Michael Greenker is a physics student with a background in the liberal arts. He writes primarily on political economy and current topics in the sciences, with occasional forays into contemporary culture. Michael searches for original viewpoints and "third-side" perspectives in the topics he covers in order to uncover innovative analytical approaches.
The “third rail,” used to power trains on a railroad track, is so charged with electricity that it usually kills anyone unlucky enough to touch it. This is why politicians and pundits alike refer to Social Security as the third rail of American politics. If a candidate touches it, he or she is zapped into political oblivion quicker than you can say, “Don’t mess with old people.” Does anyone believe
Being a Short Treatise on the Prevalence of Neo-Victorian Retro-Futurism in Modern Society and Its Associated Philosophical, Social, and Artistic Implications Take three parts science fiction creativity, two parts mechanical ingenuity, and one part aesthetic sensibility. Stir delicately, strain through late 19th Century technology and fashion, and viola: Steampunk. The Steampunk movement, simply put, combines Victorian Age fashion and settings with fantastic steam-and-gear contraptions. One can recognize a Steampunk immediately.
In the not too distant future, a young Hispanic woman will graduate from college. She may have a degree in Anthropology, Economics, or Chemical Engineering. At this point, she’ll be too young to run for a House seat, but having a desire to serve her country, she’ll get a job as a Congressional Aide. Over the course of the next few years, she’ll learn the ins and outs of the lawmaking
Humanity’s drive to explore, to branch out and extend our reach and our grasp over the natural environment, has been with us since before we were technically human. Early hominids crafted new technologies to improve their lives and expand their power. Many adventurous souls set out to explore beyond the horizon, simply because it beckoned. Following these pathfinders were those with more practical motives. They sought new resources, free land,
The scientific revolution spawned by The Origin of Species is now morphing in ways Charles Darwin himself might not have expected, as the principles of adaptation and natural selection are manifesting themselves in fields far removed from biology. Most notably, when applied to human thought, culture, and institutions, the theory of evolution becomes the discipline of memetics. A meme is a concept adept at replicating itself within human brains and influencing human behavior. Memes, like genes, can
Some changes happen so gradually it takes human society decades or centuries to notice. Most intellectual revolutions, from the scientific to the industrial, only appear revolutionary in hindsight. At the time, people see only incremental progress, and they give little thought to the world-shaking significance of the few changes they observe directly. Those few who protest this cultural inertia, who speak in wonder or terror of the consequences they see coming,
