Science & Technology
Two Reviews Find Substantial Evidence That Marijuana Relieves Pain, Nausea, and Spasticity
The authors say the evidence supporting most other applications is weak.
The FCC Might Have Just Killed Polling as We Know It—and That's OK
Pollsters like Nate Silver are understandably freaked out, but it's not the government's job to protect their business model.
NSA, British Intelligence Poke Holes in Virus-Protection Software
According to newly released Snowden docs, the spy agencies use security vulnerabilities to hack and track users.
Sperm Apocalypse: Are You Just A Quarter of the Man Your Father Was?
Danish researcher claims that plastics and cosmetics are emasculating.
Obama Administration Eliminates Gratuitous Barrier to Medical Marijuana Research
Scientists studying therapeutic applications for cannabis will no longer need Public Health Service approval.
Better Government Through Crowdsourcing
Can Americans' collective wisdom solve our collective problems?
Climate Wars and the Damage Done to the Credibility of Science
Matt Ridley explains how he lost trust in climate science
Ronald Bailey Argues that People Should Be Free to Assert Whatever Gender or Racial Identity They Feel.
Jenner is a woman and Dolezal is black - it's no big deal!
Libertarian Feminists Ask Facebook to #FreeTheNipple
Petition urges Facebook to stop "censoring artful or political expressions of female bodies."
Jenner Is a Woman and Dolezal Is Black: Self-Fashioning in the 21st Century
People should be free to assert whatever gender or racial identity they feel.
Pope Francis Really Hates Modern Technology and Economic Progress
Which is unfortunate since only technological progress and economic growth can effectively address environmental problems
Hillary's So Old, She'd Be the Same Age as Ronald Reagan Was When He Entered the White House
Hillary Clinton is physically and mentally fit for the office. But her policies are absolutely tired, backward-looking & so last-century.
"Why Libertarianism is Closer to Stalinism Than You Think": Except for, you know, mass murders, gulags, and all the rest.
Sociologist Alan Wolfe rants against Rand Paul & a philosophy that would legalize drugs, allow gay marriage, open the borders, and avoid non-defensive wars.
Encrypted Social Network 'Minds' Will Protect User Data From Government and Corporate Snoops
Minds excels where other popular social networks, particularly Facebook, fail: transparency and protecting user privacy.
Cloud-Based Password Service LastPass Hacked, User Data Compromised
But cryptographic tech, like that the government wants to weaken, helps mitigate the risk to users.
The U.S. Patent System is Broken: Derek Khanna on Trolling and Low-Quality Patents
Our current patent policy hurts our economy and hampers innovation.
The Left's Bad Ideas About Science Are More Harmful Than the Right's
The contemporary anti-science left
Russians and Chinese Got Snowden Documents the Old-Fashioned Way
By hacking the NSA computers. So says security analyst Bruce Schneier.
Giving Government 'Backdoor' Access to Encrypted Data Threatens Personal Privacy and National Security
The War on Terror is providing plenty of rhetorical ammunition to anti-encryption officials, but they are dangerously wrong.
PornHub's Space Sex Tape: An Awesome Idea That's Probably Not Going to Work
The online porn repository is crowdfunding a giant leap for sexploration.
No Virtual Reality Porn for Oculus Rift
This week in weirdly futuristic sex: virtual reality porn out, sex robots in
Libertarian Moment Update: "Wall Street is getting tired of funding socially conservative Republicans…"
The future clearly belongs to socially liberal, fiscally conservative candidates. Which means Dems and Reps have some growing up to do.
FrankenMoths Attack Organic Farmers in Upstate New York
Or so some hyperventilating scaremongering nitwits would have you think.
Are We Creating Our Own Addiction Surge?
Rather than over-diagnosing, is psychiatry actually causing the maladies it laments?
New Article Blasts Feds' 'Pseudoscientific Methods' For Establishing Dietary Guidelines
A stinging critique of the shabby science that supports federal recommendations
Second Hack Attack Gained Access to Government Security Clearance Information
Are the feds still going to lecture us on how they should set the standard for cybersecurity?
Most Preclinical Life Science Research Is Irreproducible Bunk
$28 billion in research funding wasted every year.
The Relentless March Toward a New Universal Agreement on Climate Change
Rich countries commit to total decarbonization of the global economy.
How to End Abuse of Patents and Help Restore Economic Innovation
A new paper from Lincoln Labs' Derek Khanna lays out a great way to move forward in tech.
OpenBazaar, an Online Platform for "Censorship-Resistant Trade," Gets $1 Million In Backing From Venture Capital Heavyweights Andreessen Horowitz and Union Square Ventures
Investors give a vote of confidence to a libertarian-themed tech venture.
Hands Off Americans' Private Information, Tech Industry Tells President
Major companies oppose government end-runs around encryption
The Government Wants You to Get Its Permission Before Discussing Gunmaking Information on the Internet (or Anywhere)
ITAR wants to codify awful practices 3D printed gun guru Cody Wilson is suing them over.
Apple Music: Bringing the DJ Back In
The natural next step in the evolution of Internet music services
Austin Police Grab Man's Cellphone, Then Pepper-Spray Him
Another bystander punished for filming police.
Bitcoin's Long-Term Viability Threatened by Block Size Limits
If unaddressed, an arbitrary protocol quirk implemented by Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto could soon undermine the scalability and long-term viability of the cryptocurrency.
The PC Revolution is Eating Its Own, But What Sort of Shit Comes Next?
Political correctness is dying. The university must now embrace unfettered intellectual debate and dialogue as the way forward.
Ronald Bailey Says Let the Techstorm Rip
A review of A Dangerous Master: How to Keep Technology from Slipping Beyond Our Control
Friday A/V Club: Vintage Metric Propaganda to Warm Lincoln Chafee's Heart
Plus an anti-metrification argument from the Whole Earth Catalog's Stewart Brand
Fracking Impact on Drinking Water Negligible, Says EPA
Environmentalists demands to ban fracking are set back.
"The story of technology is in fact the story of textiles."
Epic piece about how the threads that make the clothes we wear are figuratively the fabric of our lives.
