About The Bifurcated Needle

The Bifurcated Needle is an independent publication launched in March 2025 by Steven Jenkins. If you subscribe today, you'll get full access to the website as well as email newsletters about new content when it's available. Your subscription makes this site possible, and allows The Bifurcated Needle to continue to exist. Thank you!

The title refers to an ingenious device that represents to me the most elegant machine ever invented. Costing a fraction of a cent to manufacture, requiring neither power nor cooling, indefinitely reusable, it played an essential role in the eradication of smallpox by delivering literally hundreds of millions of vaccine doses in the hands of volunteers worldwide.

A beautiful thing put to noble purpose. Every human alive today (literally) owes a debt of gratitude to Benjamin Rubin, its creator.

My personal reasons for this site are simple: I was born in 1956 and have had in some ways a privileged life, during which I have encountered many beautiful ideas and inspiring people. I want to share what I've learned while I can.

There will be some ideas in these notes that I don't admire, and people I wish had made other choices. I'll name people I admire; the rest will remain nameless.

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