We’ve just landed our first-ever probe on the surface of a comet. Here’s what it means, and what we’ll learn. “I must trust that the little bit of love that […]
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Peeking out through the galaxy’s dust, this ancient relic has plenty to offer if you know where to look! “When someone demands blind obedience, you’d be a fool not to peek.”–Jim […]
Seven out-of-this world tastes for the seven other planets in our Solar System. “I’ve learned what ‘classical’ means. It means something that sings and dances through sheer joy of existence.” –Gustav […]
Nudges, “choice architecture,” social marketing and other non-rational approaches to government are a pretty significant development. After all, these policies replace explicit arguments (“you should get more exercise for these […]
The astronomers at NASA certainly enjoy their jobs, especially when they can give distant galaxies funny names. Today NASA released this photo of “the Hamburger Galaxy.” It must have been […]
Changing minds often isn’t like changing light bulbs. Many bright ideas don’t fit your sockets. Wonks particularly need to grasp that incorporating new data or arguments can be closer to […]
Conscience nocturnalism is a new wrinkle in the evolutionary development of mankind, a traditionally diurnal species.
A green beam shooting out of a red moon looks like a still from a sci-fi film. This image was captured by NASA on April 15th in the early morning […]
Critics usually pose the greatest literary mystery of them all—the authorship question surrounding the works of William Shakespeare—as a “whodunit,” but it’s more of a “howdunit.” How could the small-town […]
Sam Harris: The Self is an Illusion Sam Harris describes the properties of consciousness and how mindfulness practices of all stripes can be used to transcend one’s ego. Ray Kurzweil: […]
Here’s some inspiration for your next overnight flight. NASA released this photograph taken by an intrepid passenger on a 747. This is not your ordinary #airplane Instagram shot. NASA explains: […]
And the unheralded astronomer who brought its secrets to light. “In a word, in the eyes of a giant, to whom our Suns were what our atoms are to us, the […]
Last year America witnessed some of the most cringe-inducing political advertising campaigns of all time, in which the Koch Brothers attempted to convince young Americans to boycott Obamacare. The videos […]
Just 1,400 light-years away, among all the dust of a crowded star forming region, is the Flame Nebula. NASA released this image on Saturday, and explains on its site how the […]
There’s a supermassive black hole at the center of almost all of them, but who came first? “One has to be an optimist; one has to hope that somewhere there’ll be […]
The simple truths revealed by the sky throughout the night give us a perspective unlike any other. “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you […]
From 30,000 feet above sea level, why aren’t the stars visible from an airplane? “Don’t get involved in partial problems, but always take flight to where there is a free […]
NEW YORK – Stories are most believable when they reaffirm our prior beliefs and assumptions. If not, we tend to find them implausible. A case in point is Eduardo Galeano’s […]
Vivek Wadhwa boasts quite the résumé. He is a fellow at the Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford University, director of research at the Center for Entrepreneurship and Research Commercialization […]
The terrible injustice of Jerrie Cobb, who deserved to be the first female astronaut, yet never made it to space at all. Image credit: © 2011 501(c)(3) Non Profit National […]
No, this is not a still from David Lynch’s Dune. But it could be! The Cat’s Eye Nebula, or NGC 6543, is one of the better known planetary nebulae for […]
If spiral galaxies have a preferred direction, it just might be. “Since the beginning of physics, symmetry considerations have provided us with an extremely powerful and useful tool in our […]
This appears to be a dazzling blanket made of diamonds. The Messier 5 globular star cluster has long impressed astronomers. From NASA: “Beautiful Nebula discovered between the Balance [Libra] & […]
Have you spotted a fire rainbow before? They make the clouds appear to shine in different colors due to the ice crystals of distant cirrus clouds catching the sun’s light. […]
The Nantucket Project sees art + commerce as “the new convergence” that defines our world today.
The galaxy cluster “El Gordo” has a funny name, but it certainly fits its description. From NASA: It is bigger than a bread box. In fact, it is much bigger […]
Meet Luxo, a little robot that creates “sculptors” of bright colored lights by flinging around its arm. It is the Jackson Pollock of robots, but instead of using the gloss […]
Camping this summer? Keep your eye on the sky, because you may catch sight of a light show. From NASA: From a camp on the northern shores of the Great […]
Even if the BICEP2 results turn out not to be from gravitational waves left over from inflation. “For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of […]
The Sun has been quite dramatic lately. This image was captured only two weeks ago by NASA. It shows the Sun’s surface rippling with tumultuous activity, including the sunspots seen […]