color
Curious about the social behaviors of cephalopods, marine biologist David Scheel brought an octopus named Heidi home t
The Surprising Physical Demands of Chess
Chess is as physically demanding as many other sports due to stress and because the human brain uses a ton of energy. M
Jeff Bridges Takes Photographs
Ever since Starman in 1984, Jeff Bridges has taken photos on the set of every film he’s acted in using his Widelux F
America’s Great Climate Exodus Has Already Begun
Like many Americans, I have been hearing about climate change since the late 80s (or perhaps even longer). Back then, t
Full Metal Gymnast
Boston Dynamics programmed their Atlas robot to do a gymnastics routine.
I lost it when it did that little jump split
My Recent Media Diet, the “Is It Fall 2019 Already?!” Edition
Every month or two for the past couple of years, I’ve shared the movies, books, music, TV, and podcasts I’ve enjoyed (o
Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring Is As Relevant As Ever
In light of the recent news of almost 30% of America’s birds disappearing in the past 50 years and the ongoing news of
An Info Visualization of Moore’s Law vs. Actual Microprocessor Transistor Count (1971-2019)
In 1965, Intel co-founder Gordon Moore predicted that the number of transistors in dense integrated circuits would doub
The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century (So Far)
The Guardian recently compiled a list of the best books of the century (with a British bent). Here are a few of the pi
Season Two of Abstract: The Art of Design
Abstract: The Art of Design is back for a second season on Netflix beginning September 25. The folks featured this tim
Machine Hallucination
After seeing some videos on my pal Jenni’s Instagram of Refik Anadol’s immersive display at ARTECHOUSE in NYC, it’s no
The Tree and Other Natural Climate Solutions
A short and compelling video from Greta Thunberg and George Monbiot about how we can harness nature to help repair our
Inventive Trials Riding by Fabio Wibmer
You may remember my many posts about trials rider Danny MacAskill over the past decade (including Parkour On a Bicycle
Design for the Worst
In Why Every CEO Needs to Think Like a Hacker, Stalker, or White Nationalist, Rob Walker argues that products should be
How to Become Freakishly Good at the Yo-Yo
You may not be particularly into the yo-yo, but any expert’s explanation of their particular skill or craft is fascina
A Short Film of Spinning Tops by Charles & Ray Eames
Tops is a short film from 1969 by legendary designers/filmmakers Charles & Ray Eames that showcases spinning toys
AirPods, an Augmented-Reality Wearable Computer
For Real Life magazine, Drew Austin writes about wireless headphones and their potential effect on the public sphere if
The Care and Feeding of the Uffington White Horse Through More Than 100 Generations
The Uffington White Horse is a prehistoric monument that’s been around since the late Bronze Age, some 3000 years ago.
Creativity Takes Time
I love this advice from Jenny Odell (author of How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy):
I can’t give my st
How Pencils Are Made
Even on my busiest day, I will drop everything to watch a video of pencils being made. (I am a particular sucker for sh
The Finalists for the 2019 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards
The internet is 97% hilarious animals and today we have the best of the best. The finalists for the 2019 Comedy Wildlif
Animated Pixel Art Map of the USA
A fellow by the name of David who goes by PixelDanc3r made this animated map of the United States in the style of 16-b
A Hand-Drawn Visualization of the US Economy from 1861 to 1935
In 1936, former director of research at the Cleveland Federal Reserve L. Merle Hostetler published 75 Yrs. of American
Wes Anderson Explains How He Makes Films
For their series The Director’s Chair, Studio Binder pulls together interviews with notable filmmakers to shine some li
Six Maps that Reveal America’s Expanding Racial Diversity
Using 2020 census estimates, a series of six maps and the accompanying article from William H. Frey at the Brookings In
Portraits of Ellis Island Immigrants
Augustus Sherman worked as a registry clerk for the immigration station on Ellis Island from 1892 to 1925. Sherman wa
The Four Notes of Death
When something dark and ominous happens onscreen, there’s a good chance that the action is accompanied by a four-note
Get Ready for the Global Climate Strike on September 20
Just a reminder that the Global Climate Strike begins this Friday, September 20. A coalition of young activists led by
A Visit to the Most Solitary Place on Earth, the Deep Sea
For their latest video, Kurzgesagt takes a typically informative journey from the surface of the ocean all the way dow
Milton’s Annotated Copy of Shakespeare’s First Folio Discovered
Based on handwriting analysis, Jason Scott-Warren, the Director of the Cambridge Centre for Material Texts, has discov
Euphemisms for Death Collected from Obituaries
Writer Rachel Monroe recently shared a bunch of “odd synonyms for ‘died’” that her mother collects from obituaries. Her
Capital and Ideology
French economist Thomas Piketty has come out with a new book. The 1200-page Capital and Ideology is a followup to Capit
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