The design of the human jaw actually makes it 40-50 percent more efficient than for all great apes, Australian researchers have found.
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Are some of our elegant symbols of modernity — smartphones and so on — fueling slaughter and rape in Congo? The New York Times on the campaign for “clean” minerals.
Is financial illiteracy “rational ignorance”—inattention that is justified because the costs of paying attention outweigh the benefits? The New Yorker says no.
Retired physician and emeritus professor Arthur Rivin shares insights on the increasingly common disease which 5.3 million Americans also have.
Do claims of slave labor in the Brazilian Amazon merely reflect cultural misinterpretations? The BBC on the state of Para, where more than 1,000 “slaves” were rescued in two years.
As if further evidence is needed of the sheer parochialism ritually on display here on our media in ‘Little England’, I woke up this morning to hear a BBC reporter […]
Ever since Lafayette, some connection between America and France, however tenuous, has existed. One of the strongest bonds between the two countries is the American love of French art. When […]
Ok, I have to admit it. I did not watch the World Cup match between Germany and England. In fact the only match I have watched was the incredibly dull […]
Football fever surrounds the Fortune Global Forum here in Cape Town, South Africa! Amidst the fascinating discussions about finding high-tech solutions to Africa’s problems, one can’t help but appreciate the […]
“Imagine that right after briefing Adam about which fruit was allowed and which forbidden, God had installed a closed-circuit television camera in the garden of Eden.”
In her new book, the contemporary philosopher writes that a person who follows “argument rather than numbers is a good person for a democracy to have,” opposing the primacy of short term economic gain.
Is American sexual apathy a medical condition or the result of an “anxious, overachieving, white upper middle class?” The New York Times ruminates on the prospect of female Viagra.
MIT researchers are advising the government to use natural gas as a low-carbon bridge to a cleaner energy society, but they warn renewables must be developed lest gas become a bridge to nowhere.
“Wearing fake goods makes you feel a fake yourself, and causes you to be more dishonest in other matters than you would otherwise be.” The Economist looks at faux fashionistas.
The New Scientist reports on one biochemist and one visual artist teamed up to investigate the ever blurring line between nature and technology—a post-humanist future, they call it.
Despite a bloated and ineffective American justice system, current state budget cuts affecting front line officers and public defenders deal a blow to due process, says Sasha Abramsky at The Guardian.
“Living in another culture and learning the practices of that culture may enhance the psychological processes that make people more creative,” says Psychology Today.
“Could natural variability be responsible for the warmer water and bigger storms, instead of greenhouse gases?” Miller-McCune looks at the scientific debate as hurricane season approaches.
“Voluntary taxes offer a politically palatable way to raise additional revenue and perhaps even to strengthen Americans’ sense of patriotism and citizenship.” Pony up, says The Boston Globe.
The Democrats may not be in as much trouble as everyone thought. Although Pollster still has them trailing Republicans by a point on a generic Congressional ballot—and they have trailed […]
Economists have long touted the importance of research and development (R&D) – investment in science and technology — in driving economic growth and innovation. If you compare the top 20 […]
Though thrilling, the penalty shots that might soon decide single-elimination World Cup soccer games are decidedly unfair. More Intelligent Life Magazine considers an alternative method.
The dispute between America’s proposed deficit spending and Germany’s belt-tightening grows larger as the nations meet at the G-20 summit. The world’s economy could be at stake.
A new technique for transferring data across fiber-optic lines could increase the speed of the Internet by 100 times because information need never be converted into electrical signals.
“More women are going kid-free by choice, thanks to more accessible and better contraception and a decrease in social stigma related to non-motherhood.” Salon looks at motherhood data.
Environmental friendliness is an added bonus for consumers looking to save money by purchasing cars with smaller engines. American car companies are looking to Europe, says Wired.
By examining the brain patterns of people who demonstrate courage in the face of fear, scientists are hoping to find a way to rid people of their most irrational phobias.
Jon Wellinghoff, chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, imagines a national clean-energy grid in the near future. Scientific American conducts an in-depth interview.
“A civilised dialogue between the arts and sciences would be a marvellous thing, a takeover would not.” The Telegraph laments the rise of Darwinian analysis in the humanities.
The G-8 should treat African development like an investment rather than a charity case, says the Christian Science Monitor. It may be an opportunity the industrialized world cannot afford to pass up.