Neal Stephenson writes his novels the way people did in 1850. The science-fiction author of Snow Crash, Cryptonomicon, and ...

Only Slate Plus members can gift Slate stories. Become a member to share 10 free articles a month. This is One Thing, a column with tips on how to live. Growing up in Saudi Arabia, I learned cursive ...

Walk into any college lecture hall, and you’ll see a sea of laptops clicking away, accompanied by the occasional frantic scribble of a ballpoint. But every now and then, you’ll spot a glint of metal ...