Guest Thinkers — August 16, 2010

NH is Lost: Is There Still Hope for Hillary?

Obama’s Iowa momentum has proven too much for Hillary Clinton’s campaign team to fight off. With multiple polls in New Hampshire showing a double digit lead for Obama, it looks like there is no chance that Clinton will be the Comeback Kid in Tuesday’s primary. Depending on turn out, even a third place finish behind John Edwards is possible.

The relevant question now is whether Hillary has any hope of winning the nomination? The key indicator to watch post-New Hampshire will be Clinton’s national poll numbers. If her once 25 point lead in national surveys falls to close to a dead heat or worse, expect major donor and VIP defections. The media will amplify her woes with a postmortem narrative on how her campaign has spiraled out of control.

Starts With A Bang

How the cosmic microwave background proves the Big Bang

In the 20th century, many options abounded as to our cosmic origins. Today, only the Big Bang survives, thanks to this critical evidence.

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Hard Science

Gaiasignatures: A new way to search for alien life

"I hope we take a mindset where we are willing to look for weird life in weird places."

Neuropsych

Rhyme as reason: The cognitive quirk that makes bad advice seem wise

Beer before wine and you'll feel fine? Well, it depends.

Starts With A Bang

The better way to measure cosmic time

For some reason, when we talk about the age of stars, galaxies, and the Universe, we use "years" to measure time. Can we do better?

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Hard Science

Why a James Webb Space Telescope mystery doesn’t (necessarily) break cosmology

The JWST's observations of well-developed galaxies early in universal history may coincide with accepted astronomical theory after all.

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