Communications of the ACM
The opinion archive provides access to past opinion stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
April 2015
From ACM Opinion
Sight nseen (the Hows and Whys of Invisibility)
It is possible, according to many sources, to become invisible, but you must be patient, methodical, and willing to eat almost anything.
From ACM Opinion
Watch the First Artificial Gravity Experiment
Gravity, as the old joke goes, sucks.
From ACM Opinion
Why AI Is Humanity's Last Hope
Alex Garland has one thought when it comes to the AI revolution: Bring it on.
From ACM Opinion
Don't Let Statistics Ruin Baseball
One of the charms of baseball, which started up again this week, is the exhilarating departure it offers from the noisy bustle of daily life.
From ACM Opinion
Here's Google's Secret to Hiring the Best People
"You never get a second chance to make a first impression" was the tagline for a Head & Shoulders shampoo ad campaign in the 1980s. It unfortunately encapsulates how most interviews work.
From ACM Opinion
AI Doomsayer Says His Ideas Are Catching On
Philosopher Nick Bostrom says major tech companies are listening to his warnings about artificial intelligence.
From ACM Opinion
Hbo's John Oliver Hits Snowden Hard on Nsa Leaks
Edward Snowden and an unlikely interviewer squared-off on HBO over the leaks that exposed the National Security Agency's extensive surveillance programs.
From ACM Opinion
Karen, an App That Knows You All Too Well
Thinking about a life coach but not ready to commit to the real thing?
From ACM Opinion
The Mobile Election: How Smartphones Will Change the 2016 Presidential Race
Four years ago today, President Barack Obama was gearing up to announce his reelection campaign, Mitt Romney was leading Newt Gingrich in the polls, and roughly one out of every three American adults owned a smartphone.
From ACM Opinion
Even Computers Are nsure About Their March Madness Brackets
By this point of March Madness, with three games left in the men's NCAA basketball tournament, most brackets are busted.
From ACM Careers
Why Shades of Asperger's Syndrome Are the Secret to Building a Great Tech Company
The individuals who have founded some of the most success tech companies are decidedly weird.
From ACM Opinion
Is 'making a Game Out of Learning' Bad For Learning?
In MIT's Education Arcade, classic game consoles line the office corridor, rafters are strung with holiday lights, and inflatable, stuffed and papier-maché creatures lurk around every corner.
From ACM Opinion
ndersea Cables Transport 99 Percent of International Data
Things at the bottom of the sea: pale fish, manganese nodules, plastic trash and cables. Lots of cables.
From ACM Opinion
Toolkits For the Mind
When the Japanese computer scientist Yukihiro Matsumoto decided to create Ruby, a programming language that has helped build Twitter, Hulu, and much of the modern Web, he was chasing an idea from a 1966 science fiction novelBabel…
From ACM Opinion
A New Way to Navigate the Streets of Google Maps
Today we're introducing our most ambitious update yet: PAC-Maps.
From ACM Opinion
Modern Explorers Seek a Place in a Gps World
Eric Larsen seemed ill at ease in his tuxedo.
From Communications of the ACM
Raw Networking
Relevance and repeatability.
From Communications of the ACM
An Interview with Juris Hartmanis
A pioneer in the field of computational complexity theory reflects on his career.
From Communications of the ACM
Toward More Secure Software
Two proposals intended to reduce flaws in software use two very different approaches for software security.
From Communications of the ACM
Competing in Emerging Markets
Considering the many different paths and unprecedented opportunities for companies exploring emerging markets.
From Communications of the ACM
Who Builds a House Without Drawing Blueprints?
Finding a better solution by thinking about the problem and its solution, rather than just thinking about the code.