“The Big Map of Who Lived When” plots the lifespans of historical figures — from Eminem all the way back to Genghis Khan.
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The late philosopher suggested adding a couple of “Occam’s heuristics” to your critical thinking toolbox.
Japanese thought can’t be easily characterized by just a few books — but this essential guide is a great place to start.
From Einstein to Twain, Garson O’Toole investigates the truth behind your favorite — and often misattributed — quotes.
Tardigrades can completely dehydrate and later rehydrate themselves, a survival trick that scientists are harnessing to preserve medicines in hot temperatures.
The role of the Devil’s advocate was to argue against the beatification of mystics. Contrary to popular belief, they did not wear Prada.
Quantum mechanics + consciousness: There is nothing better than mixing two great mysteries to produce an even bigger one.
Dennis Klatt developed trailblazing text-to-speech systems before losing his own voice to cancer.
The ten greatest ideas in science form the bedrock of modern biology, chemistry, and physics. Everyone should be familiar with them.
All the latest titles from the experts at MIT.
From psychology to neuroscience, what we believe is not nearly as relevant as why we do.
Trying to figure out the meaning of life? Here are a few thoughts on the subject from some very famous American philosophers.
Who are the new black atheists and what is behind their recent growth?
The U.S. State Department’s “Countries of Concern” include North Korea, Myanmar, and more. But how close is America itself to earning a place on the list?
A handful of noble families own large tracts of the British capital – and have done so for centuries
On the map, the changing fortunes of French baby boys’ names look like battles in a weird, unreported war.
What secrets did Shakespeare take to his grave 400 years ago? Are the plays the thing to unlock the mysteries of literature’s king?
Charles Darwin probably wouldn’t like what his name now means. He called any “Darwinian” human, having no trace of team loyalty, “an unnatural monster.”
Technomorphic ideas can alter the rules of our thinking about our thinking — and also show that simple rules can escape physics-like predictability.
To what degree are you allowed the privacy to grieve the loss of a family member? Christos Catsouras found out in October 2006. His 18-year-old daughter, Nikki, died after slamming […]
The computer scientists and ranking enthusiasts Steven Skiena and Charles Ward used Google’s Page-Rank algorithm to determine the most significant people of all time.
When William Shakespeare’s friends and fellow actors and authors published his collected plays in 1623, 7 years after the Bard shuffled off this mortal coil, that book, now known as […]
When people use plastic to pay for food, they make more impulse-based purchases, like ice cream, donuts and chips, compared to those who pay with cash, as I wrote here […]
Christopher Hitchens, Demystifier Extraordinaire.
Revealed today at the Frankfurt Book Fair: The Beagle, a small, AAA-battery-driven device that is expected to sell for less than $13 when offered through mobile carriers.
For the third year running, here’s a very personal, very subjective, “I can’t read everything, so I probably left out something, so mention it in the comments, OK?” list of […]
While flipping through Modern Furniture: 150 Years of Design, I couldn’t help but stop and smile at seeing the same monobloc chair sitting on my backyard deck sitting there on […]
Richard Dawkins, the most famous “atheist” on the planet, has argued “the existence of God is a scientific hypothesis like any other.”