“Central banks make outsize profits when they print high-denomination notes, like €500 bills, which criminals prefer.” The CSM on how black markets and currency markets benefit each other.
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The New Scientist attends the science conference at Google HQ and reports on virtual reality advancements, the direction of new media and how technology will revolutionize education.
Self serving, egotistical and narcissistic. These epithets accurately describe the personality and motivations of former UK Business Secretary, former Northern Ireland Secretary and former Industry Secretary, Lord Peter Mandelson. Which […]
What if you could manipulate abstract, digital information like it were a tangible, physical thing? A new development out of MIT Media Lab promises to do just that. Slurp is […]
When you hear the name Edvard Munch, you almost immediately think of The Scream. It’s unavoidable. Even during his lifetime, Munch found himself linked to that image and a select […]
Sociological Images posted the results of the Modesty Survey a project of a Christian website where Christian girls quizzed 1500 Christian guys about their standards of modesty. Not guys’ standards […]
Had Copernicus been too terrified to publish his theory of heliocentrism, how long would it have taken people to realize that Earth, in fact, revolves around the Sun? Had U.S. […]
“The conservative movement, once about finding meaning in private life and public service, has undergone a shift toward demagoguery and hucksterism,” says a former National Review editor.
“A ground-breaking study has found that mothers can go back to work months after the birth of their child without the baby’s wellbeing suffering as a result.” The Guardian reports.
“When it comes to Islamic Finance, the Islamic legal scholar Frank Vogel says Americans have nothing to worry about.” He discusses the rise of Islamic banking with The American Prospect.
“These days the top stories reflect the death of guilt. It’s gone. It has no place in polite society.” From Levi Johnston and Goldman Sachs to Roman Polanski, is guilt dead?
“A study released earlier this year, examining the impact of Title IX, offers hard evidence that playing sports leads to greater educational and employment opportunities.”
“Could the decades-long global impasse over abortion worldwide be overcome—by little white pills costing less than $1 each?” Nicholas Kristof reports on a gynecological revolution.
“Why are we always making less than rational decisions? A new book by Dan Ariely explores how people embrace the irrational.” The Daily Beast reviews professor Ariely’s latest work.
The value of stocks has little to do with whether the U.S. economy or any economy is ailing, says Zachary Karabell at The Atlantic. Yet nearly everyone believes they are closely connected.
“It seems dogs naturally match human gestures in a phenomenon known as automatic imitation.” Researchers help explain why dogs owners seem to resemble their pets.
The recession has not deterred a new generation of corporate CEOs who increasingly see adopting sustainable technology as necessary to future profits. This according to a new report.
Pertinent news for anyone who uses soap, shampoo, perfume, sunscreen, lip balm, moisturizer, etc etc etc: last Wednesday, Congress introduced a bill that would give the FDA the power to […]
“Chucky Fat Face,” artist Chuck Close admits to being called by fellow artist Richard Serra during their graduate school days together at Yale early on in the film Chuck Close, […]
True/Slant and The Big Money will both close their doors this weekend, though one has a decidedly brighter future than the other. T/S will continue in some form under its […]
“Where does the federal government get off spending the average person’s tax dollars to help better-off-than-average Americans buy expensive new cars?” Slate on the electric car credit.
“I love a good deal, but as consumer prices keep hitting rock bottom, this is just getting scary.” A Salon staffer says our culture of cheap is morally dubious and corrodes standards.
“Two decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union, chaos prevails in Dagestan, primarily because of the activities of radical Islamists.” The region is impossible to govern, says Spiegel.
“New forms of communication have exposed the fact that the voice call is badly designed. It deserves to die.” An author at Wired says lighter forms of communication are superior.
The secret military reports leaked by WikiLeaks demonstrates that while official strategy is to empower Afghanis to run a modern country, the Afghans treat foreigners as the true power.
A Harvard psychologist and dream expert explains how it is possible to influence what you are dreaming about whether you want to fly, stop a nightmare, or have lucid dreams.
“Boredom may be an intrinsic part of life for practically everyone, but it needn’t be destructive. In fact, boredom can be a force for good.” Give kids freedom, says one commenter at The Guardian.
“The fears about online wagering are demonstrably bogus,” says Steve Chapman at The Chicago Tribune, who was pleasantly surprised when a House committee approved online gambling.
“Looking around the United States in the summer of 2010, hysterical moral panic seems an apt description of our fevered political condition.” A columnist on our nation’s current “moral panic”.
Social networks like Twitter not only blur the line between public and private selves, but also between authentic and contrived ones. An author finds herself inventing her own psychology.