“How does religious ritual preserve humanity from chaos and entropy?” Yale professor of computer science David Gelernter says religious ceremony makes life beautiful.
All Articles
“As we get older we lose the ability to focus on isolated pieces of sensory information. This means adults perceive certain events far more accurately than children can—and vice versa.”
“Are We Heading for a Space Bubble? The supply of new spacecraft, launchers, and spaceports may soon exceed the demand.” Technology Review on the booming private space business.
In the White House, can a white conservative do more to restrain anti-Islamic bigotry than an African-American progressive? Writing on the anniversary of 9/11, a couple of writers Saturday argued […]
This rather sinister image is one of the biggest mysteries in the history of western cartography. Most often referred to simply as the Fool’s Cap Map of the World, it […]
As urban biking continues togrow, cyclist safety becomes a legitimate concern in today’s traffic-infested cities. Now, South Korean designer Lee Myung Su has a solution with SEIL Bag – a compact […]
50 years of widespread use of the pill may have changed the preferences of young women away from masculine-looking men to those with feminine features.
James Hansen, NASA climate scientist, has argued strongly against Cap and Trade legislation, promoted the need for a carbon tax, complained of muzzling by the Bush administration, and has even […]
First, I would like to thank all those who watched the Sci Fi Science debut and made it such a smashing success. I was overwhelmed by all the response. I […]
“I don’t care for bohemian culture. Innocent people are hurt by it,” says Richard Neel, eldest son of the painter Alice Neel in Andrew Neel’s documentary film, now available on […]
When you smell a ripe strawberry or your morning coffee, what you’re really smelling are hundreds of molecules, says fine fragrance perfumer Chistophe Laudamiel. But that doesn’t mean the brain […]
“For the most part, a lot of those early users were actually Steve and me with aliases. We had silly user names that we just generated in order to make […]
Squeezing a quick update on Sinabung between classes … here goes! With the ongoing volcanic crisis at Sinabung in Indonesia, the United States has pledged funds to help those who […]
The White House message machine went into over drive this weekend as President Obama in public remarks emphasized the need for national unity and tolerance of others, especially for Americans […]
Because whatever becomes of the allocation of electronic rights, the death of chain stores, or (even) the recurring flirtations of this novelist or that poet with risky new forms, we […]
JUST how committed is the new British Coalition Government to Human Rights – and in particular the much trampled human rights of the Chagossians who have spent the best part […]
“The tools used by the commercial industry to detect our thoughts and brain states are very different, and somewhat limited, compared to those used in the research lab.”
“While eating a varied and balanced diet is the best way to get the micronutrients the body requires, some essential vitamins are difficult to come into contact with naturally.”
“Mark Zuckerberg founded Facebook in his college dorm room six years ago. Five hundred million people have joined since.” The New Yorker profiles the young Internet entrepreneur.
“New antenna made of carbon nanotubes could make photovoltaic cells more efficient by concentrating solar energy.” MIT News on where renewable energy and nanotechnology intersect.
“The world’s humanitarian aid organizations may do more harm than good, argues Linda Polman.” The writer has a new book on the unintended consequences of humanitarian aid.
“It is a very American thing, that we don’t believe too much in obeying the rules. We are not a nation of Hall Monitors; we are a nation that tortures Hall Monitors. We are people who push the rules.”
“Reach distils what made Halo such a trailblazer in the first place: the combat is extraordinarily good fun. … Halo remembers that, above all else, the art of battle is what counts the most.”
“These days, the energy market is about as complicated as it gets, with a range of issues buffeting stock prices.” The Wall Street Journal breaks down the energy market by sector.
“The real utility of the term ‘Islamism’ is that it can be applied to any person, position, value, or policy that one wishes to smear as vaguely fascist or fundamentalist.”
“America is in the worst spasm of bigotry and paranoia since the McCarthy era. But the irony is that persecuting Muslims at home actually endangers American security abroad.”
Compact fluorescent light bulbs are a fantastic energy-efficient alternative to standard incandescent ones, but let’s face it – they’re rather unfortunate-looking. Until now. From British human-centric gadget company Hulger and designer […]
One self important minister who tends to LESS THAN FIFTY parishioners had national newscasters intoning sober pronouncements about his opinions on the Quran all this week? Are we serious? Is […]
A quick bit of news on a sunny Ohio Sunday: The Alaska Volcano Observatory twitter account mentioned that a ~7.5 km / 25,000 foot ash plume has been detected from […]
People like to use categories for people (race, religion, nation, class, gender) as explanations for others’ behavior (for example, I was late because there was traffic and I have a […]