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The scattered toponyms that delight us by their unvarnished expression of downheartedness, defeat and despond.

There is no sense whatsoever that we are on the same page here, working toward some roughly agreed upon vision of a better future.

With Hubble, Spitzer and Chandra combined, we get a view like no other. “But I see it differently now. There has to be a middle. Without it, nothing can truly […]

Exciting new technologies with major health care implications are emerging. Singularity University’s Daniel Kraft demonstrates some of these new innovations and explains how exponential technology will democratize health care for consumers.

They can still take a joke, though.

Finding direct links between Buddhism and Western philosophy is a difficult task, but they do play out in strange loops.

If all the random motions of the molecules inside aligned, how far and fast would it go? “Millions saw the apple fall, but Newton was the one who asked why.”-Bernard […]

Or did you not even realize you were being watched.

Running to music that is in sync with your pace can make you run faster, for longer, and now, there’s an app for that.

Instead of watching a horror movie this season, what if you could be in one?

In his dissent in Obergefell v. Hodges, the ruling that made same-sex marriage a constitutional right throughout the United States, Justice Clarence Thomas rejected the majority’s rationale that gays and […]

The latest in a string of lurid allegations about initiation ceremonies in elite British universities has shocked the British public. What causes otherwise intelligent individuals to engage in unspeakable acts?

The ill-mannered use of mobile phones in public is infuriating. Here’s what you can do about it.

Bring on the sugar, we say. Is there any way that can change?

Alas science does not operate outside the human realm, but as an extension of our natural capabilities — the good as well as the bad ones.

An influx of humans into any environment can mean trouble for the local animal population.

If you took all the energy out of something, you’d reach absolute zero, the coldest temperature of all. But is there a highest temperature? “Nothing is lost… Everything is transformed.” […]

There’s a big, big difference between a “scientific” theory and all other types. It should make you more confident, not less. One of the most important things any expert hoping to […]

Why look for rare, precious metals on Earth when you can find them here? “Well, this is a thing unheard of. An Elf would go underground, where a Dwarf dare […]

I can see it in your eyes. I can see it in your smile. 

The first step is recognition. 

Is looking for radio transmissions in space like claiming the lack of smoke signals means there are no modern humans? “[W]hat Fermi immediately realized was that the aliens have had […]

An Applicant’s Guide To NASA Astronaut Selection This guest post was written by Brian Shiro: NOAA geophysicist, NASA researcher, and co-founder of Astronauts for Hire. “I wasn’t destined to be […]

Experts say hovering parents set our kids up for failure — but why is that, and what can we do to change?

Envy hurts, and it can devolve into nastiness and even violence, but envy can also encourage us to aspire to our better or our best selves at work, school or at home.

97% of scientists agree that humans are causing global warming, yet belief in climate change continues to depend on political beliefs above all else. 

Technological advancements will eventually make scarcity a non-issue. But will the people driving these developments allow everyone to enjoy it?

Would there be only blackness past the event horizon? Or something more? They say ‘A flat ocean is an ocean of trouble. And an ocean of waves… can also be […]

We know that Einstein’s general relativity is superior to Newton’s gravity, but where did Newton go wrong? “To me there has never been a higher source of earthly honor or […]

No, Stephen J. Dubner doesn’t actually endorse bank robbery. What he does endorse is amusing deconstructions of cultural acts or items — robbing banks, for instance — and analyzing data to stumble upon intriguing observations.