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Today’s mobile phones are yesterday’s supercomputers, which make them powerful enough to suit the needs of aerospace engineers, who want to create a future of micro-satellites.
A new study authored by some of the nation’s leading climate scientists suggests that droughts and heat waves since 1980 were caused by anomalously high temperature fluctuations.
Now that Curiosity has safely touched down on the Martian surface, it will get to work calibrating its scientific instruments, which will search for past signs of life on the planet.
NOTE: I recommend you click “View Entire Story”, so the endnotes work. When prostitution cases are brought before a judge in Britain, a particular kind of “John” (or customer) will […]
New York, 1964. The World’s Fair is in full gear, as 50 million people make the trek to Queens to see what the future has in store. The exposition showcases […]
Back in May, I reviewed Steven Pinker’s hugely ambitious new book The Better Angels of Our Nature, about the decline of violence through history. I couldn’t do justice to all […]
In 2000, the Supreme Court ruled that the Boy Scouts of America, as a private membership-based organization, had the right to discriminate against gay people by expelling them or barring […]
I want to issue an apology and a goodbye to many frequent commenters, who I consider my intellectual mentors. Comments are now turned off on the blog. Many will see […]
NASA went for the Gold with the Curiosity space probe, and scored a perfect 10. Perfect start, perfect execution, perfect dismount. And Curiosity is the Godzilla of space probes, with 10 […]
We already know that supercomputers, sophisticated algorithms and mathematical models are at the very heart of the modern financial markets. Now, with l’affaire Knight Capital we’ve just seen how robot traders and rogue […]
If you’ve been watching the Olympics, you’ve been treated to a steady stream of ads for what promises to be NBC’s lamest comedy in recent memory: “Guys With Kids.” As […]
What is the strongest motivation for space exploration today? According to astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, it’s the promise of economic return.
The lesson of Toyota, which rippled throughout the auto industry, was that treating workers as collaborators is good not only for their self esteem, but for the financial health of the business. The service economy is just starting to learn it.
An open source text messaging platform developed by Unicef is coordinating humanitarian projects in several African nations, helping to distribute food aid and treat HIV more effectively.
The rise of facial recognition technology has resulted in computers seeing faces in nature where there are none. Does this mean computers are given to the same flaws as humans?
Research shows that cross-generational gameplay can help children learn valuable lessons while simultaneously educating adults about current technology. It’s time to get our game on.
What’s the Big Idea? The goal of technology is to make itself disappear bit by bit. Most major innovations in consumer technology are measured by their ability to make existing […]
Editors’ Note: So the first week of Ideas Gone Wild has passed! We got tons of great submissions on the theme of the Olympics. So good, in fact, that we’re […]
Editors’ Note: So the first week of Ideas Gone Wild is over! We got tons of great submissions on the theme of the Olympics. So good, in fact, that we’re […]
Revolutionary software fields students’ questions as they arise naturally in the studying process, filling gaps in background knowledge and producing higher exam scores as a result.
Sometime in 1952, the American experimental musician John Cage put the finishing touches on a composition that challenged the definition of music. It was a three-part movement written for any […]
A dramatic worldwide shift from defined benefit to defined contribution plans has also given employees the ability to take planning into their own hands. But with this freedom comes a confusion: What’s the role of the employer versus the role of the employee in all this?
A growing number of researchers are using websites like Twitter and Facebook to monitor our well-being in a way that seemed impossible not long ago.
You might have had an experience like this: You’re cruising down the highway, with nothing in particular on your mind, when, suddenly, you let out an audible groan, remembering one […]
Businesses are getting smarter about pensions – learning how to maximize returns on their investment and make good on their promises to workers. This translates into greater employee loyalty, more competitive hiring, and a more stable corporate infrastructure.
If we accept Bruce Bueno de Mesquita’s claim that remaining in power is the primary motivation of our leaders, then the political structure of a nation is the single most important determinant of how responsive its leaders will be to its people’s needs.
Want to live a longer healthier life? Chill out. And stop lying. For the same reason. Stress is really REALLY bad for your health. Chronic stress is bad […]
One reason I can’t buy the claim that conservative intellectual has become an oxymoron is that on our campuses it’s so often the conservatives who defend “liberal education.” I’m going […]
“John Quincy Adams said that the United States should be the ‘well-wisher to the freedom and independence of all . . . , the champion and vindicator only of her own.’”