With the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy topping bestseller lists worldwide, it is now fair to argue that the best and worst novelists in the English language share a last […]
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There are many ways to look at Europe other than as a collection of nation-states. Plenty of other imagined communities lurk beneath the surface of the standard political map. Check […]
Upon hearing of the passing last week of journalist and art critic Robert Hughes (shown above), I felt like had lost a beloved teacher. For people who read Hughes’ books […]
The WIN-Gallup International network of polling firms has released a new poll titled Global Index of Religion and Atheism 2012, and there’s a lot of good news in it for […]
I was flipping through a beach coupon book, and came across this ad: “Ladies are you looking for an exciting Girls Night Out?” The business hosts all-female parties that “teach […]
How a doctor informs patients of possible negative side effects partially determines how the patient will experience those effects. So should doctors tone down the warnings?
A novel study out of MIT is the first of its kind to accurately describe the behavior of certain classes of neurons using simple, yet subtle, mathematical formulas, aiding in the fight against neurological disease.
The classic neurological challenge to free will is that the brain is active before an individual realizes he or she is acting, but a new analysis gives free will a fresh leg to stand on.
A new psychological study establishes a causal link between living abroad and generating innovative solutions to vexing problems. Employers, take note. Time abroad counts, a lot.
A team of French researchers have examined how the brain works when a listener grasps an ironic comment, discovering that essential regions of the brain help us to interpret language.
There’s a lot of news this week: • Two examples of humanism in action: Charles Feeney, a billionaire philanthropist, plans to give away all his remaining money within a few […]
The Ryan pick may have been more bold than, say, the boring Portman or Pawlenty. But Romney had reached the obvious conclusion that the cautious approach isn’t enough. He wasn’t […]
My Twitter timeline started buzzing Friday evening with the news that Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan would be the GOP vice presidential nominee. The only reason I can think of for […]
Since the creation of the insanity defense, experts have been debating whether or not a criminal can get away with faking insanity.
Butter on your popcorn could give you Alzheimer’s according to new studies.
According to researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, living in the moment is not possible.
According to a study, a man’s preference in body type is influenced by his environment.
Drunk driving, not being attentive, road rage and sleep deprivation are the most common causes of a car accident. Now reports say, being obese can put a person at risk of having a car accident.
An Internet connection has only now materialized in my new Houston pad, so perhaps you’ll forgive me if I kvetch about last week’s David Brooks column. In the wake of the […]
According to the tagline on his blog, Dalton Caldwell does things the hard way. He’s certainly proven that with his latest effort, choosing to forgo traditional investment for his new […]
According to Henry Rollins, education is the great leveler of the playing field, which is why the punk rocker says that elites are fearful of it. What would happen if […]
New research demonstrates that letting your mind wander can make you a more creative person and effective decision-maker…when done correctly and consciously.
A simplified color-coding system represents the latest attempt to affect consumers’ food choices. However, it’s unlikely that such a system will be accepted beyond individual institutions or city governments.
One of the hallmarks of a good story is the element of surprise. A good story leads us down a path of expectations, slowly building tension until an unexpected plot […]
The “fiscal cliff” is so named because the change it describes will not be gradual, but steep and dramatic. Howard Dean argues that pain is necessary in order to restore fiscal sanity.
Despite the steady increase in women’s Olympics participation over the past few decades, some believe the time has come to push for true gender equality in terms of medal opportunities.
There are many people in the world who do not worry about not having access to the Internet or being able to use a computer on a day to day […]
What’s the Big Idea? Isaac Newton defined the optical spectrum, but it was Goethe who first understood that color is more than just a physical problem. In Theory of Colours (1840), the German […]
I’m always impressed at the low-tech nature of today’s most brazen hacking attacks and abuses of identity. It’s inevitable that someone will lie to get at your information, then leverage […]
The Olympics gives spectators permission to say things about athletes’ bodies that they would never say in polite company.