Guest Thinkers — August 19, 2010

Compassion for the Cruel

Mikhail Lyubansky doesn’t condone crime but feels compassion for those who rape or kill. He says being kind to the cruel does not imply cruelty for those deserving kindness.

bigthinkeditor

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Mikhail Lyubansky doesn’t condone vicious crime but feels compassion for its perpetrators. “I believe that no one is born wanting to rape and kill (psychopathy may be a special case) and the fact that some person has done so — perhaps multiple times — means that his/her life has been filled with so much pain that rape/murder was preferable to just carrying on. I don’t condone his/her choices and I don’t want to do anything to compromise the safety of others, but I feel compassion for the person who experienced such pain.” The death penalty is about retribution, not safety, he says.

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Starts With A Bang

The Steady-State Universe: A viable alternative to the Big Bang?

For nearly 60 years, the hot Big Bang has been accepted as the best story of our cosmic origin. Could the Steady-State theory be possible?

Pixelated red human figure on a black grid background with blue symmetrical curves and white geometric shapes adjacent.

Hard Science

The Arecibo Message fifty years later

In November 1974, astronomers used the radio telescope at Puerto Rico’s Arecibo Observatory to send a hello to the universe.

Bronze statue of a bearded man embodying stoicism, riding a horse with one arm extended forward, set against a black background.

Thinking

3 clues that Stoicism is a religion in disguise

All religions have three traits: metaphysical commitments, ethical guidance, and daily rituals or practices. So does Stoicism.

An open book with abstract designs: the left page displays a horizontal row of color blocks, while the right page features a hand touching a network of connected circles, highlighting strong connections.

Business

Why our “weak-tie” connections are actually super-strong

Sure, “who you know” matters — but your best contacts will be the ones you don’t know very well.

Starts With A Bang

Could dark matter be the same thing as dark energy?

Two parts of our Universe that seem to be unavoidable are dark matter and dark energy. Could they really be two aspects of the same thing?

Up Next

Politics & Current Affairs

Latin America Reshaping Global Order

Europe and North America may underestimate or trivialise its significance, but the emergence of an independent Latin America is helping reshape the global order.