Look closely at Impressionist paintings in museums compared with photos of them taken 50 years ago, and you might notice something odd: some are losing their bright yellow hues. Take the dramatic sunset in Edward Munch’s famous painting “The Scream.” Portions of the sky that were once a vivid orangish yellow have faded to off-white. Likewise,...
Over the next 25 years, as the world shifts away from fossil fuels, the oil and gas wells that have sustained the fossil fuel age will have to be plugged. No big deal, you might think, drilling those wells was the hard part. Plugging them should be no problem. But think again. The Norwegian Continental...
Time and again, leading scientists, technologists, and philosophers have made spectacularly terrible guesses about the direction of innovation. Even Einstein was not immune, claiming, “There is not the slightest indication that nuclear energy will ever be obtainable,” just ten years before Enrico Fermi completed construction of the first fission reactor in Chicago. Shortly thereafter, the...
“Cancel culture” has a bad reputation. There is growing anxiety over this practice of publicly shaming people online for violating social norms ranging from inappropriate jokes to controversial business practices. Online shaming can be a wildly disproportionate response that violates the privacy of the shamed while offering them no good way to defend themselves. These...
A review of Anu Bradford, “Digital Empires: The Global Battle to Regulate Technology” (Oxford University Press, 2023) A European digital privacy activist lodges an appeal with the High Court of Ireland, arguing that the Irish Data Protection Commissioner’s refusal to prohibit transfer of his personal data to the U.S. by global technology giant Facebook (now...
My students tend to imagine the Middle Ages as something like the “Kingdom Come” or “Total War” video games: an age of utter political chaos, when swords and daggers ruled, and masculinity and physical strength mattered more than governance. As a historian of the Middle Ages, I believe this turbulent image has less to do...
A University of Sydney study investigating menu items on major online food delivery outlets and applications (apps) in Australia has found most advertised items are missing nutritional information that would otherwise help consumers make healthy choices. Researchers say the findings show this information is largely absent or poorly provided on online food retail platforms and...
Are Mexicans ready for a woman president? As two female candidates lead in Mexico’s presidential race, the question has appeared in polls, debates, media and conversations across Mexico. But it is also a sample of the sexism and “macho” culture that continues to permeate Mexico, according to political analysts. The question of whether Mexicans are ready...
The inaugural edition of the Contemporaine de Nîmes triennial pairs young talents with established artists to create a dialogue with the city. The Contemporaine de Nîmes initiated by the City of Nîmes in 2024, is a timely arrival. It recalls the enduring ties of this city, also known as the French Rome, to the forefront of modernity....
How politics, new tax and anti-money laundering regimes, and AI copyright will affect the art trade in 2024 At the start of 2023, there was considerable optimism that the year ahead was going to be one of stabilization, following a challenging period with the fallout from COVID-related lockdowns, the reduction of frictionless trade through Brexit,...
