What does a scientific model explain, and what choices does a technology leave to the people using it? Reporting and essays here examine research, digital systems and the assumptions behind their promises. Readers can compare evidence, design goals and interpretation while exploring how different fields describe a shared world.
MIT researchers describe an experimental framework for editable social apps, selectable rules and user-controlled data access. Important protections remain in development.
Scientific specialization is one of the great successes of modern knowledge. It allows depth, precision, and technical mastery.
It also creates fragmentation.
Each discipline develops its...
When we talk about knowledge, we often assume a direct relationship between reality and our descriptions of it.
In practice, this relationship is more complex.
Scientific...
