All Articles

Who better to comment on President Obama’s recent decision to declare an end to the United States’ prolonged conflict in Iraq than General Wesley Clark? In his Big Think interview, […]

As neuroimaging labs use scanners to reveal more and more details about how the brain works, their findings are increasingly affecting the legal system.

No one knows monsters better than Guillermo del Toro. The director of “Pan’s Labyrinth” and the “Hellboy” franchise is renowned for creating fantastical beasts like the terrifying Pale Man, with […]

There’s been a lot of great writing about the conservative backlash known as the tea party lately. Matt Taibbi has an astute take on racism and the tea party movement […]

A quickie post, but there were a few things too good to pass up: Twenty Indonesian volcanoes “ready to erupt”: Ralph at the Volcanism Blog has a great new post […]

Time for a new mystery volcano photo. The last one was a little harder, but Boris Behncke got it on his first try as Negit Island in Mono Lake, California […]

“Brazil goes to the polls on Sunday to choose a new president. After two terms, Lula will leave behind a booming economy and renewed international confidence.”

“Patient outcomes may not be as inextricably linked to doctors as many pay-for-performance programs presume.” An M.D. writes on incentive-based physician pay.

“Anyone with a video camera and some talent has the chance to reach millions; many budding producers want to talk about brands—whether or not brands want them to.”

“American society has become increasingly harsh, where the richest Americans buy their way to political power, and the poor are abandoned to their fate.”

“Last week, the FCC adopted a regulation that could dramatically improve our wireless devices. The rule offered a much-improved slice of the radio space for unlicensed use.”

“Casino-resort developer Steve Wynn is betting big on the art market this fall. Mr. Wynn has enlisted Christie’s to auction off a Roy Lichtenstein painting for at least $40 million.”

“The role of religion seems increasingly to be filled by environmentalism. It has become ‘the religion of choice for urban atheists,’ according to Michael Crichton, the late author.”

“Female sexual dysfunction—which is claimed to affect up to two thirds of women—is a disorder invented by the pharmaceutical industry to build global markets for drugs to treat it.”

“Collective intelligence exists among groups of people who cooperate well; such intelligence extends beyond the cognitive abilities of the groups’ individual members.”

“Gliese 581g would be the first Earth-like planet found orbiting in a star’s habitable zone. The new plant is located in a region where temperatures could sustain life and liquid water.”

One cannot put it much better than this: Literature is a felicity, but it is not a festival. It is a proposal, or an infinity of proposals, for an emendation, […]

Three House Republicans want to eliminate energy efficiency standards for light bulbs. Reps. Joe Barton (R-TX), Michael Burgess (R-TX), and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) have introduced the Better Use of Light […]

Try #3 on this post (let’s not get into it): Taal and Mayon rumble: PHIVOLCS reports that two of the more hazardous volcanoes in the Philippines are experiencing increased seismicity: […]

The U.S. Census Bureau has released a report this week which finds that the marriage rate, for people between the ages of 25 and 34, is down once again.

Philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah sparked an internet meme with his op/ed entitled “What Will Future Generations Condemn Us For“? The challenge is to predict which widely accepted practices or institutions […]

“I don’t like failure,” says Robert Sutton, professor of organizational behavior at Stanford University. “It’s a terrible thing. I wish it wasn’t necessary, but I can’t figure out any other […]

“People are going to look at you and they’re going to ask you know a very interesting question, ‘Why should I follow you?’,” says Jeffrey Pfeffer, professor of organizational behavior […]

A sentiment registering somewhere between disgust and loathing rose up in my chest yesterday when I read that Delaware Tea Party candidate Christine O’Donnell had claimed on the site LinkedIn […]

Yesterday, Howard University hosted a panel discussion on “The Poetry of Science” featuring Neil deGrasse Tyson and Richard Dawkins. Among subjects, Tyson and Dawkins discussed the prospects for life on […]

“Rahm Emanuel’s expected departure is more than just your standard White House shakeup: it costs Obama the man with the political grit and muscle to make his dreams come true.”

“Experiments on monkeys suggest that the animals can recognise and react to their own image in a mirror. They altered their posture to look at their own genitals.”

“A family of four in the U.S. have put themselves up for sale offering to advertise companies for $2 a day.” The Telegraph reports on the self-named ‘Billboard-family’.

“My sense is that the mama-grizzly phenomenon is part of populist conservatism’s obsession with American authenticity.” The Economist on why mama-grizzly has nothing to do with policy.

“Time and opportunities have created a new breed of so-called ‘feminist’ artists. Intelligent Life’s Jessica Machado talks to a few de facto practitioners.”