Philosophy Science Psychology Society Culture

DonateNewsletterSIGN IN

Ed Lake

Editorial Director, Profile Books

Ed Lake is an editorial director at Profile Books and former deputy editor of Aeon. He spent five years at The Daily Telegraph before moving to the Middle East to work on The National, where he was deputy editor on the Review section. He is interested in the philosophy of science, the history of political thought, and novels in which a dreamer wakes into a world transformed. He lives in north London.

X (Formerly Twitter)

Written by Ed Lake

A man reading a book in a dimly lit library with shelves in the background, a light shining on his face.

essayComputing and artificial intelligence

The info moralist

Persecuted little guy, or powerful revolutionary – what sort of wunderkind was Aaron Swartz?

Ed Lake

A crowded scene with people holding “The End of the World” signs and wearing costumes, others interacting or taking pictures.

essayCosmology

Bang or whimper?

We’re still here, which means we have a vacancy for an apocalypse scenario. The one we choose could be revealing

Ed Lake

People outdoors, several holding scythes. A woman in the foreground is holding a scythe, blurred greenery is in the background.

essayFuture of technology

Tales on Dark Mountain

Is there anything left for the green movement to do but assuage its grief in ritual and myth?

Ed Lake

Edited by Ed Lake

People in colourful costumes and tall hats walking on a forest path, likely participating in a traditional festival.

essayEcology and environmental sciences

It’s not easy being green

If rational persuasion fails to make people behave environmentally, could rituals and a dash of guilt do a better job?

Stephen Cave & Sarah Darwin

A black-and-white photo of a baby seen from above cradled in hands in low light against a dark background.

ideaFamily life

If babies were randomly allocated to families would racism end?

Howard Rachlin & Marvin Frankel

An illustration of a person using a roller to paint over a profane word written on a wall, with the letters F and K visible on either side.

essayLanguage and linguistics

Naughty words

What makes swear words so offensive? It’s not their meaning or even their sound. Is language itself a red herring here?

Rebecca Roache

Painting of a Viking ship with a dragon figurehead colourful sail red dragon prow and shields on the side set against a yellow sky.

essayFilm and visual culture

Fantasy North

The top of the globe has always meant fantasy, myth, adventure. What explains the icy northern grip on our imagination?

E R Truitt

Several pieces of white paper laying on a surface with curved folds casting soft shadows in natural light.

ideaInformation and communication

Doing more with less: the economic lesson of Peak Paper

John Quiggin

essayEthics

High five!

Why, in the entire history of human life, did awesomeness become the great virtue of our age (and suckiness its vice)?

Nick Riggle

A large commercial airplane flying low between tall buildings over a busy street in an urban area with mountains in the background.

essayFilm and visual culture

Dispatches from the ruins

The human world has become bafflingly complex and strangely fragile making apocalypse the easiest thing to imagine

Frank Bures

Black and white photo of white young men in dark clothes, some hooded, with police officers and police vans in the background.

ideaChildhood and adolescence

What every dictator knows: young men are natural fanatics

Joe Herbert

Protesters holding yellow banners with black text reading “Foreclose on Banks Not People” and “Occupy Wall St.”

ideaPolitical philosophy

It’s not presidents but pressure groups who lead US politics

Erik Loomis

Close-up of a hand holding dried green tea leaves.

ideaBiotechnology

Biohackers should produce a microbial uberfood for the world

Dawn Field

Black and white photo of two men sitting in a dimly lit room, an elderly one in the foreground smiling, a younger one in a cap in the background.

essayAgeing and death

Ask the aged

Who better to answer questions about the purpose of life than someone who has been living theirs for a long time?

Karl Pillemer

Hyperrealistic painting of a messy cheeseburger with onions, lettuce and condiments, along with a salt shaker on a dark background.

essayMood and emotion

The hunger mood

Hunger isn’t in your stomach or your blood-sugar levels. It’s in your mind – and that’s where we need to shape up

Michael Graziano