John Thackara

John Thackara|Essays

Collapse of Civilization Tango

They say that the last days of Rome were culturally rich — and the same seems to be the case in our own times.

John Thackara|Essays

From Bankster HQ to Start-up Central in Iceland

The Start-Up Kids is a documentary about young entrepreneurs who have founded web and media startups in the US and Europe.

John Thackara|Essays

Can Thermal Perception Change Behavior?

A premise of Joseph Giacomin's new book Thermal is that global warming is hard to ignore when you view the world through thermal eyes.

John Thackara|Essays

Images de Pensée

Darwin, Freud, Descartes, Goethe, Klee, Beuys, Marinetti, Nabokov, among others, left behind these “images of thought.”

John Thackara|Essays

Work Faster, India!

“Work faster, get time for life.” I just got back from a short trip to India where this insane slogan adorned a poster at a bus stop. It pretty much sums up a febrile mood in Delhi where it was announced during my stay …

John Thackara|Essays

What Kind of Design Institutes for India?

An influential group of design thought-leaders has launched a campaign called VisionFirst that calls for a “rigorous co-creation process to bring clarity to the models of design education that India should seek.”

John Thackara|Interviews

Africa: Where Events Are King

John Thackara interviews Mugendi M’Rithaa.

John Thackara|Essays

Bangkok Cable Ways

One of the reasons we underestimate the sheer physical mass of our power and information networks is that they're hidden from view. But not in Bangkok.

John Thackara|Essays

UK Design Policy Becomes Multi-Scalar

An interesting rebound effect of public spending cuts in the UK is that the UK Design Council and CABE (Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment) are to merge.

John Thackara|Essays

Ultra Modern

I dislike the word “Glocal,” I also dislike the word “Creative,” now a new word has come along to bug me: “Sustainism.”

John Thackara|Essays

Renewable Energy: Salvation or Snake Oil?

Critique of The Energy Report published by the World Wildlife Fund, which asserts that the world's energy needs could be met by alternative sources.

John Thackara|Essays

If It’s Not the Destination and It’s Not the Journey...

A team at Rutgers University, uses ultrasonic sensors, GPS receivers and cellular networks to find empty parking spaces. While technically impressive, this is an absurdly over-complicated answer to the wrong question.