history
Fibonacci’s “Liber Abaci” not only revolutionized commerce — it also helped nudge the world towards reasoned, quantitative enquiry.
In this excerpt from “The Shortest History of AI,” Toby Walsh explores the history of the Logic Theorist, the first AI to prove mathematical theorems.
The plan — conquer China and push west to attack the Ottomans — was peak imperial hubris, as the Spanish themselves eventually realized.
Andrew Markell — philosopher, martial artist, and CEO advisor — argues that true endurance comes from desire, ritual, and learning to evolve through chaos.
Reading classic books can teach you as much about the present as the past.
Rivals may try to outnumber us with fleets of cheap vessels. Our path is to out-innovate them.
From Hitler to Hamas, Western powers have repeatedly dismissed open threats as bluffs — with catastrophic results.
In “Warhead,” neuroscientist and national security adviser Nicholas Wright explains how the brain navigates warfare and why it is our ultimate weapon (and instrument for peace).
“What’s happening now has, in fact, been happening since the very invention of language and writing.”
In “We the People,” Harvard historian Jill Lepore examines how the U.S. Constitution became unamendable and its implications for the health of the democracy.
A firsthand look at China’s material progress and clean-tech revolution — and what could happen if we let an authoritarian state steer AI’s future.
In this excerpt from “America’s Most Gothic,” Leanna Hieber and Andrea Janes examine the history and folklore of Maine’s vanished schooner.
Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.
Philosophers rarely change their minds. These thinkers did — often at social and professional cost.
In this excerpt from “The Formula for Better Health,” Tom Frieden explores how Alice Hamilton transformed public health in her fight against lead poisoning.
In this excerpt from “Seven Rivers,” historian Vanessa Taylor explores how Ancient Egyptian pharaohs harnessed the Nile River to build empires and secure their power.
How to look cool in post-war France in black and white photos.
We don’t learn from history because we can’t learn from history.
Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.
It’s not just an odd quirk of numbers that makes it true, but a deep mathematical insight that dates all the way back to Pythagoras.
The fear of unleashing forces beyond control has haunted science for centuries.
In revolutionary Russia, a group of forward-thinking philosophers offered an alternative to both futurism and communism.
In “On Liberalism,” Cass Sunstein argues that liberalism can only endure if we reclaim its core commitments and revive its spirit of freedom and hope for the future.
Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.
In this excerpt from “Facing Infinity,” Jonas Enander examines how John Michell conceived of “dark stars,” or massive bodies with enough gravity to trap light, all the way back in 1783.
Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.
Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.
In this excerpt from “Tales of Militant Chemistry,” Alice Lovejoy exposes how the need for uranium during WWII led the Allied governments to turn a blind eye to colonial exploitation.
The latest “Superman” film sets Metropolis in the First State.
In “The Secret History of Denisovans,” Silvana Condemi and François Savatier trace the story of our mysterious hominin ancestor.