Best-selling author Yuval Harari recently claimed that free will is a myth, humans are more hackable than ever before, and religion has no place in addressing the scientific and technological challenges of the future. Is he right?
Tag: Technology
From ‘Cryptonomicon’: The Importance of Time-Tested Moral Frameworks
Historian Yuval Noah Harari does not believe religion has anything relevant to say about the technological challenges of the future. His argument reminds me of a passage from an award-winning novel that suggests otherwise.
Is Modern Privacy Better than Medieval Privacy?
Recently I was reading about medieval privacy in Barbara Tuchman's 'A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century' when I began to see a series of privacy-related stories pop up in the news. Around the same time, I was starting a writing project at work related to the European Union General Data Protection Regulation, a new privacy law with wide-ranging implications for businesses and consumers. I started to wonder: how does medieval privacy compare to privacy today? Does the contrast between the two teach us anything interesting or valuable about modern privacy? Is what we have today really "better"?
Do Technical Writers Dream of Arbortext Editor?
Arbortext Editor is a software program that lets you do "structured writing"---a special kind of writing in which every piece of content you compose follows one or more predefined rules. In theory this helps writers to develop consistent, high-quality content. The problem is that the tool has a lot of serious shortcomings. Here's my wishlist of things to improve.
On ‘Ready Player One’ and Questions about Tech
The movie was plagued by cliches, and yet it raises important questions about the role of technology in our lives.
Love to Write? Get into Technical Writing. Society Needs You.
Most people who have an inkling of what technical writing is tend to view it in terms of strict practicality or outright boredom. But what if I told you it was far more creative than we think, and a key ingredient in solving some of society's toughest problems?
