Our Flat Solar System — February 25, 2014

Our Flat Solar System

Why is our solar system flat? We started off as a shapeless blob of gases after the Big Bang. How did our solar system flatten out? From Saturn’s rings to other galaxies, it turns out that “flatness” is common in our 3D universe. It has to do with collisions.

MinutePhysics breaks down the mathematics for our 3D-thinking brains:

The Present

Why gamifying the workplace can be a nightmare for workers

It turns out it’s hard to make work at an Amazon warehouse fun.

The Present

How many innocent people is the plea bargain sending to prison?

This is a perversion of justice.

The Present

Bombastic eulogies: Let’s put an end to cynical “The End of” headlines

We can never hope for a future with no problems. The solutions to problems create new problems, which in turn require new solutions, as WIRED founder Kevin Kelly explained recently.

Neuropsych

New study seeks to explain the Mandela Effect – the bizarre phenomenon of shared false memories

Fiona Broome remembered Nelson Mandela dying in prison in the 1980s (he didn’t). Oddly, many people had the same false memory.

The Learning Curve

Mind-wandering may be the cause of your unhappiness

People think that unhappiness causes our minds to wander, but what if the causation goes the other way?

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