John Horgan
Scientific American
Washington, DC, United States
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Past articles by John:
Should Machines Replace Mathematicians?
A “replication crisis” in mathematics raises questions about the purpose of knowledge → Read More
When Things Feel Unreal, Is That a Delusion or an Insight?
The psychiatric syndrome called derealization raises profound moral and philosophical questions → Read More
Will War Ever End?
As the war in Ukraine intensifies, rather than prepare for future wars, we should talk about ending war once and for all → Read More
Does Quantum Mechanics Rule Out Free Will?
Superdeterminism, a radical quantum hypothesis, says our “choices” are illusory → Read More
Ancient Peoples Teach Us That We Can Create a Better World
A radical retelling of civilization’s origins leads to an expansive vision of human possibility → Read More
Can Quantum Mechanics Quell the Holiday Blues?
Scientists search for hidden variables underpinning our swerving moods and thoughts → Read More
Will Artificial Intelligence Ever Live Up to Its Hype?
Replication problems plague the field of AI, and the goal of general intelligence remains as elusive as ever → Read More
Let’s Defund the Pentagon, Too
We must begin moving beyond militarism, as Martin Luther King urged more than 50 years ago → Read More
The Coronavirus and Right-Wing Postmodernism
Does right-wing skepticism toward the coronavirus have anything to do with the postmodern philosophy of Thomas Kuhn? → Read More
The Cancer Industry: Hype vs. Reality
Cancer medicine generates enormous revenues but marginal benefits for patients → Read More
Is Mathematics, like Science, Pluralistic?
Mathematicians disagree over whether their fundamental assumptions, or axioms, are true → Read More
Is Medicine Overrated?
Given medicine’s poor record, physicians should prescribe and patients consume far fewer medications, a new book argues. → Read More
Why We're Still Fighting over Freud
A debate over the relevance of psychoanalysis to brain research highlights science’s lack of progress in understanding the mind → Read More
In Defense of Disbelief: An Anti-Creed
We should doubt all theories and theologies that claim to solve the problem of who we really are → Read More
Thomas Kuhn Wasn't So Bad
A former student of the influential philosopher defends him against filmmaker Errol Morris’s “character assassination” → Read More
New Zealand Acts to Reduce Mass Shootings. Why Not U.S.?
“Freedom loving” National Rifle Association thwarts Americans’ desire for tougher gun controls → Read More
New Zealand Acts to Reduce Mass Shootings. Why Won't the U.S.?
“Freedom loving” National Rifle Association thwarts Americans’ desire for tougher gun controls → Read More
Was Thomas Kuhn Evil?
Filmmaker Errol Morris, once Kuhn’s grad student, accuses him of being a bad philosopher and bad person. → Read More
The Horgan Surface and the Death of Proof
Mathematicians take revenge on the author of a controversial article about proof by naming an object after him. → Read More
The Deep Roots of Fake News
A new history of the U.S. traces mass media’s destabilizing effects back to the nation’s birth → Read More