Guest Thinkers — August 16, 2010

Analysis of the Shake Up at Scientific American

Over at Columbia Journalism Review, Curtis Brainard has an excellent round-up and analysis of what might be afoot at Scientific American as it merges editorial direction with Nature Publishing Group and as longtime editor John Rennie steps down.

Starts With A Bang

The big idea of Grand Unified Theories of physics

If the electromagnetic and weak forces unify to make the electroweak force, maybe, at higher energies, something even grander happens?

Microscopic image of a small electronic component with clear details of its structure and connections against a gray background.

The Future

Making microbots smart

What would it take to create a truly intelligent microbot, one that can operate independently?

A philosophers' interpretation of a man's joyous life depicted through the painting of him holding a globe.

Thinking

4 philosophers on how to live a happy life

From Taoism to hedonism, philosophers have devised all sorts of ways to live your best life.

A striking view of a blue planet, similar to earth, seen from space with part of its surface illuminated by sunlight against a starry background.

13.8

A new theory for how oceans form on other worlds

Explore how the study of exoplanets is transforming our understanding of ocean formation.

A collage of various international banknotes featuring portraits of historical figures.

The Learning Curve

How scientific thinking can fix collaboration in a mixed-up world

A physicist, a psychologist, and a philosopher walk into a bar and discuss a framework for thinking better in the 21st century.

Up Next

Guest Thinkers

Tonight at NAS: Communicating about Evolution

For DC readers, as part of a spring lecture series on evolution and medicine sponsored by NIH and the National Academies, I will be speaking tonight at 7pm at the […]