GPS satellites broadcast passive one-way signals that by themselves can do no harm. But bad actors can use the power of GPS in frightening ways. “Driverless vehicles could easily be perverted into a ghastly weapon—a guided missile making full use…
Author: Eric F. Frazier
Eric F. Frazier is an independent writer, editor, book reviewer and co-author of GPS Declassified: From Smart Bombs to Smartphones.
Metro Growth = Job Security for Urban Planners
Forecasters at the United Nations last fall updated their projections for the growth of cities across the planet over the next 15 years. World Urbanization Prospects is the type of report that fuels worry about teeming masses huddled amid poverty…
Book Review – #EdJourney
The task of educating our children faces more social and technological disruption and more uncertainty about the future than at any time in the past century. Can our schools break free of what worked in the past (but no longer…
Southern Pride Needs a Different Symbol
“A small group of neo-Nazis have staged an anti-Semitic rally in London, but were hugely outnumbered by counter-demonstrators….The group, waving Palestinian and Confederate flags, stood surrounded by police in a fenced-in area near Downing Street on Saturday. A counter-demonstration drew…
ISIS: Earth’s Worst Tumor
Maps of territory held by the Islamic State, or ISIS, bugged me, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Then, I realized, they look like scans of brain tumors. Unfortunately, the similarities go much deeper. Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the…
(MLHD) Media Love/Hate Disorder
(MLHD) n: acronym for Media Love/Hate Disorder, a modern affliction seen in people with multiple connected devices; can disrupt meals, sleep and work. Early symptoms most common in those already suffering with fear of missing out (FOMO) and Time Warner Cable…
Saturnalia Lives On
As the days grow shorter and colder, something stirs in us humans—a fear that traces straight down to the bone, maybe into our DNA. We associate winter with death for good reason. It brings death for many plants, creatures and…
Top Five Responses to the Sony Hack
“A White House official said on Thursday that the administration was considering a ‘proportional response’ against those who hacked into Sony Pictures computers, a retaliation that could thrust the United States into a direct confrontation with North Korea.” –Peter Baker,…
Interstellar: Roll Over, Stanley Kubrick
The moment I saw the robots in Interstellar, I thought Stanley Kubrick must be rolling in his grave. By the end, it seems he channeled them from the future. That’s as much of a spoiler as I’ll make in this…
The Selfie: Overdoing a Meme
In my last post, I commented on the profusion of tourists in Paris taking selfies with arms outstretched and their backs to the very sites they had traveled so far to see. Making your travel photo in front of landmarks…