Edward Tenner

Edward Tenner is a historian of technology and culture. He was a founding advisor of Smithsonian's Lemelson Center and holds a Ph.D in European history. More

Edward Tenner is an independent writer and speaker on the history of technology and the unintended consequences of innovation. He holds a Ph.D. in European history from the University of Chicago and was executive editor for physical science and history at Princeton University Press. A former member of the Harvard Society of Fellows and John Simon Guggenheim fellow, he has been a visiting lecturer at Princeton and has held visiting research positions at the Institute for Advanced Study, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and the Princeton Center for Information Technology Policy. He is now an affiliate of the Center for Arts and Cultural Policy of Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School. He was a founding advisor of Smithsonian's Lemelson Center, where he remains a senior research associate.

Let's Have a Receipt Renaissance

Let's Have a Receipt Renaissance

As in decades and centuries past, this economic crisis could provide an opportunity for graphic innovation—at your local corner store More »

New York's New Gay Synagogue Originally Designed by an Anti-Semite

New York's New Gay Synagogue Originally Designed by an Anti-Semite

A great work of architecture survives the deplorable attitude of its creator More »

When Fiction Inspires Criminals: It Didn't Start With 'Catcher in the Rye'

When Fiction Inspires Criminals: It Didn't Start With 'Catcher in the Rye'

Some of the world's most infamous killers have cited books and movies as their inspiration More »

The Eerie Beauty of Rare Alphabets

The Eerie Beauty of Rare Alphabets

A Vermont-based writer is preserving ancient scripts by carving them into wood More »

The Upside of the Publishing Crisis

The Upside of the Publishing Crisis

The demise of print has actually increased the study of antique volumes More »

Should Kids Be Allowed to Channel the Inner Monkey?

Should Kids Be Allowed to Channel the Inner Monkey?

Playgrounds shouldn't be dangerous, but they've probably become too safe—and the safety is keeping children from maturing More »

How Not to Review an Art Exhibition

How Not to Review an Art Exhibition

A Washington Post critic pans a new Smithsonian show for all the wrong reasons More »

Pulps: The Depression's Flowers of Evil

Pulps: The Depression's Flowers of Evil

Hard times can inspire bursts of imagination, as seen in the colorful, scandalous pages of 1930s-era comic books More »

Offloading Memory: Good or Bad for the Brain?

Offloading Memory: Good or Bad for the Brain?

New research based on a group of Harvard undergrads raises questions about how much we rely on the Internet for knowledge More »

When Should Academics Retire?

When Should Academics Retire?

By 2020, the number of university professors over the age of 68 could very well outnumber those in their 30s More »

How Handwriting Builds Character

How Handwriting Builds Character

Learning to navigate convention while expressing individuality can be subtle and tricky. But the basics are all in the wrist.n the wrist. More »

The Catchiest 19th-Century Advertising Slogan

The Catchiest 19th-Century Advertising Slogan

An Edinburgh pen maker, trading on the popularity of Charles Dickens and Sir Walter Scott, featured its three models with this jingle More »

The Ethics of Paying for Sex, Revisited

The Ethics of Paying for Sex, Revisited

An ex-prostitute reviews a john's memoir for The New York Times More »

When Cigarettes Were Glamorous

When Cigarettes Were Glamorous

A new exhibition recalls when smoking was the world's favorite vice More »

In South Korea or in the U.S., Educational Excellence Isn't Enough

In South Korea or in the U.S., Educational Excellence Isn't Enough

Does academic superiority equate to a better quality of life, or is it just a factor? More »

A Strange Nostalgia for Disappearing Company Towns

A Strange Nostalgia for Disappearing Company Towns

As two planned communities worlds away from each other face similar pressures, a writer considers their utopian visions More »

Home Cooking vs. Eating Out: The Limits of a Homemade Meal

Home Cooking vs. Eating Out: The Limits of a Homemade Meal

Restaurants can be unhealthy, but we shouldn't dismiss them. Real vegetarian cuisine exists—and if we're lucky, it will spread. More »

What Consumers Can Learn From a Cadillac Christmas Card

What Consumers Can Learn From a Cadillac Christmas Card

As head of General Motor's Cadillac division, Jim Roche's fussy obsessions came at the expense of vision and strong leadership More »

Is Alternative Medicine a Symptom of American Decadence?

Is Alternative Medicine a Symptom of American Decadence?

Despite a doctor's argument that the U.S. is like the Roman Empire, interest in homeopathy isn't a sign of decline More »

Good News for Kids Who Read—and Parents Who Want Them To

Good News for Kids Who Read—and Parents Who Want Them To

Spending too much time indoors may lead to myopia due to the dimness of indoor lighting More »

The Biggest Story in Photos

Early Monsoon Rains Flood Northern India

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