Science writer Benedict Carey explains in his new book that the brain is a forager, not a school learner. Carey advocates for teaching students more about how and why they learn.
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In “The Numbers Game: Why Everything You Know About Soccer Is Wrong” authors Chris Anderson and David Sally begin their argument with a quote from Bill James: “In sports, what […]
Social media swashbucklers have been hurling loads of “aarghs” and “mateys” today in celebration of the silliest made-up holiday of them all, International Talk Like a Pirate Day. The only problem: that sort of pirate talk is nothing more than the stuff of 20th century pop culture.
Is there a way to see past the barrier the Universe puts up before it became transparent to light? Image credit: Mark Kamionkowski, of gravitational waves. “From earliest times, humans — explorers […]
As the importance of interpersonal interaction grew, so did variations in our ancestors’ facial appearance. This why the face and it features are the most diverse parts of the human body.
“In the information age, you don’t teach philosophy as they did after feudalism. You perform it. If Aristotle were alive today he’d have a talk show.”
-Timothy Leary
How the location of the famous Ebbets Field facade appears today in Brooklyn, NY. (h/t @DugoutLegends)
With limited land space and widespread public distrust in nuclear power, the Japanese have taken to the seas to cull energy by installing sprawling solar power plants that float right on the water.
There are some industries in which a company that embraces quirkiness can thrive and succeed on the strength of its authenticity.
Kant’s proposal may seem implausible, but it’s good advice: give up the search.
How we discovered what the Universe was made of when it first formed. Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/PSU/K. Getman et al.; IRL NASA/JPL-Caltech/CfA/J. Wang et al. “The nitrogen in our DNA, […]
The above photo, taken by Greg Varinot, is part of a larger album you can peruse here. For all things ocean-related check out our collection of interviews with renowned oceanographer Sylvia […]
A recent Annenberg survey reveals what we already know: Americans, by and large, are ignorant of their country’s constitutional framework. The predictable calls for tougher high school civics standards ignore the fact that people don’t have much of a reason to care about the government.
Today I want to share the most powerful and useful model of behavior that I’ve ever encountered: The Fogg Behavior Model. There have been few other ideas that have impacted […]
Everyone’s come across a real-life Michael Scott at some point. Bosses who try way too hard to keep their workers happy run a risk of ultimately alienating employees and losing their respect. The important thing to remember is to not smother anyone in your efforts.
One day while walking through Rutgers’ Quad Two on the way to the gym, I noticed my friend Shelton across the lawn. As he bounced along the sidewalk—he was in […]
The retired congressman discusses his long history as a supporter of marijuana legalization.
An Inspector General report has determined that poor leadership and a lacking organizational structure contributed to lackluster performance by NASA’s Near Earth Object Program.
Facebook’s algorithm is designed to push parenting articles on people who declare to be moms or dads. Many of the pieces targeting these audiences are clickbaity poppycock.
“Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.”
– Maya Angelou, from Wouldn’t Take Nothing for My Journey Now (1993)
Framing influences our choices every day. Why are we willing to pay $10 for a glass of wine at a fancy restaurant when we could buy a bottle of the […]
How to destroy an Alderaan-sized planet. “What’s that star?It’s the Death Star.What does it do?It does Death. It does Death, buddy. Get out of my way!” –Eddie Izzard It’s one […]
If our key political freedom is choosing for ourselves, what do we need to do that in a mature fashion? How much longer can kidults kid themselves about life’s uncool, unavoidable constraints?
As Scots go to the polls to determine their future, one oracle has already decreed that independence is inevitable: Englishman Terry O’Neil discovered this piece of chicken in his KFC meal, and was struck by its resemblance to the contours of Britain — minus Scotland.
Our current age calls for more and more snap decisions that don’t allow for a proper and pragmatic assessment. The only way to deal with this is to adapt by training yourself to make better snap decisions.
The last decade or so has seen a massive shift in the way we watch television. Flatscreens have effectively vanquished the old cathode ray tube (CRT) TVs, as well as […]
You have two choices when raising your kids in the internet age: shield them from the online bad or actively prepare them to be good e-citizens. While the former is easier and feels more safe, the latter will better serve the child through adulthood.
According to Duolingo founder Luis von Ahn, 800 million poor people around the world are trying to learn English to better themselves and improve their economic conditions. But most language lessons are expensive. His solution: Duolingo, a free app that runs on smartphones and computers.
Over half of Americans are unmarried, a huge change since 1979 when the percentage of single people was in the 30s. This means shifts in the ways people live and operate within society.
The Foldscope is an ingenious creation from Stanford’s PrakashLab. It’s a microscope that can be assembled by folding a single printed sheet of paper, a process similar to making origami, and one that costs less than a dollar.