The Perfect Man
Billy Mitchell is really, really good at Pac-Man – his high score is 3,333,360 – a perfect game. The unusual way his mind works is gently unpicked in this profile.
The Detonation Detectives
The James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies is an NGO that researches weapons of mass destruction. This is the story of how they traced, identified and analysed the recent North Korean missile launch that caused concern around the world.
Doomsday Prep for the Super-Rich
If civilisation falls then many of Silicon Valley’s elite will be well prepared – this article meets some of those getting ready with ammunition, motorcycles, food supplies and other wheezes to survive the ensuing chaos.
What Happens When Millions Of People Suddenly Get The Internet
Myanmar has gone from having 0.2% of the population online in 2011 to an estimated 20% today, with most of the growth taking place in the last two years. A story covering what happens when several million people with no prior exposure to the internet all sign up at the same time. Such is its allure that print magazines called ‘Facebook’ and ‘The Internet’ are produced for those that can’t afford to make the switch.
Burj Khalifa: Alone at the Top of the World
A dispatch from the hermetically sealed world of mega-developments as the author and his friend explore the tallest structure in the world, and reflect on the stratosphere of the super rich.
NATO Grapples with Serious Organisational Shortcomings
A piece suggesting that a shortfall in NATO’s military capacity, paired with its excessive bureaucracy, means it is ill-equipped to face “a major conflict with Russia”.
The Uninhabitable Earth
Published this month, The Uninhabitable Earth is apparently the most read article in New York Magazine’s history. The piece proposes that the impact of climate change will be felt far sooner and far more severely that people realise. The piece is of interest in its own right, but has also provoked a strong response in the scientific community, including many climate change scientists who believe it overstates the case in an unhelpful manner.
Second Life was Just the Beginning
Second Life was perhaps the first virtual world to enter mainstream discourse. Its founder thinks new virtual reality technologies are its successor, and destined for mass adoption. http://www.bit.ly/wired-secondlife