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A recent Annenberg survey reveals what we already know: Americans, by and large, are ignorant of their country’s constitutional framework. The predictable calls for tougher high school civics standards ignore the fact that people don’t have much of a reason to care about the government.

Today I want to share the most powerful and useful model of behavior that I’ve ever encountered: The Fogg Behavior Model. There have been few other ideas that have impacted […]

Everyone’s come across a real-life Michael Scott at some point. Bosses who try way too hard to keep their workers happy run a risk of ultimately alienating employees and losing their respect. The important thing to remember is to not smother anyone in your efforts.

One day while walking through Rutgers’ Quad Two on the way to the gym, I noticed my friend Shelton across the lawn. As he bounced along the sidewalk—he was in […]

The retired congressman discusses his long history as a supporter of marijuana legalization.

An Inspector General report has determined that poor leadership and a lacking organizational structure contributed to lackluster performance by NASA’s Near Earth Object Program.

Facebook’s algorithm is designed to push parenting articles on people who declare to be moms or dads. Many of the pieces targeting these audiences are clickbaity poppycock.

“Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.”  – Maya Angelou, from Wouldn’t Take Nothing for My Journey Now (1993)  

Framing influences our choices every day.  Why are we willing to pay $10 for a glass of wine at a fancy restaurant when we could buy a bottle of the […]

How to destroy an Alderaan-sized planet. “What’s that star?It’s the Death Star.What does it do?It does Death. It does Death, buddy. Get out of my way!” –Eddie Izzard It’s one […]

If our key political freedom is choosing for ourselves, what do we need to do that in a mature fashion? How much longer can kidults kid themselves about life’s uncool, unavoidable constraints?

As Scots go to the polls to determine their future, one oracle has already decreed that independence is inevitable: Englishman Terry O’Neil discovered this piece of chicken in his KFC meal, and was struck by its resemblance to the contours of Britain — minus Scotland. 

Our current age calls for more and more snap decisions that don’t allow for a proper and pragmatic assessment. The only way to deal with this is to adapt by training yourself to make better snap decisions.

The last decade or so has seen a massive shift in the way we watch television. Flatscreens have effectively vanquished the old cathode ray tube (CRT) TVs, as well as […]

You have two choices when raising your kids in the internet age: shield them from the online bad or actively prepare them to be good e-citizens. While the former is easier and feels more safe, the latter will better serve the child through adulthood.

According to Duolingo founder Luis von Ahn, 800 million poor people around the world are trying to learn English to better themselves and improve their economic conditions. But most language lessons are expensive. His solution: Duolingo, a free app that runs on smartphones and computers.

Over half of Americans are unmarried, a huge change since 1979 when the percentage of single people was in the 30s. This means shifts in the ways people live and operate within society.

The Foldscope is an ingenious creation from Stanford’s PrakashLab. It’s a microscope that can be assembled by folding a single printed sheet of paper, a process similar to making origami, and one that costs less than a dollar. 

Despite what your typical drunk college student would tell you, the 5th of May is not Mexican Independence Day. In fact, Cinco de Mayo isn’t even a national public holiday, though […]

When it comes to the overall happiness of a marriage, it matters more that the wife is happy with the relationship than the husband, according to a recent paper published in the Journal of Marriage and Family. 

Yes, there is a map for that.

Being poor results in sleeping less for a variety of reasons. One major factor is public transportation and the fact that conforming to bus schedules can sometimes take hours out of one’s sleep schedule each day.

What does equality mean when it comes to birth control?

Consciousness is what it’s like and how it feels to be you. Thus, consciousness exists in a realm of irreducible subjectivity with which science isn’t always comfortable.

Not many art galleries would let you inside wearing nothing but a swimsuit. Visiting the Molinere Underwater Sculpture Garden almost necessitates it. The work of a group of artists headlined […]

At the bottom of the teapot in Sagittarius, the ancient giants burn for your pleasure. Image credit: REU program / NOAO / AURA / NSF. “I told my father that […]

Wolfgang Tillmans’ “playback room” will provide a superior listening experience while treating pop music with the same regard as other pieces of art. 

According to a new study, people living in more liberal countries are happier than people in more conservative countries; but paradoxically, people who consider themselves to be liberal are less happy than people who think of themselves as conservative, regardless of where they live. Why?

It’s easy to forget that college athletes who sustain concussions are often kept out of the classroom as well as off the field. The effects of any sort of traumatic brain injury can pose critical and lasting risks to a student’s academic career.

An animal becomes so much more the instant you first love them. Image credit: me, of my first dog, Cordelia, back in 2008. “Dogs are our link to paradise. They […]