The computer may never be so programmed; but the fact that it could is an essential fact about it, without which it would not qualify as a computer. The counterfactuals that matter to science and physics, so far neglected, are facts about what could or could not be made to happen to physical syst...

Hawking tackles the age-old question of God's existence, arguing that the laws of physics themselves provide a sufficient explanation for the universe's creation and operation, rendering a divine creator unnecessary.

Rosa Parks, an active member of the civil rights movement, is best known for her act of refusal to give up her bus seat and comply with racists segregation policies. Her defiance helped to inspire the Montgomery bus boycott and propelled the civil rights movement.

Her w...