An angelic lady from the pre-raphaelite school of femmes fatales is stretched across a map of Europe. Her raised hands clutch a sketch of the late-19th-century European rail network at two of […]
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Brazil’s rapid economic development–it is now the 6th largest economy in the world–is likely to come at the expense of the Amazon and its indigenous people, fauna and forests.
By taking advantage of the low refractive index of low-density aligned nanotubes, University of Michigan researchers have made 3-D objects appear as nothing more than a flat, black sheet.
Here’s some miscellany to accompany your morning coffee: • 70 major U.S. corporations and civic organizations call for DOMA to be struck down in a friend-of-the-court brief supporting a federal […]
The rare woods used to make the world’s best guitars may be running short. Companies are experimenting with innovative ways to use their ever-dwindling supplies of prized timber.
For some time now, cognitive scientists have been sure that the mind is not made for logical reasoning. That ability is just a lucky side effect of the work brains […]
Modern art takes itself much too seriously. Even the Pop artists often took the fun out of whatever they touched—a reverse Midas touch rendering even comedy gold into dross. Andy […]
Amid widely-publicized corporate scandals, global environmental threats, and powerful advances in biotechnology, says ethicist Paul Root Wolpe, big companies find themselves tromping through an ethical minefield, and desperately in need of guidance.
What is that “Presidential” look? Consciously or subconsciously, American voters ask themselves that question every four years on the way to the ballot box. Is it the Mount Rushmore-ready chin, […]
Beyond wind and solar, a variety of carbon-free energy sources—biofuels, geothermal and advanced nuclear energy—are seen as possible ways of meeting rising global demand.
Neuroimaging has revealed the neural basis of the intense imagery induced by the “spirit vine”, a hallucinogenic brew long used by rain forest shamans to provoke mystical visions.
The urge to predict is understandable. We forecast the future, and continue to do so even after repeated mistakes, because of the deep psychological need for a sense of control, to keep ourselves safe.
To avoid the German air force bombing Paris, the French built a fake version of their capital
A new study in the journal Carbon Management says architects should consider more wooden structures to reduce carbon emissions and create valuable carbon storehouses.
Singularity University has spawned a group of start-ups with the ambitious goal of impacting one billion people in ten years. Big Think contributor Michael Raymond del Castillo profiles this group of entrepreneurs who are looking to change the world.
To most journalists, a good story is defined in large measure by how much attention it will get. A story that makes page one, or leads the newscast, is […]
As the times go, so goes Van Gogh. Toiling in relative obscurity during his life, known by fellow painters but not by the public at large, Vincent Van Gogh’s greatest […]
Signs often have an effect opposite to that intended. The problem is that to persuade people not to do something, you first have to raise the issue, increasing its salience in their minds.
It has been awhile since I’ve talked about the volcanoes of Colombia – they’ve had a fairly quiet year, but that doesn’t mean that nothing is going on. If you […]
The Italian Renaissance remains one of those amazing hinges of human history where civilization made a great leap that continues to be felt today. For German art historian Hans Belting, […]
In September, in a speech at the Corto e Fieno Film Festival in Italy, award-winning science and environmental filmmaker Larry Engel reflected on the attributes that make for a successful […]
More than 1,000 new species have been discovered in New Guinea in a 10-year span, according to a new report from the conservation organization World Wildlife Fund.
This is the first of a few guests posts that will come up while I’m out in the field in the Sierras. Today’s post is my a longtime friend of […]
Right now, mother nature seems to be assaulting 3 nuclear sites in the United States, one at Los Alamos and two in the state of Nebraska, all within the same […]
Researchers have developed the first memory prosthetic device—a neural implant that, in rats, restored lost brain function and improved short-term memory retention.
So one of the guys at Panera Bread this morning asked my view on the FLAT TAX or FAIR TAX or whatever. My reponse was that my objection to the […]
–Guest post by Jamie Schleser, American University doctoral student. For those that don’t spend their days toiling away in the often peculiar atmosphere of institutions of higher learning, the how […]
Right now, we are in an unprecedented situation where three of our nuclear sites are simultaneously in danger of floods and fire. So far, there is no immediate concern for […]
“Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world,” Percy Shelley wrote in 1821. Not surprisingly, this claim has earned some snickers from people who think of poets as barely able […]