An article published on Thrillist makes the case that the internet and social media have ruined the experience of travel. The author concedes that the internet has made it easier to travel as cheaply as possible, through great things such as multi-airline rate comparisons; but then argues that the ability to access the internet at the…
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Philosophers and psychologists throughout history have tried to define and elucidate the human species by referring to certain basic drives that we all have. One that I would like to suggest, which I believe reflects the trajectory of humanity, is the will to novelty – the desire to seek out what is new and innovative.…
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Facebook is great for communication, networking and planning events. It is a social media platform that was designed to connect people and clearly, it achieves this in a number of ways. However, Facebook’s utility and popularity often mask its more psychologically damaging aspects, of which there seems to be three: addiction, social isolation and depression.…
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The whole concept of virtual reality – especially full immersion in a virtual, artificial world – has been a favourite topic of many science fiction writers. The idea has also featured in many speculative and philosophical questions, such as: What is reality? How do we distinguish reality from illusion? And so on. Loosely defined, virtual…
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Nick Bostrom is a Swedish philosopher who teaches at the University of Oxford. His areas of interest include the Simulation Hypothesis (that reality is a computer simulation run by a hyper-advanced ‘post-human’ civilisation) and the ethics of human enhancement (the ethical issues surrounding improving human capacities through science and technology). He is a proponent of…
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