Over the past couple of years, I’ve found a few online journals that provide thoughtful, interesting, well-written commentary on a number of subjects.
With hope that knowledge of them might be rewarding to others, I will go through them here in no particular order.
The Conversation
First up is The Conversation. Subtitled on the masthead as “Academic rigour, journalistic flair,” it actually lives up to the billing.
It began in 2011 in Australia and now produces editions centred in a number of countries, including the US, Canada, UK, New Zealand and France.
The journal covers topics in Science & Tech, Culture & Society, Politics, Health and quite a few more categories.
Articles of interest that I’ve recently read include “The surprising reason why insects circle lights at night: They lose track of the sky,” “When is criticism of Israel antisemitic? A scholar of modern Jewish history explains,” and “Atlantic Ocean is headed for a tipping point − once melting glaciers shut down the Gulf Stream, we would see extreme climate change within decades, study shows.”
My interests are wide-ranging, and this journal manages to provide articles that touch on a lot of the areas that I would like to know more about.
Atlas Obscura
Next on my list is Atlas Obscura which bills itself as “The Definitive Guide to the World’s Hidden Wonders.”
Recently it has taken a more commercialized turn. They are now organizing festivals and selling courses such as “Lockpicking with Schuyler Towne” and “Bird Taxidermy with Allis Markham.” I don’t think I’m their target audience for those ventures.
But there are still articles and short notes about many fascinating locations across the world.
Recent articles of interest: “For Hundreds of Years, People Thought California Was an Island,” “Mysterious Writing System From Easter Island May Be Completely Unique,” and the compilation article, “12 Amazing Athletic Competitions You Should Be Watching.”
The latter includes “Inside the High-Flying World of Estonian Swinging,” and “Meet the Man Who Wants to Make Sitting an Extreme Sport.” Extreme chair sitting sounds like my kind of athleticism these days.
Psyche
Since I have a degree in psychology and a life-long interest in matters bearing on culture and consciousness, the online journal Psyche fits my curiosity.
For instance, I’ve always thought Jung’s understanding of psychology to be the most profound of all the historical figures in that field.
The article entitled “For Jung, architecture was a tool to represent the psyche” I found engrossing. It asks the question, “How are we creating spaces for the forgotten dimensions of the mind?” To find out what that might mean, you’ll have to read the article.
A couple of other items I found of interest: “Innovative three-year-olds expose the limits of AI chatbots” and “What does switching from paper to screens mean for how we read?”
I found especially moving the article on “How one man saved 160 lives with an extended hand and a warm cup of tea,” when he intervened in suicide attempts.
Nature Briefing & Nature Briefing: Anthropocene
I subscribe to these lists of posts from Nature, in general, and also the Anthropocene category they offer (anthropocene is a term coined to describe the geological epoch that begins with significant human impact on the earth).
Some items I learned about:
– A glowing petunia, with genes from bioluminescent mushrooms, has hit the US market.
– The first rechargeable calcium battery has been developed.
– Student researchers have used machine learning to read text hidden inside burnt, unopenable scrolls recovered from the ancient Roman city of Herculaneum.
– United States climate scientist Michael Mann won a significant defamation lawsuit, securing over $1 million in damages against two conservative commentators who disparaged his research and compared him to a convicted child molester.
– Hurricanes might need a new category. Due to the increasing strength of hurricanes, two scientists are recommending adding a sixth category to the 1-5 of the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale.
ScienceDaily
Since I’m writing science-fiction novels, I want to keep up with what’s going on in science. Often items in ScienceDaily as with Nature give me ideas to extrapolate from.
The site offers an email newsletter. Some recent items:
– Researchers 3D-print functional human brain tissue.
– By growing animal cells in rice grains, scientists dish up hybrid food.
– Why elderly adults lose billions to scams.
– Pain-based weather forecasts could influence actions. What?! This is about how weather affects chronic pain sufferers.
– Neural prosthetic device can help restore memory.
Quanta
Quanta Magazine is perhaps the most thought provoking entry on this list. The topics range from consciousness to bees to black hole information paradoxes. Sometimes the discussions are specialized enough to be beyond me.
Some articles of note:
– How Did Altruism Evolve.
– How to Build An Origami Computer.
– The Quest to Decode the Mandelbrot set, Math’s Most Famous Fractal.
– A New Spin on the Quantum Brain.
– The Evolutionary Argument Against Reality.
I realized on reading some of the math-related articles, such as the one about the history of the Mandelbrot set, that I don’t understand what professional mathematicians do at all. The mind, the mental processes, of a top-flight (or even a medium-flight) mathematician are difficult for me to imagine. How, in the rarefied intangibility of it all, while scribbling esoteric symbols on a blackboard, do they arrive at anywhere conclusive? And yet they do.
Hakai
Hakai Magazine has become one of my favorites and is worthy of wider notice.
It is based in British Columbia where I live. Launched in 2015, it explores science, society, and the environment highlighting coastal life around the world.
The name is inspired by Hakai Pass in the Hakai Lúxvbálís Conservancy, one of the largest protected marine areas on the west coast of Canada, located about 400 kilometers north of Vancouver.
Some of their articles:
– In the Face of Mounting Climate Risks, the Insurance Safety Net Is Falling Apart.
– A River Runs Above Us. A comprehensive article about atmospheric rivers.
– Working With Purpose, Forever. Or, how to keep shareholders from ruining your business. About a new model for business structures.
– Banking on the Seaweed Rush. Can seaweed do it all?
If any of these publications pique your interest, give them your attention, and in some cases your donations to help keep them afloat. Intelligent information is not so easy to come by these days.
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Note:
There are two more online journals I’d like to mention.
One is Noema. They “publish essays, interviews, reportage, videos and art on the overlapping realms of philosophy, governance, geopolitics, economics, technology and culture.”
The other is Aeon. They have essays written by serious and creative thinkers on philosophy, psychology, science, society and culture.
Quirk 
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