I'm a South African based writer and am passionate about exploring the latest ideas in artificial intelligence, robotics and nanotechnology. I also focus on the human condition, with a particular interest human intuition and creativity. To share some feedback about my articles, email me at [email protected]
Fertility rates are falling in most developed countries. According to data from the Urban Institute birth rates among 20-something women declined 15% between 2007 and 2012. With increased family planning and better healthcare people are choosing to have no or fewer children. Good for them. With the state the world is currently in it doesn’t […] More
Did you know that there is such a thing as Insomnia Awareness Day? It falls on March 10th and you can guess what it’s about. According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, millions of people in the U.S. struggle to fall asleep or stay asleep. 30 to 35% have brief symptoms of insomnia. 15 […] More
If you want to know the truth, ask a child. A palliative pediatrician from Cape Town in South Africa asked the terminally ill children in his care what they had enjoyed in life and what gave it meaning. Their responses are a lesson in what’s really important in life. And it’s not Facebook or smartphones […] More
Why do people break up? The sad truth is that it’s easier to fall in love than to stay in love. Did you know that 70 percent of straight unmarried couples break up within the first year? This is according to a longitudinal study by Stanford sociologist Michael Rosenfeld who tracked more than 3,000 people, […] More
How’s your New Year’s resolution to shed all that extra weight you put on during the festive season going? Are you sticking to half a grapefruit in the morning, a boiled egg for lunch and salad for supper? Unlikely. Diets are notoriously difficult to stick to. Most of us give up before we’ve properly started. […] More
Ludwig van Beethoven was of the opinion that “Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy.” So music can reveal more than either wisdom or philosophy, but can it reveal creativity? And if it could, what music would that be? Would it be the drawn out rhythms of Blues, the soothing, mood-elevating sounds […] More
Sutherland, a town of about 2,841 inhabitants in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, is a place of utter magic. After dark when in the absence of city lights, the night sky becomes a deep, impenetrable black arc. The stars are so bright in that blackness you can almost touch them. The feeling that […] More
Dating is not what it used to be. You even need to understand a completely new language for modern dating in order to not make a complete fool of yourself. The advent of smartphones and dating apps make ending a relationship as easy as a few clicks, hardly long enough to notice that a person’s […] More
The rumblings have started. Maybe not in the streets and not audible everywhere, but there’s a growing unease amongst people: what are to become of us once robots replace humans in the workplace? And more importantly, how will this affect society at large? Elon Musk and others have repeatedly sounded the alarm on unregulated AI […] More
Careful timing is crucial to our well being. When you decide to take a break, visit your doctor or get married can have a very real impact on your life. In other words, the quality of the decisions we make are closely linked with their timing: the better the timing, the better the outcome. This […] More
Some people experience a mild sense of unease in the presence of clowns, others are creeped out by them and still others are downright fearful of them. There is even a scientific term for fear of clowns: coulrophobia. Hiding behind garish face paint, dressed outlandishly and walking like a duck is supposed to be funny, […] More
How would you respond if you found out that your doctor has been prescribing a placebo for your condition? According to Dr. Howard Brody at the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston prescribing drugs like antibiotics or supplements like vitamins as placebos is now a widespread practice. Brody is the John P. McGovern Centennial Chair […] More