Tom, with a bouquet of flowers, got in his autonomous vehicle (AV) to visit his girlfriend across town. As is customary in the AV world, he went into the back seat. Blessed with a constitution that can read in a car without mild queasiness, he opened his book—still a
The villain was delighted—the Six Million Dollar Man was retiring. Although the human hybrid was biologically 85 years old, the technological adjustments had kept him young, and he still appeared as vibrant and vigorous as ever. It’s just that the government retirement perks were too good to pass
A meme that has gained some currency lately is “words are violence.” I find this a corrosive and highly destructive concept. To put it pedantically, the reality is that words are words and violence is violence. Words and violence are two absolutely different things; mixing them up is a terrible
Jon met Jerry at their favorite watering hole, Clement’s bar. It was an unusual day to say the least. Jon only heard about the “incident” in confusing snippets, too disjointed to make sense of. Jerry, a police officer, looked more tired than usual, his eyes sunken, his mouth in
So it’s the day after July 4th. The Declaration of Independence is all signed, the revolution is won, and it’s now “Sam Adams Time.” They can take a pause and relax because the job is done. Popular imagination, fueled by John Trumbull’s apocrvaphyl painting, often envisions an
When I was a child, at the end of a visit to the family doctor, the doctor would open his drawer and there would be a box of lollipops. I would always ask for the “green one,” which meant the lime-flavored lollipop. It was this association between the color
In my book, there is a discussion of something called The Whatever Axiom: On the poster [in my office] was a pseudo-equation that we in the office called The Whatever Axiom: We all knew that cynical statement that if a lie is told often enough, it becomes the truth.
I was at a wedding a while back, and during the reception, I was seated with the peers of the newly betrothed. I often enjoy the opportunity to converse with the younger set and was looking forward to enjoying the reception. At the table, amongst others, were Joshua and Bryanna—
An exploration of Thomas Jefferson’s wheel cipher, an ingenious 18th-century cryptographic invention utilizing 36 rotating wooden disks on a spindle. This essay breaks down the mechanics of early American diplomatic encryption and Enlightenment-era technology.
As was much of the world, I was astonished when the U.S. government issued an order forbidding the sale and use of Claude’s new release, Fable 5. The concern is that Fable, through ingeniously constructed and timed prompts, can be made to do things that it is not
Think of all the things you may have done today. You made breakfast for your family. You drove the car, following all traffic rules. You held the door open for your office mates. You pressed the correct door-open button so those hurrying to get on the elevator didn’t
Unfortunately, symphonic and chamber music forms are not taught at all in school. In English class, we learn all the analytical terms for literature: foreshadowing, similes, irony, and character development. But we learn nothing for music. Terms such as sonata-allegro form, rondo, and the development section; none of these