Guest Thinkers — November 6, 2009

The Commoditization of Female Sex

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Recreational intercourse isn’t anything new. But wouldn’t you think that today’s women are more in touch with their wants and desires in the bedroom? Gender expert Elizabeth Debold begs to differ.

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

The Present

Microplastic overload: Is cutting production the only realistic way to curb pollution?

On November 25, U.N. members will meet in South Korea to cap off a series of meetings aiming to reduce global plastic pollution.

An older man sits on a chair with his finger raised. Behind him are a tangled line and a spiral, both against a green backdrop.

Emotional Intelligence

Daniel Goleman: Why emotional intelligence may be the number one indicator of organizational success

Today’s technology presents unique challenges for social awareness and relationship management at work, making emotional intelligence all the more critical.

Silhouette of a person against a blue background, overlaid with white node and line networks.

Thinking

Mechanized minds: AI’s hidden impact on human thought

While we’re busy wondering whether machines will ever become conscious, we rarely stop to ask: What happens to us?

Under the night sky, where the Milky Way galaxy glows above a silhouette of trees and a mountain, stars scatter across the deep blue and purple expanse. It's an ideal backdrop for alien hunting, sparking curiosity about potential biosignatures hidden among those distant celestial wonders.

Hard Science

Doubts grow about the biosignature approach to alien-hunting

Recent controversies bode ill for the effort to detect life on other planets by analyzing the gases in their atmospheres.

Gloved hands holding a computer processor chip, viewed from an angled perspective against a black background.

The Future

AI is now designing chips for AI

AI software is rapidly accelerating chip design, potentially leveling up the speed of innovation across the economy.

Up Next

Guest Thinkers

United Nations Barcelona Climate Change Talks: Final Day

The top United Nations authority on climate change said that a binding treaty aimed at reducing the world’s carbon emissions is no longer a possible outcome of the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference.