When composer Van Stiefel realized that he wanted to somehow set the paintings of Andrew Wyeth to music, he searched for the words to marry to his expressions in sound. […]
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There are recognizable patterns of behavior and personality traits that we can look for to give us insight into Lance Armstrong’s reckless actions, so that this whole affair might be a so-called teachable moment.
So says no less an authority than the United Nations, which has declared this the International Year of Quinoa. Producing countries are experiencing both the pros and the cons of increased demand.
If there is a growing consensus that video games do not cause violence and can be used as valuable learning tools, there are also challenges ahead for an industry that is widely seen as a boys club.
The game is an example of a hot trend: The gamification of many aspects of life that used to be addressed by lectures, pamphlets, informational videos and the like.
Half of the city’s “coffee shops” have closed down and an estimated 400 people have been put out of work since a law restricting marijuana purchases to Dutch citizens took effect.
Over at Edge.org, its impresario John Brockman poses an annual question to his assemblage of scientists, scholars, writers and other insightful people. This year’s (suggested by George Dyson), was this: […]
The group Sexual Minorities Uganda is taking advantage of a 1789 law that “allows foreigners to sue Americans for civil damages for civil…damages for acts committed abroad.”
This year’s Kumbh Mela, a Hindu festival, is expected to draw between 30 and 60 million pilgrims to the Indian city of Allahabad. Teams from disparate Harvard schools will be there to take data.
When it comes to selling, nothing is more important than the power of certainty. After all, when potential customers or clients are uncertain, they hesitate. They don’t want to move […]
Currently the US is the only country using hydraulic fracturing on a large scale. However, many others have natural gas reserves, and some have begun experimenting with the controversial procedure.
Even if you’re not a royals watcher, you can’t avoid the saga of Will and Kate. Kate Middleton—wife of Prince William, current Duchess of Cambridge, possibly future Queen of England, […]
A bizarre ‘planisphere palindrome’ version of the Earth
Some worry that the new American standard for mental illness diagnostics, the DSM-5, actively seeks to pathologize normal human behavior, making sanity as unachievable as being a supermodel.
Evolutionary psychology has proven a powerful theory in explaining behavioral differences between men and women in terms of natural selection, but challenges to the idea have emerged.
A theory of mind called compartmentalization argues that the brain is much like an iPhone, loaded with a host of apps to meet different needs. Not all the apps cooperate, however.
In the middle of writing and reading about gun policy and morality, I was horrified to see responses to writer Sam Harris’ essay on gun control. For example, this one […]
What distinguishes human life from animal life is our ability to search for meaning. Differing from happiness, meaning implies transcending the self while happiness implies its satisfaction.
Certain cognitive biases that make us better at surviving harsh environmental conditions also cause us to make irrational decisions, from betting against the odds to rationalizing wrong decisions.
RIP Aaron Swartz, you will not be forgotten.
Earlier this week, I posted a petition asking the leaders of atheist and secular organizations to support feminism and measures to improve diversity and stop harassment. The petition went up […]
A team of scientists at Manchester University, UK, have created a microscope machine capable of building proteins similar to ones found naturally in the body’s many cells.
New York City’s public hospitals are in negotiations with the doctor’s union to tie a portion of doctors’ salaries to metrics such as patient readmittance rates and how quickly they are discharged.
When is a gaffe not a gaffe? Short answer: When it is said and done over, and over, and over. Take a certain wing of the Republican party, the wing […]
A group of economists seeking to better understand the American aversion to flu vaccines, and the subsequent outbreak of flu, have created a computer game to model patient behavior.
The world’s religions have long preached that fasting is good for the soul, and now modern science, which generally locates the soul in the mind, says fasting guards against mental disease.
The world could produce 60 to 100% more food by simply eliminating losses, while simultaneously freeing up land, energy and water resources for other use, says a new report from England.
Not only do they tell you to slow down — by means of changing colors — they can even communicate with your friends via a text message if you won’t pay attention.
A new study found that each group thinks the other has it better when it comes to level of financial strain, household expenses, and taxes.
There’s a pervasive notion that a monogamous relationship is the ideal. Certainly, that’s what most Americans have been hearing for as long as they can remember. A committed, loving relationship […]