History’s most successful(4) euphemism(1) is making original idiots(2) of us. “Idiotic” first meant the opposite(3) of “political,” but they’re almost synonyms(5) now. 1. Here are definitions of the euphemism and […]
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All of Isaac Newton’s posthumous writings are now available online so that anyone can discover the complexity of this brilliant man’s life.
Can you find meaning in life? Do you have the courage to see what is right in front of you? That was the task with which Camus challenged the world in the wake of WWII.
Businesses and residents of Chattanooga, Tennessee, enjoy faster Internet than any other city in the country thanks to the Gig, its tax-payer funded fiber-optics network.
George Takei, AKA Mr. Sulu, beamed into the MIT AgeLab last week. Although Star Trek: The Original Series may be the source of his public prominence, he has long since translated […]
If you know the sexually and racially charged art of Kara Walker, you know one thing—she’s not subtle. Walker’s artistic oeuvre to date makes the title of her newest work, […]
When people were asked to throw a fat man off a bridge to save the lives of others (you know, ethics?), they were more likely to do so when the question was posed in their second language.
Patients often fail to remember what their doctors say to them, a physician reminded me this week. Research supports his observation. Yet only rarely do doctors actually write down their […]
New surveys conducted by the Harvard Business School suggest a more complicated picture of deadlines, and understudying their nuanced relationship to creativity can help you do your best work–on time!
“I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.” – Albert Einstein
Are champions born or are they made? Science still cannot settle that debate. But one thing is clear: Certain brain injuries can produce super geniuses. This is not an invitation […]
From why they stay frozen in the middle to how the crisping sleeve works! “Is your Hot Pocket cold in the middle?”“It’s frozen. But it can be served boiling lava hot.”“Will […]
The one thing that even the best of us do at times, and why it needs to stop. “I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet.”–Mohandas […]
A British submarine may be the first to test quantum locational technology capable of measuring an object’s relative position 1,000 times more accurately than current GPS.
Our medical knowledge of cerebral dysfunctions like epilepsy is casting new light on some famously religious characters like Joan of Arc, Saint Paul, and Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
The number of tech startups is up, but the number of entrepreneurs in American is down. And it’s been on the decline since the 1970s, according to new data that accounts for the rise of the franchise.
As technology continues to shift, what will employees look for in their job candidates and how can education best prepare tomorrow’s workforce? At the Global Education & Skills Forum, Big […]
What do you see in this photograph? A Pac-Man with a tail gobbling up stars in the galaxy? NASA published this image of CG4, a ruptured cometary globule, which, in […]
“A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge.”
– George R.R. Martin
Active teaching, defined as engaging students in the process of learning through activities and/or discussion in class, is far more effective than passively listening to a lecture.
A theoretical contradiction may lie at the heart of the multiverse theory, which says that our universe is but one in a series of potentially infinite universes.
Melissa Gira Grant, former sex worker and author of the new book Playing the Whore: The Work of Sex Work, argues for a more holistic understanding of individuals who work as prostitutes.
Education is a more effective weapon against violent extremism than Obama’s military drones.
Carl Jung devoted much of his professional life to analyzing dreams, much to the chagrin of his colleagues. He saw a connection between these nighttime visions and our seemingly innate […]
Guaranteeing everyone in America an income of $1,000 per month is a bold new path out of the current economic slump, which has created some of the widest income inequalities in modern history.
The 2011 Tōhoku, Japan, earthquake and tsunami killed thousands of people and damaged more than one million buildings, including the Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Plant. The initial crisis of rebuilding […]
This June, an online data collection company called DataCoup will begin seeking individuals willing to sell their personal information to large corporations for a direct profit.
Even if the BICEP2 results turn out not to be from gravitational waves left over from inflation. “For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of […]
“Nobody has ever measured, not even poets, how much the heart can hold.”
– Zelda Fitzgerald
Following in the footsteps of other health-monitoring devices, a new internet-connected lighter is designed to help you quit smoking by measuring your tobacco intake.