Tom Vanderbilt

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    Here to Save the Day!

    Asteroid defense gets serious.

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    Raising the American Weakling

    There are two very different interpretations of our dwindling grip strength.

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    How to Choose Wisely

    From Yelping to dating, there’s a better way.

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    Why We Love How-to Videos

    Instructional videos can teach us anything—especially if you watch them this way.

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    Traffic Wouldn’t Jam If Drivers Behaved Like Ants

    As someone so flummoxed by traffic I wrote a book about it, I have a near-clinical aversion to vehicular congestion. My global default strategy is to simply drive as little as possible, but there are times when I simply must put foot to gas pedal. Like many, I have become increasingly dependent on the Waze […]

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    Learning Chess at 40

    What I learned trying to keep up with my 4-year-old daughter at the royal game.

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    These Tricks Make Virtual Reality Feel Real

    Realistic digital spaces need delusions as much as they need detail.

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    Why Futurism Has a Cultural Blindspot

    We predicted cell phones, but not women in the workplace.

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    The Colors We Eat

    Food color does more than guide us—it changes the experience of taste.

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    How Your Brain Decides Without You

    In a world full of ambiguity, we see what we want to see.