Turn On, Tune In, Veg Out By NEAL STEPHENSON

Scientists and technologists have the same uneasy status in our society as the Jedi in the Galactic Republic. They are scorned by the cultural left and the cultural right, and young people avoid science and math classes in hordes. The tedious particulars of keeping ourselves alive, comfortable and free are being taken offline to countries where people are happy to sweat the details, as long as we have some foreign exchange left to send their way. Nothing is more seductive than to think that we, like the Jedi, could be masters of the most advanced technologies while living simple lives: to have a geek standard of living and spend our copious leisure time vegging out.

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Questions, Bitterness and Exile for Queens Girl in Terror Case. The story of how a 16-year-old Muslim girl was identified as a potential terrorist is still shrouded in government secrecy. By NINA BERNSTEIN. [NYT > Home Page]

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