17 Stories by Steven Johnson
We explore ornamentation, the non-medical application of a device made with gold leaf, and how the MIT Media Lab stays creative.
An investigation into one of humanity's oldest and most ubiquitous inventions: the ball.
Why designing a simple board game with my son rivals anything he's learning in school.
An exploration of the cultural shift that began with a leisure space of idle chatter and led to some of our most productive modern...
A look at how playful spices remade the map of the world.
A look into how games and childhood play encourage the kind of adaptive, flexible thinking we need to navigate a complex world.
An investigation into the surprising history of games designed to change our political values.
An exploration of the power of play, from screen-based games like Pokémon Go or Minecraft, to the imaginative worlds of children inventing playgrounds out...
A mysterious stranger in San Francisco's Union Square helps jumpstart a sonic revolution with a malfunctioning tape recorder.
A look back at the origins of Spacewar!, the first video game and one of the most influential pieces of software ever written.
