After successfully employing Islamic law in the U.S. court system, a writer at Guernica realizes that Sharia and feminism aren’t always mutually exclusive.
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“How do we use the technologies of computation, statistics and networking to shed light—without killing the magic?” Jaron Lanier asks if digital classrooms are good for education.
How does the brain figure out what it doesn’t know? Scientists say introspection, the process of the brain cross-examining itself, requires more gray matter and more neural connections.
“The Obama administration has been tardy to tackle economic misery, but looks set to lose to a GOP that would do even less.” Who will tackle America’s poverty problem?
A small dose of Prozac has been found effective at treating the physical and mental pains of premenstrual syndrome and could be widely available within two years, The Independent reports.
“In 1960 a spirited animal lover with no scientific training set up camp to observe chimpanzees. Today Jane Goodall’s name is synonymous with the protection of the species.”
“The World Trade Organization has found that much of the $22 billion benefit Boeing enjoyed from tax breaks and defence and research contracts was also an illegal subsidy.”
“Immersive theatre is billed as a thrilling and intimate alternative to traditional drama, but it smacks of triviality and low-level fascism.” Prospect magazine on the steadiest theater trend.
“In regions scarred by intractable poverty, innovative programs to build new sources of wealth through these four businesses are providing lessons for entrepreneurs.”
“The next X PRIZE competition, the Google Lunar X PRIZE, is offering $60 million to land a robotic rover on the moon and use it to complete certain objectives.”
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen,” reads Hebrews 11:1 in the King James Bible. Attempts to give faith tangible form here […]
In last month’s Harper’s, Gary Greenberg writes in “The War on Happiness: Goodbye Freud, Hello Positive Thinking,” that, increasingly and unavoidably, the concept of enlightenment via sitting in a room […]
As usual, California is the battlefront for energy and climate change issues. Oil refiners Valero and Tesoro have spent $5.5 million dollars in support of California’s Proposition 23, which would […]
How is it that we’re able to focus on a distant conversation while ignoring the person who is speaking right in front of us? Tony Zador, a neuroscientist at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, breaks down the brain mechanisms that allow us to have selective auditory attention.
There’s no such thing as a verbatim, facsimile memory, says USC neuroscientist Antonio Damasio. When we reconstruct events in our minds, we are pulling together set sequences of specific details stored in different parts of the brain.
Random acts of kindness have been shown to increase everything from self-esteem to happiness level. At the same time, the paradox of choice is known to increase our cognitive load […]
Delusions of control seem built into the human mind, even when they aren’t comforting. More than a few people, for example, would prefer to think hurricanes are punishments for abortions […]
“Positive psychology is a movement in social psychology which attempts to change the way that we think about humans,” explains positive psychology expert Shawn Achor. “Instead of focusing merely on […]
Politico reports that senior Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee are trying to sell lobbyists for the energy and telecom industries on the idea that the Republicans will […]
What future is there for journalism? Or is there a future in journalism for many of the bright young things who will have read a recent article titled ‘The Hamster […]
72% of women say they’ve faked an orgasm in their current relationship, while 55% of men claim they know when the woman they are with is faking.
If you watch The Daily Show, you wouldn’t be surprised to learn that host Jon Stewart’s father was a physicist. The popular program, along with its partner in satire The […]
“Science validates the notion that people with a strong social network live longer. It’s not yet clear if the benefits apply to those who turn to the Internet for friendship.”
“Just a few small changes in the social behaviors of even solitary animals may set in motion an evolutionary cascade ending in massive, globe-spanning migrations.”
The Boston Globe says more must be done to ferret out conflicts of interest in peer-reviewed journals, which are a key way doctors keep informed of cutting-edge research.
“Online video radically changes the reach and speed of the improvement cycle. Things like dance, snowboarding and TED talks keep getting better, and faster…”
“Gaga’s entire persona seems to question what’s expected of women.” ‘Lady’ with suggestions of gentility, sweetness…’Gaga’ with intimations of infantility, madness…
A mobile-web advertising company is facing a proposed class action over its use of an HTML5 ‘trick’ to track iPhone and iPad users across a number of websites.
“For sound mental health, the fundamental question is not whether a thought is negative or positive, but whether it is accurate.”
The German government is banking on help from imams educated at German universities to improve the integration and “success” of its young Muslims.