If you were a sophisticated and up-to-the-minute science buff in 17th century Europe, you knew that there was only one properly scientific way to explain anything: “the direct contact-action of […]
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A wedge issue is an issue which can be used to turn the different parts of a political coalition against one another. For the democrats, deficit reduction could turn out […]
Super-powerful desktop computers, video game systems, cars, iPads, iPods, tablet computers, cellular phones, microwave ovens, high-def television… Most of the luxuries we enjoy during our daily lives are a result […]
Age-of-consent laws presume that adolescents lack the maturity to make healthy decisions when it comes to sex.
Energy efficiency in the home, particularly the notion of the smart grid, has been a concept of increasing interest both by ordinary citizens and large-scale corporations in the energy sector. […]
At a time when digital shooting offers lower cost and greater artistic control, it’s fascinating to watch our most acclaimed filmmakers hasten the demise of actual film.
The royal nuptials of Prince William and Kate Middleton is welcomed by Britons—but most say they want a more modest affair that doesn’t drain the public purse.
They might be best known for space travel, but the folks at NASA are determined to shape the future of commercial aviation. The agency says airliners need to be greener.
Breathing other people’s tobacco smoke is the cause of one in every 100 deaths worldwide, but a risk over which its victims have no control, says the World Health Organization.
Institutions of public health and the commercial interests that surround it, including the media, do more harm than good to the nation’s health, says Cornell professor Richard Klein.
Few presidents have lived as full a life after office as Theodore Roosevelt, but historian Michael Kazin argues that Roosevelt’s third act was a bit aimless and contradictory.
Like female African cichlid fish, humans might also possess an overwhelming evolutionary imperative to find the toughest, most combat-ready mates.
Pessimism is often wrong because people assume a world where there is no change or innovation. They fail to recognize insights that might alter current trends, says Bill Gates.
Just what is the point of Twitter? The Telegraph speaks to its chief, Dick Costolo, and two of its founders, Evan Williams and Jack Dorsey, in a bid to find out.
A Chinese consumer society would improve the lives of hundreds of millions of people in China and once again give hope to world economic growth, extending benefits outward.
The best – and the worst – predictions for the newspaper industry don’t always come true. When Eddie Shah famously broke the print unions at his Stockport print and distribution […]
While Americans rush en masse to Wal-Mart and other retail outlets on this traditional “Black Friday” start to the holiday shopping season, why not just make presents for your loved […]
As the new Congress takes office, great opportunity exists both for innovations in climate change-related policy proposals and in public engagement about the problem. Yet it’s been very discouraging to […]
If search traffic were votes, Sarah Palin would be the runaway Republican presidential nominee. Palin, as Nate Silver reports, is the subject of far more Google searches than any other […]
Why has the Red Bull energy drink company built up its very own sporting empire, organizing aerobatics competitions, sponsoring snowboarders and running a soccer team in New York?
Fred Pearce looks at what hopes there are for agreement on a replacement for the Kyoto protocol as world experts get together from 29th November to 10th December in Mexico.
Psychologists have discovered more “bad news” about human nature: If doing the wrong thing is easier than doing the right thing, most of us will just go “with the immoral flow.”
Europe’s bail-out fund is not big enough to handle the country next in line: Spain, the euro’s fourth-biggest economy, with a GDP bigger than Greece, Ireland and Portugal combined.
In primitive societies, a beard was often the sign of masculinity. These days politicians, at least, are rarely seen with one. What does a beard mean on a modern man?
Norris Church Mailer was principally known as the wife of the renowned American author Norman Mailer, but she was also a respected author in her own right.
Has American fiction become inseparable from its institutional context—the university—particularly embodied in the writing workshop? A new book examines the MFA’s influence.
In embracing a common technology—text messaging—a new online platform provides a fast, cheap and easy way to share ideas, connect them together and improve communities.
Attracting children to classical music and ballet is the only way that these two performing arts can hope to have a future audience. And Barbie is the critical link.
Brands regarded as exclusive, arrogant, daring or trendy are beginning to suffer severe declines in popularity, while those associated with quality, reliability and durability are rising.
Rates of Alzheimer’s and other age-onset diseases are projected to increase dramatically in the coming years.