Bully Meets World
Programs and therapies can help prevent bullying, but they don't address the root causes of schoolyard domination. A review of Emily Bazelon's anti-bullying manifesto Sticks and Stones.
Remains of the Day
Notes on Chritian Marclay’s The Clock, a 24-hour compilation of movie scenes dealing with the real time
No End in Night
First thought upon exiting the MoMa’s all-weekend, last-weekend showing of Christian Marclay’s The Clock, which we watched for nearly three hours, uninterrupted: What time is it?
Party Time
Calendars and timezones are anything but standardized in China
A History of Like
The marketing field has long been obsessed with likability, but Facebook may be inadvertently revealing how shallow our liking goes
Feinting Spells
By promising a synthesis of rationality and magic, the term “magical realism” only reiterates the distinction
A Heaven of Hell
Punk was making up life for yourself, punk was inventing yourself, and punk was inventing the people around you, too, inflating them to the size of Gods or perhaps just cartoons. Punk was a scene and scenes are a form of myth-making.
The Lives of Others
Literature stops saving your life when self-interest replaces curiosity about other people.
Eco Chamber
Out of all the tricks and games attempted in Anthony Walsh's debut novel Eco's Echoes, he proves most successful at failure.
Glassy-Eyed
With Google Glass, predictive analytics get intimately personal, shaping behavior by overwriting the reality wearers perceive
Knocked Out Loaded
Everyone knows Rohypnol, invented as a sleep aid, can be used as a date-rape drug, but few know just how much damage roofies can cause.
The Difference between Chéri and Eternity
On “writings irresistible to adolescents and time-worn courtesans, who are akin in their incredulity and passion for romance”
The Accidental Audience
On Tumblr, users can look at art without even realizing it. Do they democratize the work or merely make it an advertisement for itself?
Life: Why Bother?
Philosopher David Benatar makes the logical case for nonexistence. He may have a point.
Turtles from the Shells
The end of the world really did happen, just like the Mayans said; but not in the way we thought
Lucky Number Seven
56 Up, the latest in a decades-long longitudinal study, reveals the true benefits of inherited privilege