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November 22, 2024
 

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Esther Dyson
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 28, 2013
Measure of mismeasure confounds free choice
It's important to help people think clearly about why they might choose something less desirable than what they now have to avoid the risk of getting something even worse next time.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 28, 2013
Liberating people to control their eating habits
When it comes to weight-loss programs, give people rules of thumb — not product manuals. Let them see how the media manipulates them already to consume more.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 18, 2013
Newspaper rescue defines today's good citizen
It would appear that Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos wants less to own The Washington Post than to set its values free financially, for at least a generation or two.
COMMENTARY / World
May 6, 2013
Better simulation of complex events raises bar for predicting individual needs/preferences
With today's computers, we can look at massive amounts of information and make pretty good predictions about individuals — from health care to furniture preferences.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 1, 2013
Working around others who work works better
Yahoo!'s new CEO recently created a fuss when she no longer let employees work from home. Is her edict a step backward or a boon for creativity?
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 27, 2012
The rise of the attention economy
I was recently posed the following question: "The most important way in which the Internet and online social media are changing our world is [fill in the blank]."
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 26, 2012
Transforming how India addresses its problems
Last month, I visited the Jaipur Foot clinic in New Delhi. You may have heard of the Jaipur Foot. It is both an invention — a prosthetic foot made from cheap materials costing about $45 (versus $8,000 for a similar device in the United States) — and an amazing, low-cost network of clinics around...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 2, 2012
Intelligent urban design that'll let people bloom
Two months ago, I was introduced to a startup called CityMart, a for-profit marketplace dedicated to helping vendors and city managers find one another — and to spreading municipal innovations outside of their home turf.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 23, 2012
Is the World Wide Web about to be 'closed'?
Within the tech community, there is much angst about whether the Web is about to be "closed." Will it be controlled by companies like Apple, Facebook, and Google, or will it remain "open" to all?
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 31, 2012
Back in Russia: peeling, meeting and shopping
In mid-December, while trying to understand what was happening in Russia, I checked Twitter and found a tweet that somehow signified everything.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 23, 2011
Time to stop worshipping stirrers of stone soup
Last month I was in Kiev, speaking at a conference focused on entrepreneurs. I wanted to give a talk that would be of general interest but also concrete. So I started with one of my favorite parables.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 13, 2011
'Jobs factor' made Apple's closed strategy work
Normally, you need a distinctive first name not to need a last name, but in this — as in everything that he did — Steve Jobs was different. He was always just "Steve."
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 30, 2011
'Protection racket' for Net domain names
The Internet's domain-name system (DNS) was formalized in the late 1990s by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). I was ICANN's founding chairman, and we more or less followed the rules of trademarks, with an overlay of "first come, first served."
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 1, 2011
'Venture mentors' can give as big a boost to startup companies as a capital infusion
In June, I participated in a meeting sponsored by the Clinton Global Initiative, the giant philanthropy, that focused on creating more jobs in the United States — presumably a goal shared by most countries.
COMMENTARY / World
May 24, 2011
Disorganized dreams of Egyptian democrats
The Internet is an extraordinarily powerful tool. It has changed how we do business, how we do politics, and even how we change our leaders — at least some of the time. But the ease with which we now communicate, the efficiencies we take for granted, can give us a false sense of how easy it is to follow...
COMMENTARY / World
May 4, 2011
Programming people to be better employees
In theory, it is hard to think of any nobler computer service than the typical "Help Wanted" board. It helps people find work that fulfills their potential, and it helps employers find people who can use their infrastructure (whether machines, office equipment or a methodology for service delivery) to...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 27, 2011
Watershed moment for U.S. space exploration
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — More than 50 years ago (1957), the Soviets launched the world's first orbiting satellite, beating the United States into space. For Americans, the "Sputnik moment" was a wakeup call that pushed the U.S. to increase investment in technology and science education. Months later,...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 18, 2010
WikiLeaks' flawed answer to a flawed world
NEW YORK — Long ago, I wrote about the Internet pioneer Julf Helsingius, who ran a precursor to WikiLeaks called anon.penet.fi. As I said then: "Anonymity in itself should not be illegal. There are enough good reasons for people to be anonymous that it should be [allowed] — at least in some places...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 27, 2010
Dangerous myth of the hero entrepreneur
NEW YORK — Earlier this month, I sat on a panel in Monte Carlo, a hot spot of the establishment, discussing the question, "Why can't Europe be more like the U.S.?" The formal name of the panel was "Silicon Envy: Will Europe ever build the next new media giant?"
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 28, 2010
Living life by the numbers
NEW YORK — Recently I learned that I don't have cancer. My doctor called and said, "I have some good news!" Fortunately, we were in the middle of a fire drill in my office at the time, so no one noticed as I blinked back tears of relief.
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Russia fired experimental ballistic missile at Ukraine, Putin says
Ukrainian firefighters work on a spot following an airstrike in Dnipro on Thursday.
Ishiba aggravates his own political failures with diplomatic faux pas
Prime Minster Shigeru Ishiba is greeted at the APEC summit in Lima by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday. The Japanese leader was criticized for remaining seated while meeting several world leaders at the event.
Japan's 3.31 million visitors in October set monthly record
Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in December 2023. Famous autumn leaf colors contributed to increased tourism demand last month from many markets across Asia, Europe and North America, the Japan National Tourism Organization has said.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
The slow-burn success of ‘A Samurai in Time’
A 19th-century warrior gets struck by lightning and wakes to find himself in 21st-century Kyoto in Junichi Yasuda’s surprise hit “A Samurai in Time.”
Around a quarter of Japan married couples in their 20s met through dating apps
A survey released by an organization promoting “Good Couples Day” shows that 24% of couples in their 20s met their marriage partner through a dating app.
'Tokyo Swindlers': Get deep into the minds of real estate con artists
In Ko Shinjo's "Tokyo Swindlers," a group of con artists manipulates real estate giants into falsified deals within the highly competitive, quick market.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?
By Kathryn Wortley

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Azabudai Hills, Tokyo’s green new downtown ‘village’
Azabudai Hills, Tokyo’s green new downtown ‘village’

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