Language is so wonderfully malleable.  It can do almost anything except my dishes.  Take Lewis Carroll’s, The Jaberwocky, for example.  This tale about a fearsome beast is funny,  not because of what the words say, but because of how they sound. “His vorpal blade went snicker

By now, everyone is so familiar with genetic engineering that if we read some scientist had crossed an octopus with a watermelon to create a waterpus, we wouldn’t blink.  We’d accept it because we’re already familiar with genetically altered tomatoes that look great but tastes

“Don’t expect Congress to protect you against all possible data invasions,” says Sergey Feldman, a data scientist, when asked to comment on “deep learning,” the latest frontier in computing. (“Do Androids Dream of Electric Lolocats?” by Dana Liebelson, Mother Jones, Sept

Not long ago, I contacted a friend to ask if he was interested in seeing the new Woody Allen film, Magic in the Moonlight.    His reply was terse, something to the effect that he would not support the work of a child molester, a reference I presume to Allen’s marriage to his adop

Look out internet shoppers, two electronic systems  called “dynamic pricing,” and “differential pricing,” are stalking you.  Dynamic pricing is the program retailers use to adjust to supply and demand.  Airlines determine fares with it, for example, and so do hotels.  The

A blog reader wrote to thank me for sharing the latest PEW Research Center’s survey about Edward Snowden’s NSA revelations. In the main, the attitudes expressed there were similar to those found in the PEN survey I discussed earlier. (Bog 12/2/13)  Snowden’s revelations about t

Who knew?  While some members of Congress are fuming about immigration across our southern border, the US is opening the gates to other folks, primarily from China.  Over the past few years nearly 48 million of that nation’s wealthiest citizens have migrated to other countries

Who doesn’t love a clash of Titans?  Not Hollywood certainly.  But in the world of economics, something in that vein is going on as Nobel laureate, Joseph Stiglitz, takes on Thomas Piketty and his recent best seller, Capital in the Twenty-First Century.  Piketty’s tome is 700 p

After spending an August afternoon shopping with her granddaughter for back to school clothes, a friend sent me an email saying that all the child talked about was her determination not to be a chatterbox in the coming year.  A month has passed since that conversation and I’m wonde

From time to time, I’ve speculated about how changes in technology will affect the future. (Blogs 7/25 & 2/14/14)  Some consequences I hadn’t foreseen, however, until The Week brought them to my attention. (8/29/14)  Let’s think about prostitution for a moment.  Even the