The Conversation

The long history, and short future, of the password

Written by Brian Lennon, Associate Professor of English and Comparative Literature; Director, Digital Culture and Media Initiative, Pennsylvania State University

An artist's depiction of the 'shibboleth incident.'Detail from art by H. de Blois, from The Bible and Its Story Taught by One Thousand Picture Lessons, vol. 3, edited by Charles F. Horne and Julius A. Bewer, 1908

In Western history, the concept of the password can be traced as far back as the so-called “shibboleth incident” in the 12th...

Why emojis –

Written by Florian Schaub, Assistant Professor of Information; Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Michigan

An alternate choice for unlocking a smartphone.Lydia Kraus et al., 'On the Use of Emojis in Mobile Authentication,' 2017., CC BY-ND

Would you rather unlock your smartphone with a plain four-digit PIN or with a smiley-face emoji? Would it be easier and more pleasant to remember “🐱💦🎆🎌,” for example, or...

Could a doodle replace your password?

Written by Janne Lindqvist, Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rutgers University

What if you could unlock your smartphone this way?Janne Lindqvist, CC BY-ND

Nearly 80 percent of Americans own a smartphone, and a growing proportion of them use smartphones for internet access, not just when they’re on the go. This leads to people storing considerable amounts of personal and private data on their mobile devices.

Often, there...

Trump's plan to dismantle national monuments comes with steep cultural and ecological costs

Written by Michelle Bryan, Professor of Law, The University of Montana

The Trump administration will review the status of The Bears Ears National Monument in Utah, one of the country's most significant cultural sites. Bureau of Land Management, CC BY

In the few days since President Trump issued his Executive Order on National Monuments, many legal scholars have questioned the legality of his actions under the...

Why Dodd-Frank – or its repeal – won't save us from the next crippling Wall Street crash

Written by Jena Martin, Professor of Law, West Virginia University

Republicans appear poised to roll back Wall Street regulations passed after the 2008 financial crisis. Democrats argue doing so would be a “monumental mistake.”

It’s been framed as a typical fight over regulation. Democrats want more to protect taxpayers and investors from the next crisis; Republicans want less because it stifles...

A 147-year-old dispute between church and state spills onto a school playground

Written by Frank S. Ravitch, Professor of Law & Walter H. Stowers Chair of Law and Religion, Michigan State University

Why do so many state constitutions have provisions precluding funding for religious schools? Phil Roeder, CC BY

The United States Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments in a case from Missouri that could have a significant impact on state funding of religious schools.

The case involved a church in Missouri, the Trinity Lutheran Church, that...

What was the protest group Students for a Democratic Society? Five questions answered

Written by Todd Gitlin, Professor of Journalism and Sociology, Columbia University

Students for a Democratic Society was the largest – and arguably most successful – student activist organization in U.S. history.S.Sgt. Albert R. Simpson, Department of Defense / via Wikimedia

Editor’s note: The 2016 election brought student activism back into the spotlight. No student activist organization in U.S. history has...

Inequality is getting worse, but fewer people than ever are aware of it

Written by Jonathan J.B. Mijs, Assistant Professorial Research Fellow at London School of Economics and Fellow in Sociology, Harvard University

A snapshot of inequality in South Africa. Johnny Miller / Unequal Scenes, CC BY-SA

Inequality in America is on the rise. Income gains since the 1980s have been concentrated at the top. The top 10 percent today take home 30 percent of all income, and control over three-quarters of all wealth. We have returned to the level of income inequality that...

Why America's public media can't do its job

Written by Christopher Chávez, Assistant Professor of Communications, University of Oregon

PBS headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.melanie.phung/flickr, CC BY-NC-ND

When the Trump administration released its proposed budget in March, it suggested eliminating federal funding for the Corporation of Public Broadcasting (CPB).

“Can we really continue to ask a coal miner in West Virginia or a single mom in Detroit to pay for these...

Blasphemy isn't just a problem in the Muslim world

Written by Steve Pinkerton, Lecturer in English, Case Western Reserve University

Stained glass window depicting a heretic in the Cathedral of Saint Rumbold in Mechelen, Belgium.Heretic image via www.shutterstock.com

Recent weeks have brought renewed attention to the problem of blasphemy in the Muslim world.

In March, Pakistan sought Facebook’s aid in government efforts to “remove and block” blasphemous content...