If one had to plot human social development over the past ten thousand years or so on a graph, one would notice something very interesting: the line remains more or less straight for thousands of years, indicating very slow progress and then, suddenly, it bends...

The Digital Age, the Second Machine Age, the Fourth Industrial Revolution – whatever you want to call it, there’s no denying the fact that technology has been the thrust behind the forward momentum that has led humanity to explore ever more innovative and imaginative...

From spacey neon colours to synth-laden soundtracks, the aesthetic of the 1980s left an indelible mark on human culture, and nostalgia for the era is evident in contemporary media. However, the decade of Oxford shirts, scrunchies and leg warmers also gave us some of...

Do you still remember the 90s? Besides being the golden age of TV sitcoms and daytime talk shows, this era gave us arguably the most important innovation of the 20th century, namely the Internet, leading to the democratisation of information on a scale not seen since...

Leonardo da Vinci once said “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”. As the quintessential Renaissance man, da Vinci was a true polymath, knowledgeable and educated in a wide variety of fields from painting and sculpting to engineering and architecture. Very few...

There’s no denying it anymore. Jack Frost has officially ended his extended stay in the north and has announced his arrival on our shores with a few decidedly chilly mornings and evenings, though he’s so far left the days pleasantly mild. Pretty soon, we’ll be trading...

Take a moment to think about the last piece of technology that you acquired. It could be a smart TV, a mobile phone or a fitness wearable if you’re in the habit of doing regular exercise. What do all of these devices have in common? Well, for one thing, chances are...

Long before YouTubers were making so-called “tier lists” on everything from League of Legends champions to their favourite movie snacks, an American psychologist by the name of Abraham Maslow posited a theory of motivation that placed human needs in a “hierarchy” in...

There are a staggering – scratch that, mind-melting – 100 billion planets in the galactic neighbourhood known as the Milky Way and, despite many years of searching and an equally mind-melting amount of money and resources spent trying to find life beyond our own,...

You’ve been given the cold shoulder by manufacturers and service providers before. We get it. How does the saying go? Once bitten, twice shy. It’s natural to be a little apprehensive about parting with your hard-earned money not knowing if the person or business who...

When it comes to things that we as South Africans find inconvenient, load shedding is like the Thanos, the final boss of frustration. It’s the main antagonist in our story, and we know that its defeat will bring about a positive conclusion, but there’s always an...

When you buy a new appliance, tool or piece of equipment, the first thing you’ll consider is probably its utility; in other words what it does and how it can help you solve a particular problem that you have. However, if it’s something the whole family is likely to...

Nowadays, it’s just not enough for a business to rely solely on what features its products offer. When you choose a certain brand over others, you want the full experience of that brand, which includes a certain level of trust in that brand’s reputation. It makes a...

In the words of Albert Einstein, “the only knowledge is experience”. Just think about your favourite veteran sport star, or a seasoned musician like Hugh Masekela or Eric Clapton, or even a well-known personality in the culinary arts such as Gordon Ramsay. What do all...