Does a dirty scoundrel need a bath or a moral lesson? Our brains easily confuse metaphor for reality, often with dangerous consequences, says Stanford biology professor Robert Sapolsky.
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“When someone says ‘It’s not about the money, but…’, it’s almost always about the money.” The Boston Globe looks at the phrases we use which betray our true feelings.
“‘Quantitative easing’ is a pompous, uninformative term for a central bank’s buying debt in order to stimulate economic activity.” Judge Richard Posner criticizes new monetary policy.
Male Homo sapiens were historically much faster and stronger than today’s modern man. The Australian palaeoanthropologist Peter McAllister explains why in a new book.
While some consider the English-born physicist the heir to Einstein, others are baffled at his staunch opposition to climate science and the environmental movement.
The New York Times website has a budget puzzle widget on it that allows you to decide what to do in order to reduce the budget deficit the United States […]
The sounds of nature, from bird song to waves crashing to the white noise of grass blowing in the wind, have an indisputably soothing effect on the human psyche. While […]
There is often a fine line between hagiography and take down in the most artful examples of journalistic profile. The New Yorker’s seductive piece on politician-scholar-soldier-writer-potential future British Prime Minister […]
Starting a company makes one a free market capitalist and libertarian, though finding the caring, higher purpose in the marketplace is another matter.
In response to reader requests, you are now able to follow Dr. Kaku’s Universe on our new Twitter Account @DrKakusUniverse where you can receive updates on new blog entries the […]
I’ve always thought New Yorkers lead a hermit-crab existence, with our dance clubs that used to be banks and our townhouses that used to be stables and our living rooms […]
Polemicist and atheist Christopher Hitchens met his toughest opponent yet when diagnosed with cancer. It doesn’t yet seem to have altered his beliefs on Iraq, on Islam, or God.
The Independent says Aung San Suu Kyi’s release is cause for celebration – but we have to be realistically doubtful about the prospects of change in Burma.
Less-visible insecurities linger from its recent chaotic past and drive this country’s politics. China’s strengths, and its weaknesses, should be measured with care.
What I do know is that playing football has taught me many things. Perhaps the most important: knowing how to react when chaos is going on around me.
Inside the mind of Albert Gonzalez, America’s most notorious computer hacker. “Whatever morality I should have been feeling was trumped by the thrill.”
Historic successes and colossal failure are often fueled by the same impulses: ambition, audacity, passion, and a burning desire to comment meaningfully on the world around us.
Tim K. killed 15 people before turning his gun on himself. His father, the owner of the weapon, is now in the dock. How culpable can parents be if their child kills?
Four movements that gained huge followings and have stood the test of time: est, primal therapy, Transcendental Meditation and lucid dreaming. Where are they now?
Last week’s visit by the pope was largely ignored by Spaniards. Grassrootsrnreligious groups say the time has come for a full separation of state and Church.
Less obsolete but more annoying than a handwritten letter, the phone call is fading as a mode of communication even if the nostalgic will be singing its praises for a while.
On November 7th, Pope Benedict XVIconsecratedAntoni Gaudí’s weirdly wonderful masterpiece of religious architecture, the Sagrada Família (shown above). The Catholic Church tends to distrust anything modern these days, so seeing it […]
I am not going to lie to you—the first time I pushed the button at paper.li to create a newspaper out of the links the people I follow on Twitter […]
Congress is unlikely to pass any serious climate change legislation now that the Republicans have retaken the House. If you doubt that, consider the leading candidates to replace Rep. Henry […]
Since voters long ago stopped believing in ‘promises’ made by parties at election time, politicians now make ‘pledges’. Pledges, as opposed to promises, are made to be kept. Pledges are […]
Psi is psychology’s equivalent of the perpetual motion machine in physics. Claims in favor of telepathy, clairvoyance, premonitions or other extra-sensory perceptions were always considered the realm of looney-tunes who […]
Today is November 13, 2010, meaning it has been 25 years since the tragic lahar that killed over 23,000 people (video, graphic at times) in Armero, Colombia. This lahar was generated […]
In guest post today, David Ropeik, author of “How Risky Is It,” takes a critical look at President Obama’s assertion in the days leading up to the election that many […]
Novelist Margaret Atwood recently shared her vision of the future where more and more people flock to cities despite the substandard quality of life they offer.
New evidence from a Texas capital punishment case demonstrates the death penalty was unjustly applied. It is the first such case ever against the death penalty.