The smartphone in your hand enables you to record a video, edit it and send it around the world. With your phone, you can navigate in cities, buy a car, track your vital signs and accomplish thousands of other tasks. And so? Each of those activities used to demand learning specific skills and acquiring the
READ MOREDuring election season, hyperbole becomes the norm. It doesn’t seem that unusual to see presidential hopefuls accused of fearmongering and demagoguery. Princeton historian Sean Wilentz recently dialed up the rhetoric even more. In a video that appeared on Big Think earlier this month, Wilentz implied that Donald Trump just might decide to suspend the Constitution
READ MOREOne of the things that I really enjoy about writing for Intellectual Takeout is the quality and challenging nature of those who visit this site. This was evident in the comment to my last article about the danger of using half-digested Shakespeare to win an argument or make a point. The person whom I took
READ MOREIt’s no secret that the U.S. government is swimming in red ink. Government statistics show federal debt currently stands at $19.3 trillion. The problem is that the human mind has trouble understanding a figure so huge. Nineteen trillion is just a number—unless it has context. Here are 10 facts that will help you understand how
READ MOREWhat we observe with our eyes is real. Humans base much of their conception of reality on this basic principle. But what if we’re wrong? What if what we’re seeing is what we need to believe rather than what really is? According to Donald Hoffman, a professor of cognitive science at the University of California,
READ MOREVery often, when I try to engage people on the subject of technology and its effects on us, I get handed a variation of the following line: “Technology itself is neutral. It’s just a matter of how you use it.” This response is usually intended to stop all further conversation about the possible philosophical and
READ MORE