The U.S. law that makes thinking a crime

Atomic Bomb Test during Operation Crossroads, by Army-Navy Task Force One (1946), Public Domain

Imagine a law so broad it could make your dreams illegal. That's the essence of the "born secret" doctrine, a part of U.S. law that automatically classifies all information about nuclear weapons.

Created by the Atomic Energy Act of 1946, this rule says any nucl…