What separates the greatest achievers from the rest of us?
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In some ways the United States and France are unusually similar nations—still enchanted with their 18th century revolutions, eager to export their ideals (via pamphlets, speeches, language schools, paratroopers, whatever […]
Without question, it’s the desire to “know” that drives scientific inquiry. But as scientists at the forefront of physics or biology will tell you, the more we learn, the more simplistic earlier frameworks seem and the more complex the puzzles become.
Why do we still watch plays by Euripides, born some 2,500 years ago, or Shakespeare, who is nearly 450 years old? Writer orthodoxy says it’s because the fundamental rules for […]
After enjoying ratings as high as 80 percent in the mid-1990s, the Supreme Court today has the support of only 44 percent of Americans according to a New York Times-CBS News […]
Over the past few years as I’ve thought about al-Qaeda, Yemen and US policy I have returned time and time again to what I have termed “the Ghalib al-Zayadi problem.” […]
“Philosopher” is one of those job descriptions in America that brings inevitable jokes about unemployability. Carlin Romano’s new book, America the Philosophical, aims at transforming the Rodney Dangerfield of academic […]
Younger Americans, raised on YouTube and social media, might have missed the significance of the twentieth anniversary of the verdict stemming from the Rodney King incident. Mr. King was, of […]
— Guest post by Tina Cipara, George Mason University graduate student. “For the first time in history, the people of the world can see each other and want to protect […]
Thankfully, there is a kind of socially-beneficial narcissism. After all, following the rules is a good thing, and you follow the rules better than anyone else, don’t you, you special person!
Small groups of people have better ideas and get more done. Making sure meetings are populated only by people who have something to contribute is essential to good business.
Putting your adult needs first will help preserve your physical and mental longevity for those you care about most. Parents should be more attentive to how they feel and where they feel it.
Companies should go out of their way to hire new mothers because they are organized, they multitask, they have zero time to screw around and improve the culture of a workplace.
Myanmar has been pretty prominent in headlines around the world this past week for two reasons. The first is the recent trip to Thailand made by Nobel Peace Laureate Aung […]
This year’s Pritzker Prize–the Nobel of the architecture world–has gone to a Chinese architect who delights in re-using material from failed government housing projects.
What is the Big Idea? Human beings have biological clocks that are set to the path of the sun. But our modern lives disrupt this synchronization of internal and social […]
For the first time since Google appeared on the scene in 1998, search engines are undergoing a fundamental change by learning to operate more like the human brain.
NASA released this video of the late Ray Bradbury reading a wonderful short poem entitled “If Only We Had Taller Been,” which Bradbury wrote on the occasion of the historic Mariner […]
I’m a bit busy this week, since I’m at Netroots Nation until Sunday. But I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the major fundraising drive that’s just kicked off: the […]
A California company has developed new ‘microfluidics’ technology in which fluid sacs rise up like buttons from a flat touchscreen, then seemingly disappear on a user’s command.
A few days ago, Ramesh Ponnuru made an interesting case for a massive U.S. tax break for childrearing—not a piddly deduction, but a honking big $5,000-per-kid credit. His reasoning (to […]
Larry Arnhart, the leading Darwinian conservative, wonders whether I’ve converted to his faith, doubtless due to his efforts at sharing the good, evolutionary news. Larry is, of course, not an […]
Jad Abumrad loves collecting sounds and playing with high-tech gadgetry, but he deploys his geekery in service of a higher calling – creating in Radiolab a hybrid medium that is a natural evolution of the ancient art of storytelling.
The size of the Internet just expanded exponentially on June 6, a date also known as World IPv6 Launch Day. Internet Service Providers and leading Internet companies like Facebook and Google […]
The good news is that you don’t have to wait for government action to take control of your own health. The bad news is it’s not always easy. You have to go cold turkey.
The recently announced partnership of Udacity with Pearson VUE testing centers has caused quite a stir in Higher Education community. I have read opinions that range from sell-out to a […]
By combining magnetic levitation train technology with vacuum-sealed tunnels, trains could reach speeds of 2,500 miles per hour, reducing trans-Atlantic journeys to just one hour.
A coming age of neural implants and super-prosthetics should easily augment the natural capacities of the human body. The benefits will go to the disabled first, making them super-human.
A novel mixture of hardware and software allows individuals to carry all their portable financial information in a specially designed phone case protected by fingerprinting technology.
The aftermath of Wisconsin’s recall election seems like a perfect time to reflect on the role and desirability of labor unions. I’ve arguedelsewhere that public- and private-sector unions are quite […]