Neurotechnologies

The Mind-Bending World of Neurotechnologies

With little fanfare, technologies that manipulate brain activity (both external and implanted) pose dangers to health, identity, and society, even as they achieve medical successes.

Robert Lustig

Podcast #27: Robert Lustig on Biochemistry and Health

Author and endocrinologist Robert Lustig explains the neurochemical difference between happiness and pleasure and how it’s been exploited to make so many of us fat, addicted, and depressed. Then, he reminds us how to reclaim our health.

Adam Gazzaley

Podcast #26: Adam Gazzaley on Our Distracted Minds

Neurologist Adam Gazzaley discusses how the brain’s attentional system functions–or doesn’t–when buffeted by digital distraction.

Diners on smartphones

Curbing Our Tech Obsession: What, Why, & How

Young people are obsessively checking their phones more every year. Here are some reasons why, and strategies to regain control.

Catherine Steiner-Adair

Podcast #18: Catherine Steiner-Adair on Tech and Child Development

Catherine Steiner-Adair is a clinical psychologist whose empathic 2013 book The Big Disconnect warned us about the impacts of digital tech on child development and family relationships. She’s been on a non-stop speaking tour ever since.

Podcast #17: Cal Newport on Deep Work

For a computer scientist, Georgetown professor and author Cal Newport is hard to reach via email. But it’s part of his philosophy that focused concentration–so elusive in our overstimulated world–is the key to a better and more rewarding work and personal life.

Birthday Cake

A Message From the Publisher

It’s our 2nd birthday! Publisher Mo Lotman shares a few thoughts about where we’ve come and where The Technoskeptic is going.

The Suicide Algorithm: Facebook’s Self-Appointed Role in Mental Health

Facebook’s invasive attempts to identify suicidal individuals, while collecting revenue from advertisers targeting them, may do more harm than good.

A Message From the Publisher

Happy birthday us! This month marks one year since we moved to weekly updates. Publisher Mo Lotman shares a few thoughts about The Technoskeptic and the stakes of its mission.