Culture & Religion — May 19, 2010

Emptiness

The blank slate of pop music welcomes entertainers flashy, materialistic and audacious enough to sing endlessly without really singing about anything; pop music, thy name is Ga Ga.

bigthinkeditor

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

The blank slate of pop music welcomes entertainers flashy, materialistic and audacious enough to sing endlessly without really singing about anything; pop music, thy name is Ga Ga. “Lady Blah Blah would have been pretty good, but ga ga, gaga, gaga: a monstrous orality, a tyranny of infantile desire, with the added suggestion of surfeit, overkill, something being gagged on. Perfect.”

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Map showing migration routes across the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans to the Indian Ocean, with sightings marked by colors and dates.

Strange Maps

Hungry or horny? Whale makes record swim halfway across planet

In 8,000-mile journey, a male humpback ditches Colombia for Tanzania — however, scientists don’t know why he made the trip.

A person with a backpack stands on rocky terrain, contemplating the distant, mist-covered volcanic mountain under a clear blue sky, pondering the longevity of nature's breathtaking beauty.

Business

How to build something that lasts

Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.

In the depths of space, a spiral galaxy twists like a cosmic Kraken, its bright core and distinct arms encircled by a sea of stars against the dark expanse.

Starts With A Bang

Devouring “the Kraken” led to the modern Milky Way

Did the Milky Way form by slowly accreting matter or by devouring its neighboring galaxies? At last, we’re uncovering our own history.

A man in a suit and tie speaks at a podium with a microphone, gesturing with his right hand.

High Culture

In Carl Sagan’s death, an amazing life lesson

“Carl faced his death with unflagging courage and never sought refuge in illusions.”

Starts With A Bang

Our Universe has more galaxies than Carl Sagan ever imagined

Forget billions and billions. When it comes to the number of galaxies in the Universe, both theorists’ and observers’ estimates are too low.

Up Next

Surprising Science

Friendly Outbreaks

Researchers are using social networking sites to map the spread of flu symptoms between friends, a technique which may one day aid greatly in stemming a public epidemic.