Our BIG THINKING friend, Robert de Neufville, wonders why more Republicans aren’t voting in the primaries. His wondering, of course, is hopeful. It must mean either that the ferocity of the […]
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Thus did the Economistcharacterize the dynamic between China and India, arguing that how they “manage their own relationship will determine whether similar mistakes to those that scarred the 20th century […]
This space recently offered some thoughts about “The Ethics of Climate Change Denial”. The basic case was that denial which arises out of the innate subconscious urge we all […]
Iran’s nuclear development may sound dangerous, but so are the U.S. imposed trade sanctions against Iran.
What’s the Big Idea? As the Assistant Secretary of Education in the first Bush administration, Educational historian Diane Ravitch became known for her push to establish national standards for K-12 […]
According to the online community that has formed in opposition to the legislation, it amounts to online censorship. But is the controversy really about free speech, or is it just another showdown between rich and powerful Hollywood, and even richer and more powerful Silicon Valley? How will SOPA and PIPA affect everyone?
The Wall Street Journal has a generally positive view of Santorum’s pro-growth policies. But here’s a tough criticism: Most disappointing is the Pennsylvanian’s proposal to triple the tax credit for […]
It’s a Monday afternoon in Washington, DC. Do you know what your spouse is doing? I hate to break it to you, but 30 of them are sitting in their […]
Above all else, Kahneman’s legacy will be a precise, empirical reminder of our own fallibility, and a roadmap of the cognitive traps to which we’re most vulnerable.
Casablanca, kissing, the giddy exchange of bodily fluids, the pressing of the flesh—It’s all so 20th century. Today there doesn’t need to be sex in your sex anymore. The “virtual,” […]
Dana Cowin, Editor in Chief of Food and Wine magazine and a passionate, longtime observer of food-related behavior, argues that food preferences are a powerful index to compatibility.
Could Rush Limbaugh finally be on his way to joining Glenn Beck in right wing wacko purgatory? I don’t know how to tell Rush Limbaugh this, but after his three […]
If you ever find yourself in a bar that takes art history trivia bets, here’s a sure winner: Who is the only artist to be named by TIME Magazine as […]
As I’ve often mentioned, religion has a set of cognitive tricks – unconscious ideas, prejudices and habits of thought it tries to instill in believers – which shield their minds […]
It’s no secret that promotion rates in most industries have slowed during the extended recession. The good news, at least in the United States, is that with the current glimmers of economic […]
In the seething cesspool of Caravaggio’s Rome, violence was a form of advertisement; it let people know you were, so to speak, the wrong guy to f#@k with. Internationally renowned art critic Andrew Graham-Dixon revisits Caravaggio’s life as a kind of model for career success in tough times.
Today marks the start of the annual conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, one of the world’s great scientific meetings. Many of the panels held in Vancouver […]
What’s the Big Idea? As Newt Gingrich appears to have peaked, and now plunged in the polls, the latest candidate to enter the GOP Presidential speed-dating game is Ron Paul. […]
Charles Murray wrote a piece on economic inequality and cultural factors that contribute to it in the Wall Street Journal. He vividly describes inequalities between two groups of white Americans, […]
Charles Murray wrote a piece on economic inequality and cultural factors that contribute to it in the Wall Street Journal. He vividly describes inequalities between two groups of white Americans, […]
Last time, in the introductory post, I suggested that evidence is more important than outrage. Outrage indicates how outraged individuals want the world to be; evidence tells everyone how the […]
Tomorrow, February 21, will mark the last day of President Ali Abdullah Salih’s nearly 34 years in power, at least officially. In his place, Yemenis will head to the polls […]
Just as Mitt Romney appears to be wrapping up the Republican nomination for the presidency, congressional Republicans are taking steps to set up their own political framework for the 2012 […]
After watching a Republican presidential debate, I often look for something factual to read as an antidote to all of the distortions and lies the candidates spew about the Obama […]
It’s easy to see why we’re stuck in such a cynical rut these days. However, a new book argues the accelerating rate of technological change will “put an end to what ails us” within 25 years with “noticeable change possible within the next decade.”
President Obama has unveiled his proposed 10-year budget today, and while there’s nothing particularly shocking included for those who have been following the ongoing debate between the White House and […]
The “slippery slope” is a popular argument in the same-sex marriage debate. Where do you draw the line, opponents argue? If you start allowing marriage between people of the same […]
I always say, there is nothing sexier than a man with a lot of credit card debt. Let the other ladies have the husbands who have made smart financial decisions, […]
Just like laboratory animals that receive positive reinforcement, humans want to repeat successful behavior. But the world is a complex place and causation is not as simple as we would wish.
What is the Big Idea? Here’s a thought: the Middle East is one of the most resource- and culturally rich, geo-strategic and, alas, unstable pieces of ‘real estate’ on earth. […]