Demanding appropriate levels of skepticism and scrutiny isn’t cruelty, but rather demonstrates scientific integrity and intellectual honesty. Every few months, a novel headline will fly across the world, claiming to […]
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It’s not a gambit. It’s not fraud. It’s not an opinion. And it’s not biased like you think it is. Most of us, when we think about what science is, default […]
And what might we learn as we collect new, never-before-seen data? If you took one of history’s top scientists from 100 years ago and dropped them into today’s world, what […]
A single lifetime is more than enough to take you to the limits of the Universe. Right now, there are only three things limiting how far our spacecrafts can take […]
She’s not a scientist, an expert, or even an adult. But she’s got one good lesson to teach us all. Like most people on Earth, Greta Thunberg is not a climate […]
Scientific surprises are often how science advances. But more often than not, they’re just bad science. When you’re a scientist, getting an unexpected result can be a double-edged sword. The best […]
It’s true that we have a thermodynamic arrow of time, and entropy always increases. But that can’t explain what we perceive. One of the enormous conceptual ideas that came along […]
As soon as you start thinking about energy and gravity, you’ll realize the need to go beyond it. When it comes to a science like physics, theoretical expectations must always be […]
Elite organizations tend to get conspiracy theorists going.
BICEP2 scientist Brian Keating’s new book is honest and insightful, but just as notable for what it fails to recognize. Imagine what it’s like to be a scientist working on […]
Earthquake? Nuclear explosion? Fission or fusion? We know, even if world leaders lie. “North Korea has taught a great lesson to all the countries in the world, especially the rogue countries […]
Einstein’s first great revolution happened way back in 1905. It still puzzles many amateurs and professionals alike even today. “Each ray of light moves in the coordinate system ‘at rest’ with […]
And can we even agree on the definition of ‘nothingness’? “Alone, I often fall down into nothingness. I must push my foot stealthily lest I should fall off the edge […]
A live-blog event of a fabulous public lecture given by Katie Freese on the unseen components in our Universe. “If you take everything we know… it only adds up to […]
Hawking’s greatest achievement is also the greatest source of misunderstanding. “Maybe that is our mistake: maybe there are no particle positions and velocities, but only waves. It is just that […]
I scored an exclusive interview with Dave Reitze, the executive director of LIGO. Take a trip inside his Universe. “When I was in high school, I was certain that being […]
There were two periods of exponential expansion in the Universe: one today and one long ago. Are they related? “What is wild cannot be bought or sold, borrowed or copied. […]
No matter how great your expertise, new discoveries await for the curious. “There is no end to education. It is not that you read a book, pass an examination, and […]
If String Theory has nothing to do with reality, what are our options? “I just think too many nice things have happened in string theory for it to be all […]
If our “standard candles” aren’t so standard, is dark energy still real? “Some say the world will end in fire,Some say in ice.From what I’ve tasted of desireI hold with […]
This International Women’s Day, celebrate Henrietta Leavitt, who took us beyond the stars and into the galaxies. “Her will tells nearly all. She left an estate worth $314.91, mostly in […]
If everything began with a Big Bang and is expanding, is there a center? “I want to stand as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out […]
New Zealand has granted residency to the first climate change refugees, a family from Tuvalu. Assuming current trends continue, rising sea levels could submerge island nations such as Tuvalu and Kiribati in the next 30 to 50 years.
Which ideas are likely, which ones are speculative, and which ones are pure fiction? “Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think […]
General relativity sure does make some counterintuitive predictions. “They say the universe is expanding. That should help with the traffic.”–Steven Wright Each week on Ask Ethan, I take a dive […]
There are many reasons and good approaches, but this advice applies to everyone. “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”-Maya Angelou Each one of us […]
It’s the most fantastic idea ever bandied about: that there are an infinite number of Universes identical to our own out there, and that everything that could have possibly happened […]
The future of humanity depends on it. “If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach […]
Americans have always disagreed, about a lot. Somehow though, we’ve managed to get along with each other while we do. Why, then, has disagreeing become so nasty, so fierce, […]
Why would so many people take time off from their smart phones to watch the Transit of Venus through a telescope? According to Bill Nye, it is our human desire to explore. If we ever lose that desire, we're not going to move forward as a species.