Culture & Religion — April 4, 2011

What Is the Role of the Modern Critic?

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

The kind of literary criticism that Lionel Trilling practiced, which assumed that national literatures reflected deep national values, is dead now.

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Starts With A Bang

How to make peace with the weirdness of quantum mechanics

Our classical intuition is no good in a quantum Universe. To make sense of it, we need to learn, and apply, an entirely novel set of rules.

Arms burdened with a large stack of papers, folders, and rolled-up documents, a person exemplifies toxic productivity. Their black bag hangs precariously from their arm as they navigate the weight of their workload.

The Learning Curve

How to break free from your “toxic productivity” cycle

Psychotherapist Israa Nasir explains how a “value-aligned life” can help us crush our goals — without being crushed by the need to accomplish more.

The Present

Microplastic overload: Is cutting production the only realistic way to curb pollution?

On November 25, U.N. members will meet in South Korea to cap off a series of meetings aiming to reduce global plastic pollution.

Silhouette of a person against a blue background, overlaid with white node and line networks.

Thinking

Mechanized minds: AI’s hidden impact on human thought

While we’re busy wondering whether machines will ever become conscious, we rarely stop to ask: What happens to us?

Close-up of multi-colored snowflakes on the left and a detailed view of a spiral galaxy on the right against a star-filled background.

13.8

Two essential questions about life in the Universe

How did life on Earth begin? Is there life on other worlds? An answer to either question will reflect heavily on the other.

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