Articles

AT&T’s Wireless Debacle

Mr. Gilder and Mr. Vigilante produce the monthly Gilder Technology Report. Everyone from Alan Greenspan to Al Gore understands that prosperity now feeds on the explosive advance of new technologies. But most fail to acknowledge that business success in the new era will require mastery of technological paradigms and performance. Ordained by the towering sage of Caltech, Carver Mead, the Read More ›

Resuming Peacetime Conscription Bad Idea that Would Clog Courts

There they go again. A few days ago, Rep. Floyd Spence, chair of the House National Security Committee, suggested that if military recruitment and retention continue to erode, Congress might have to consider reinstating the draft, or some form of national service with military and non-military options. No, conscription’s not imminent. But Mr. Spence’s comment may be taken as a Read More ›

Thomas Henry Huxley
Thomas Henry Huxley
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The Bulldog’s Life: Part I

But even leaving Mr. Darwin’s views aside,” wrote Thomas Henry Huxley in 1863, in Man’s Place in Nature, “the whole analogy of natural operations furnishes so complete and crushing an argument against the intervention of any but what are termed secondary causes, in the production of the phenomena of the universe; that, in the view of the intimate relations between Man Read More ›

alien eye.jpg
Evil eye.

What Would Real Little Green Men Tell Us About Evolution — And God?

They need not be little, of course, nor green, nor, for that matter, come in more than one sex: indeed (with apologies to most episodes of Star Trek), they probably wouldn't recognizably be "men" at all. But extraterrestrial intelligent life would need to be intelligent — meaning, operationally, able to manipulate electromagnetic radiation to carry signals. Read More ›

It’s Time to Quit Diplomatic Dance and Destroy Iraq’s Deadly Weapons

Some episodes in history, you look back and you wonder, “What were they thinking of?” As I write, American forces are converging. By the time you read this, the metallic density of the air over Iraq may have increased significantly. Cruise missiles, perhaps–When You Care Enough to Send the Very Best. But go easy, guys. The assembly line’s cold and Read More ›

The End of Flight As We Know It?

The story in the October 5th issue of “Aviation Week and Space Technology” began: “The successful test of a TRW-designed laser recently has opened the door for a valid demonstration of the device’s usefulness as a weapon against ballistic missiles.” Good news for those of us who would like the government, some decade or other, to get around to its Read More ›

What Should a 21st Century Defense Be?

These are the years Bill Clinton has eaten. Years as abhorrent to the future as to the past. Some periods in history, you look back and you wonder, “What were they thinking of?” We live in such a time. And we know what we’re thinking of. Or do we? The People are quiet. Hard to believe, but they are. The Read More ›

Military Defense Essentially a Moral Issue

A moral dilemma is, by definition, a problem that cannot be solved simply by dealing with material facts. “What should be” matters as much as “what is” or “what will be.” Different societies define their moral systems differently. But all agree on one thing. The closer you get to issues of life and death, the more important the moral aspect Read More ›

The American Citizen as Soldier

The Founding Fathers wanted America defended by a small professional military and a large people’s militia. Today, that idea seems as quaint as the horse cavalry, and about as practical. And yet . . . it’s coming back. Two new books, both by well-left-of-center authors, sketch the military and political rationales for a citizen-based post Cold War military. And conservatives, Read More ›

What the Air Force Can Do for You

“What can you do When your dreams come true And it’s not quite like you planned?” So sang the Eagles, a popular group of the 70s. But today, “After the Thrill Is Gone” might well become the service anthem of the United States Air Force. Despite the magnificence of Desert Storm, despite all the wondrous new technologies and capabilities developed Read More ›