Note: I had one more Egypt dispatch in my notes to post, but as I left the country and bounced around my new (temporary) home events on the ground have […]
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AOL, a formerly apolitical Web portal, now has an editorial director with a distinctly progressive point of view. And yet, in this Big Think interview, Arianna Huffington says she never […]
The art collecting world remains as much about collecting name cache as it does about collecting art. Becoming a trusted dealer and banking on that brand name allows you to […]
And in a real brief update (I can’t spend all day doing this!), the BBC has a report with video of an explosive event at Kizimen in Kamchatka (top left). […]
For those of you interested in all the coming and going with volcanoes and earthquakes in Iceland, if you’re not following Jon Frimann’s blog, well, for shame. He usually has […]
New drugs for ASD patients may be on the horizon, but “early, intense” behavioral treatment remains “the very best intervention for autism.”
Will Huffington tilt AOL towards her own distinctive brand of uber progressive political proselytizing? What long-term incentive does she have to successfully rebuild AOL’s content business?
A new study of 900 kids reports a correlation between the number of hours a woman works outside the home and the BMI* of her children. “For a third grader […]
Bob Duggan, BIG THINK’s artistic blogger, worries that nobody is thinking about the sesquicentennial of the Civil War. I agree that there’s not enough political reflection about that war. Political […]
Pieces of volcano news on this snowy Ohio Monday morning (and now that the Superbowl is done, only one week until the real sports begin again): Japan: Eruptions reader and […]
Germans have a reputation for punctuality. Is that why they have so many ways of telling the same time? If it’s 10:15 in the germanosphere (1), you’ll have at least […]
Global economic forces are creating ever-greater disparities of wealth within societies. It is the great policy challenge of our time, says Harvard economics professor Kenneth Rogoff.
The U.S. now incarcerates more people than any other country, largely as a result of soaring drug convictions, with a disproportionate number of African-American and Hispanic prisoners.
People in romantic relationships are often tempted to block their partners from seeing attractive alternatives, but a new study suggests that this strategy may backfire.
New fish farms out at sea, and cleaner operations along the shore, could provide the world with a rich supply of much needed protein while using more sustainable methods.
Foreign investors see Africa as a breadbasket. Done well, investment could not only help with African hunger but create food security for the rest of the world.
Opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei says he has no doubt that the transition in Egypt will be accompanied by a transition in the entire Middle East, from Tunisia to Yemen.
The best predictor of a country’s future economic health is not the magnitude but the diversity of its production capacity, says M.I.T. economist César Hidalgo.
The Kentucky senator’s proposal would first roll back almost all federal spending to 2008 levels, then initiate reductions at various levels nearly across the board.
Over the last 30,000 years, the human brain has decreased about 10% in size. But our brains are not just getting smaller—they are also getting more efficient.
Over a long period of time, democratic and quasi-democratic nations change profoundly, but the change is gradual. Dictatorial regimes change in fits and starts, says Judge Richard Posner.
Will anyone run against Barack Obama? With the 2012 election still almost two years away, it’s obviously still early. But at this point in the previous election cycle—with Bush a […]
The link between Super Bowls and heart failure is usually written in guacamole and beer. But we are a social species, whose feelings about group identity have a direct impact […]
To beat procrastination, you need to increase your motivation to do each task on which you are tempted to procrastinate. Don’t try to eliminate procrastination—find a balance.
For 15 million years, a vast icebound lake has been sealed deep beneath Antarctica’s frozen crust, possibly hiding prehistoric or other unknown life. Now, the lake is about to be unsealed.
For some, a list of 1001 books you “must” read is no mere suggestion. Jeremy Dauber explains his addiction to lists and why he thinks they are a cultural boon.
Two new books argue that the good book isn’t the squeaky-clean endorsement of no-sex-until-marriage that conservatives say it is. Go forth and spread the good news.
What are the characteristics of a good courtship gift? Mating is predominantly facilitated by an extravagant gift which is costly to the male but intrinsically worthless to the female.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced the unemployment rate for January had fallen, but how could it decline so much if businesses added so few workers?
Contrary to the “cyberutopians,” who consider the Internet a powerful tool of political emancipation, the Internet more often than not constricts or even abolishes freedom.