A lot has already been said about the various potential dangers of AI, even if the worst of it may still be quite a bit into the future. AI may be powerful and game-changing, though something like a rogue machine takeover – with the current technology, at least – looks to be quite unlikely. One…
Author: Himanshu Sharma
The decision to stand up on two feet was one of the – if not the – most influential in the course of our evolution. It freed our hands to do a whole slew of things we couldn’t before, directly setting the stage for all the events of what we know as ‘human history’. It’s…
With the incredible diversity of life found on Earth now, it’s easy to forget that all of it is one big coincidence. Most of us imagine the path of evolution to be straightforward, though it’s anything but. Many random-yet-pivotal events had to happen at the right time in our collective history to make way for…
The Covid-19 pandemic is turning out to be an unprecedented event in human history. While we’ve gone through our share of ancient plagues, this is the first time it’s happening to such a large human population. Humans are in vastly more abundance now than we’ve ever been, making it easier for the virus to mutate…
The realm of scientific speculation is vast and full of theories you may have never heard about. Spend too much time around the weird parts of the Internet, and you’d probably come across a few of them, each trying to explain their often outlandish take on complex scientific subjects. Rarely, however, you stumble upon something…
The deep sea has always been a place of perilous mystery for humankind. Even if it has been a while since we left the oceans for a better and drier life outside, the fear of what lies beneath the depths still exists somewhere inside all of us. Even today – with all of our best…
Water is, by far, the most abundant natural resource on Earth, as around 72% of the planet’s surface is covered with it. It’s also the driving factor behind the origins of life, as we do not yet know of a life form that’s not water-based. The same cannot be said for anything else. We know…
In the midst of the coronavirus scare, the world may be looking at yet another major financial crisis; one that we may not get out of any time soon. Unlike most major financial crashes in history, though, this one would have little to do with human greed – or even human stupidity. While most people’s…
The 2008 financial crisis remains one of the most important events of our times, as well as one of the most far-reaching. It’s not the only one, as the last twenty years or so have been littered with important and consequential events for the whole world, such as the 9/11 attacks – and the following…
Ask a scientist, and he’d tell you that you can’t put a deadline on science. Research takes as long as it does because of how rigorous the modern scientific process is. Many high-profile experiments can take days – even weeks – to complete. Then there are the rare experiments that go on for so long…
Booby traps are perhaps the oldest weapon type we know of. Before we could make melee and projectile weapons, traps were the preferred way to catch game. Of course, a simple pre-historical trap from our hunter-gatherer days could hardly be compared to the elaborate – and deadly – mechanisms found in today’s booby traps, though…
We all grow up with an idea of what romantic love is supposed to be, though it’s usually not long before we discover that we’re wrong. Needless to say, this can contribute to problems in our relationships. The role of popular fiction – especially cinema – in shaping those beliefs remains largely undiscussed, too. Here…
A lot has already been said about the various potential dangers of AI, even if the worst of it may still be quite a bit into the future. AI may be powerful and game-changing, though something like a rogue machine takeover – with the current technology, at least – looks to be quite unlikely. One…
Animals are an important – rather crucial – part of life on Earth. From keeping the food chain free of diseases and other problems to being inspirations for many of our technologies, human life is inherently connected to the animal kingdom. Despite having lived around animals for so long, though, we still don’t know a…
Saying that any one year in history was more significant in its contributions to the modern world than any other is a tall claim. After all, the past few centuries have seen their fair share of important years, and depending on a lot of factors, any one of them could be claimed to be more…
Death is as common as any other function of the human body, though we still try to avoid talking about it. It’s mostly because we don’t quite understand it, though philosophical discussions aside, scientifically speaking, death is a pretty straightforward phenomenon. It’s what happens when living cells age to the point they can no longer…
We’ve been fighting wars ever since we started having disputes with others and had enough people on both sides willing to fight for it. Even if warfare has changed quite a bit from its early days, the basic rules have always remained the same. It’s usually the side with conventional numerical and technological superiority that…
The British Empire was by far the biggest empire in human history, which doesn’t sound as impressive if we just leave it at that. Consider this; at its height, the tiny island famous for being damp and cold controlled around 24% of Earth’s total area, ruling over 23% of the world population. It was a…
The Second World War was one of the most far-reaching events in human history. It fundamentally changed the world like most other big wars couldn’t, and its effects can still be felt in many places. It’s also arguably the most talked-about war, as we’ve discussed pretty much all WW2 trivia at this point. Despite that,…
Mercenaries have played a pivotal role in deciding the outcome of battles since the dawn of civilization. From Alexander’s successful Asia campaign to the US invasion of Iraq, wars are more often than not won on the back of fighters with no real loyalty to either side. Despite being some of the most formidable fighting…
War has existed for as long as humanity itself. We’ve been fighting each other over resources, territory or just bragging rights ever since we figured out that we could. Because of war being such an intrinsic part of human society for so long, some of our most-celebrated heroes have been warriors. While there’s no doubt…
Fighting climate change – a widely-used euphemism for the ongoing climate catastrophe – is humanity’s biggest priority at this point. Or at least it should be, as most governments of the world are simply not bothered with something that may as well be the end of our species. It’s not even like we have to…