Elena Kagan’s confirmation should hold about as much suspense as the third presidential debate between Barack Obama and John McCain back in the fall of 2008. As in absolutely none. […]
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Last month, I had the honor of greeting my colleague, Stephen Hawking, famed cosmologist, in New York, where he was being honored by the World Science Festival for all his scientific […]
In the disputed presidential election in 2000, it was hard to say just who won the vote in the electoral college. But it was clear Al Gore won the national […]
Journalist Jere Van Dyk stopped by the Big Think offices today to recount his gripping tale of survival after being captured and imprisoned by the Taliban in 2008. Van Dyk, […]
Over the past few months, we’ve looked at how designers are addressing the vision-impaired – from low-cost eyeglasses to Braille-inspired obejcts for the blind to an innovative diagnostic test using […]
This then is one of the most memorable photographs of the 1960s, or at least here, a depiction of one of the most eponymous pictures of that decade. The original […]
It seems the nation that prides itself on doing things just a little differently has succumbed to the newspaper industry’s woes just like everyone else. The French paper of record […]
Humans are hard-wired to make bad investment decisions, says Legg Mason Capital Management’s chief investment strategist, Michael Mauboussin. It’s in our nature to follow along with a bearish or bullish […]
Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos.com, believes the most important aspect of any company is its culture. That’s why he was so disappointed with his first company, LinkExchange—and why he […]
“The Supreme Court on Monday loosened the limits on the kinds of inventions that are eligible for patent protection,” reports The Washington Post. Intangible goods are increasingly eligible.
Though the Islamic world has “fallen behind” recent scientific times, the oil-rich states of the Middle East are seeking to diversify their economies. The New Scientist says science and technology appear promising.
Some false beliefs, such as paranoia, are ill-suited to evolutionary success, but some, like extreme optimism in the face of insurmountable odds, are a boon, says Scientific American.
Starting today, the non-profit digital library Internet Archive will give the public access to over a million public domain books and thousands of contemporary copyrighted e-books. Copyright questions abound.
NPR recounts how a modest scientific conclusion about classical music’s effect on spatial reasoning led to a nation obsessed with making their unborn babies listen to Mozart.
“The main concern is that we can’t really predict how ecosystems and human society will respond to climate change,” say scientists who worry carbon levels could overwhelm natural systems by 2200.
Of the 4.7 million Iraqis displaced by the war, 100,000 have been relocated, one-third of those to the U.S. The Guardian echoes calls to expedite refugee processing and to provide counselling services.
“The new national space policy calls on NASA to target missions beyond low-Earth orbit — such as to an asteroid — by 2025, with the eventual goal of sending astronauts to Mars.” The CSM reports.
“It’s one thing to lose in court. Chicago has to win the daily struggle on its streets.” The Chicago Tribune reacts to the Supreme Court’s decision against they city’s handgun regulation.
“A wandering mind can protect you from immediate perils and keep you on course toward long-term goals,” says The New York Times. Researchers find benefits to being a bit airy.
Half a million people die annually in the United States from substance abuse or addiction, which represents 1 in 5 deaths overall. One-half trillion dollars are lost annually in the […]
In Scott Turow’s Times Book Review cover piece on Adam Ross’s novel, Mr. Peanut, he recalls the time a revered Stanford writing professor cautioned students against writing about marriage, “the […]
Anatoly Karpov, the twelfth world chess champion, is one of the most successful chess players in the history of the game. The Russian grandmaster was the world champion for a […]
In 2007, papermaker Stora Enso commissioned six leading designers – Paula Scher, Marian Bantjes, Christoph Niemann, Bruce McCall, Michael C. Place and Winterhouse – to create a series of posters around […]
My mother was the valedictorian of her senior class in high school over fifty years ago. She doesn’t remember exactly what she said at graduation, but she does remember having […]
William James was about the only philosopher who didn’t end up a pettifogging nit-picker or overbearing egomaniac with delusions of genius. So says New Humanist’s Jonathan Rée.
Spiegel damns the latest G-20 summit as one of “yet more vague promises”, and says national interests have once again become more important than the big picture.
Facebook’s Open Graph protocol is a shot across Google’s bow, but will the power of the “like” exceed that of the link, asks Mathew Ingram.
A porn-only internet domain, where addresses have the suffix xxx not www, could help end “accidental pornography”, according to Guardian columnist Barbara Ellen.
Our main budgetary issue is expected growth in entitlements spending, which is one key reason the retirement age should be raised to near 70. Gary Becker sets out the case.