1
The Growth Ponzi Scheme
The American pattern of development creates the illusion of wealth. Today we are in the process of seeing that illusion destroyed…and with it the prosperity we have come to take for granted.
Most cited
Posts that commenters keep linking to, ranked by how many different people have cited them in Hacker News comments. 97 posts.
2
A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace (1996)
by John Perry Barlow Governments of the Industrial World, you weary giants of flesh and steel, I come from Cyberspace, the new home of Mind. On behalf of the future, I ask you of the past to leave us alone. You are not welcome among us. You have no sovereignty where we gather.We have no elected...
3
Energy Production and Consumption
Explore data on how energy production and use varies across the world.
4
Warren Buffett's bet against hedge funds at the Long Now Foundation (2008-17)
will go to Girls Incorporated of Omaha if Buffett wins, or Friends of Absolute Return for Kids, Inc if Protege Partners, LLC wins.
5
1. Trends in income and wealth inequality
Barely 10 years past the end of the Great Recession in 2009, the U.S. economy is doing well on several fronts. The labor market is on a job-creating streak that…
6
If the world adopted a plant-based diet, we would reduce global agricultural land use from 4 to 1 billion hectares
We could reduce the amount of land used for grazing and croplands used to grow animal feed.
7
8
Electricity Mix
Explore data on where our electricity comes from and how this is changing.
9
The price of lithium-ion batteries has declined by 97% in the last three decades
Batteries have become much cheaper, making energy storage far more affordable.
10
A majority of young adults in the U.S. live with their parents
The share of 18- to 29-year-olds living with their parents has become a majority since U.S. coronavirus cases began spreading early this year.
11
Ad Blocker Usage and Demographic Statistics in 2026
Interesting ad blockers user stats. Includes data on usage, demographics and more.
12
13
14
A Threshold Crossed
The 213-page report, “A Threshold Crossed: Israeli Authorities and the Crimes of Apartheid and Persecution,” examines Israel’s treatment of Palestinians. It presents the present-day reality of a single authority, the Israeli government, ruling primarily over the area between the Jordan River and Mediterranean Sea…
15
GitHub is fully available in Iran
All developers should be free to use GitHub, no matter where they live. At the same time, GitHub respects and abides by US law, which means government sanctions have limited our ability to provide developers in some countries the full range of GitHub services.
16
17
Which form of transport has the smallest carbon footprint?
How can individuals reduce their emissions from transport?
18
Where does the plastic in oceans come from?
Which countries and rivers emit the most plastic to the ocean? What does this mean for solutions to tackle plastic pollution?
19
Surgical masks reduce Covid-19 spread, large-scale Stanford study shows
Researchers found that surgical masks impede the spread of COVID-19 and that just a few, low-cost interventions increase mask-wearing compliance.
20
Energy Mix
Explore global data on where our energy comes from, and how this is changing.
21
Software Freedom Conservancy files GPL lawsuit against Vizio
The Software Freedom Conservancy provides a non-profit home and services to Free, Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS) projects.
22
Wrong Again: 50 Years of Failed Eco-pocalyptic Predictions
Modern doomsayers have been predicting climate and environmental disaster since the 1960s. They continue to do so today. None of the apocalyptic predictions with due dates as of today have come true. What follows is a collection of notably wild predictions from notable people in government and science.
23
Is soy a key driver of deforestation?
The world loses 5 million hectares of forest each year. What activities are driving this?
24
Sector by sector: where do global greenhouse gas emissions come from?
Globally, we emit around 50 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases yearly. Where do these emissions come from? We take a look, sector-by-sector.
25
Mirror, Mirror 2021: Reflecting Poorly
The United States trails far behind other high-income countries on measures of health care affordability, administrative efficiency, equity, and outcomes.
26
Understanding how Facebook disappeared from the internet
Today at 1651 UTC, we opened an internal incident entitled "Facebook DNS lookup returning SERVFAIL" because we were worried that something was wrong with our DNS resolver 1.1.1.1. But as we were about to post on our public status page we realized something else more serious was going on.
27
New study suggests today’s SUVs are more lethal to pedestrians than cars
SUVs, which make up an increasingly large share of the vehicle fleet, are more likely to kill pedestrians than cars. Fresh designs haven't changed that.
28
Deforestation and Forest Loss
Explore long-term changes in deforestation and deforestation rates across the world today.
29
Long-term survey reveals Chinese government satisfaction
Ash Center research team unveils findings from long-term public opinion survey.
30
Debunking False Accusations Against Richard Stallman
Explains and debunks the most broadcast accusations against Richard Stallman, providing evidence of outright fabrication, exaggeration, or deceit.