Search Results

The “great convergence” that began with the emergence of the Asian Tigers, accelerated with explosive growth in China and India, and continues today with numerous other countries spanning the globe—all within the past five decades or so—then it was far from preordained.  

Eastern Europe shares common positive characteristics that not only distinguish it from Western Europe, but also from most of the world. During the twentieth century, few regions on the planet […]

It’s commonplace to imagine the people of the period we know now as the High Renaissance, centered in Italy from the 1490s to the 1520s, looking at the works of […]

Batman is wrong to be nonlethal in the case of the Joker. This shows we can, in some cases, morally kill someone against his will. I am something of a […]

At the end of a long and weary day, with the last drops of twilight bleeding out of the darkening midsummer sky, I turned my key in the lock of […]

by Daphne Muller At the center of the debate surrounding the legality of George Zimmerman’s shooting of Trayvon Martin is the question of whether or not Zimmerman uttered a racial […]

The Being Human Conference, which took place at San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts this weekend, was designed to explore the science of human experience. The speakers ranged from neuroscientists, […]

By Chris Arkenberg “The intelligence of the city is on the streets.“ – Manu Fernandez Amidst the swirling maelstrom of technological progress so often heralded as the imminent salvation to […]

Margaret Moore, co-founder and co-director of the Institute of Coaching at McLean Hospital/ Harvard Medical School, answers all our burning questions about how to sift through the chaos of the digital age and organize our lives and minds. (Hint: it starts with the brain.)

You should treat your life as if it were a start-up business.

Thanks to federal restrictions that hamstring research,” a new paper argues, “opportunities to further study marijuana’s risks and benefits and develop new pharmacotherapies are squandered.”

Kim Jong-un’s youth means he’s likely to keep his head down for a few years while North Korea is run by elder statesmen. Stability is expected to ensue, which China will welcome.  

In our tough economic times, some are drawn to the stability purchasing a franchise can offer. But they are not immune to difficulties. Here’s how some franchises are getting on.

One of the biggest problems with lists is that with lists come labels. A list of African-American artists or women artists already sets them up as different (and perhaps less, […]

What is the Big Idea? It’s late May and the year is 1989. Among the chaos in Tiananmen Square is 20-year-old David Tian, who is one of millions bravely chanting […]

Thanks to its resilient economy, Germany is now steering the European Union. In Angela Merkel, the continent has a leader that must choose between regrettable options or face peril.

The Christian right, both Catholics and evangelicals, wants to outlaw birth control. This isn’t a new revelation, but in the last few weeks, they’ve been saying it so often and […]

This essay was previously published on AlterNet. The death of Christopher Hitchens in December sparked an outpouring of tributes. Most of them praised his best qualities: his ferocious courage, his […]

My previous post quoted Peter Hitchens, the conservative Christian brother of the late Christopher Hitchens, to criticize some of his views on divine command morality. To my surprise, it drew […]

In each generation, our most brilliant thinkers lay the foundations on which lesser lights will build a new, bloated bureaucracy of the mind. Can experimental philosopher Jonathon Keats help us break the cycle? 

If you know the name of artist Chris Burden, you probably think pain: shooting, electrocution, and even crucifixion. Although Burden ended his agonizing exploits over 35 years ago, those performance […]

After our last go-round, Peter Hitchens has posted a further reply. I encourage you to read it in full before reading my response, which follows below: Once again, Peter Hitchens […]

“As a man is,” wrote William Blake, “so he sees. As the eye is formed, such are its powers.” No doubt my tumultuous childhood is a part of the reason […]

Love is an epiphany. Maybe that’s the sweetest romantic dream of all. By the big bang theory of mate selection, our soul mate is out there somewhere, and they’re going […]

Throughout this spring and summer, while Yemen’s protesters have continued their call for President Salih to step down, myself and several other Yemen observers have repeatedly warned the US not […]

Remember back in June when President Salih narrowly escaped an assassination attempt and flew to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment?  A number of people predicted that was the end.  Analysts […]

While the tech talk on Google’s acquisition of Motorola is all about patents, small business owner Gene Marks sees a nightmare of vertical integration ahead, forcing users to take sides. 

The state of Georgia just killed Troy Davis. Which is to say, a number of individual human beings acting under the imagined authority of the state of Georgia killed Troy […]

Days after dramatically returning from Saudi Arabia, President Ali Abdullah Salih did what he does in these situations: he gave a speech. The international media will likely lead with the […]

If we heard anything this winter from Eruptions readers in California like Diane, it was that it was snowy in the mountains. Very snowy. We’re talking 50-100% more than usual […]