This essay was previously published on AlterNet. The death of Christopher Hitchens in December sparked an outpouring of tributes. Most of them praised his best qualities: his ferocious courage, his […]
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Constantly making happiness your explicit goal is a recipe for unhappiness, say psychologists. Rather, enjoy the moment you are in without too much preparation or preoccupation.
Researchers have found that Americans get wiser as they age while Japanese seem to begin wise. More interesting still is that the two groups exhibited different kinds of wisdom.
Human culture is infused with narratives of immortality, from a bodily resurrection to an eternal soul. While modern science has put the quash on those, we might achieve something nobler…
In contrast to the British Enlightenment, Modernist Vienna saw that humans were not perfect rationality machines. Thus Viennese medical science gave rise to the likes of Klimt and Freud.
The evolutionary development of human consciousness has proven extremely successful. This is because it allows us to enjoy life and overcome the reality of our foreboding death.
Here’s what’s in the news this week: • In these troubled economic terms, the Russian Orthodox church seems to be sensitive about their patriarch wearing a watch that costs 30,000 […]
What is the Big Idea? The world’s aging population is growing and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message to the world on World Health Day, observed on April 7, is for society […]
Earlier this week I argued that the Affordable Care Act should be ruled constitutional. There are genuine reasons to be concerned about the scope of Congress’ commerce power, which has […]
Pulp fiction paperbacks sold by the millions, for a dime, in the 1950s and 1960s. Despite their lapel-grabbing, shocking, often tawdry, salacious covers and contents, they’re interesting cultural relics because […]
It was only about a century ago that Easter was considered by some Christians to be a good day for massacring Jews. Consider, for instance, the first Kishinev pogrom of […]
New medical claims have brought once illicit drugs back into fashion, argues Cambridge University fellow Victoria Harris, showing how capricious our attitudes toward drugs really are.
A drug-resistant strain of malaria first noticed in Cambodia in 2005 is increasingly seen in other parts of Asia. Experts worry it could spread to Africa, where a majority of malaria exists.
I know at least some of you are thinking: I already feel like I am having sex with a robot. But new research predicts that we will be having sex […]
A clinical trial currently underway has shown a promising ability to use nanoparticles to target specific tumor cells, directly delivering chemotherapy drugs while avoiding the body’s immune system.
With affordable genomic testing within reach, should you rush out to have your genome sequenced? Probably not, say medical experts. The tests in and of themselves will be of limited use.
Mexico has recently implemented a government-funded heath care program that covers every citizen, despite having far fewer resources than the US. Will Americans ever take the leap?
In the video below, tech entrepreneur and author Jeff Jarvis discusses his recent Kindle Single Gutenberg the Geek, and what Gutenberg has to teach us about entrepreneurism today. We asked […]
What is the Big Idea? An orthopedic surgeon was abducted by masked security forces from his operating room. He was tortured while detained in Bahrain. Gaddafi’s soldiers held an anesthesiologist […]
Many American TV pundits are stretching the concept of celebrity to include themselves. They function as entertainers and are massively overpaid, drawing certain parallels to Kim and her ilk.
Humans are natural story tellers, but why? Author Jonathan Gotschall says we tell stories for evolutionary and cultural reasons. We even tell stories to ourselves—and call it our identity.
It was the best of webcams, it was the worst of webcams, it was “must see” TV, it was “must flee” TV—in short, this has been an interesting week in […]
The invention of new 3D cinematic technology was supposed to revive the faltering film industry but more often than not, 3D filming is a gimmick, says film critic Ann Hornaday.
Mandatory ultrasounds are becoming a required part of the abortion process across the United States, and some states might be taking it too far.
Health issues aside, there is a lot of money in marijuana. Regulating sales of the plant could generate substantial revenue and save all the money we spend now to push it underground.
One of my favorite features of the old site was “Little-Known Bible Verses“, a regular series highlighting frequently overlooked passages from scripture that are immoral, bizarre, or contradict well-established parts […]
With the passing of Steve Jobs, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos is the technology sector’s leading CEO-philosopher. Here are some tips directly from the man who continues innovating the Internet.
When I was in high school in the USA in the late 1980s, the big Asian language that many of my peers wanted to learn was Japanese. A half-decade later, […]
What is the Big Idea? Foxconn’s employees in China may be getting a raise, but it’s only a matter of time before higher wages prompts the manufacturer to move its […]
What is the Big Idea? Russia’s lame duck president Dmitry Medvedev is working hard during the last two months of his presidential term. He met with a team of experts last […]