Guest Thinkers — February 16, 2011

1.23 million dropouts

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Imagine each of the blocks below represents 1,000 students. That’s how many members of the public high school class of 2008 will fail to graduate without a diploma. Be sure to see the entire Graduation Counts 2008 report from Education Week (free this week!).

The most surprising and impactful new stories delivered to your inbox every week, for free.

Starts With A Bang

Why is “F = ma” still the most important equation in physics?

From high school through the professional ranks, physicists still take incredible lessons away from Newton’s second law.

Three different 3D protein structures are displayed on a light grid-patterned background, each occupying a separate quadrant in the image.

Health

Gaming cancer: How video games and citizen science could help cure disease

By inviting players to tackle real scientific problems, games can offer a hand in solving medicine’s toughest challenges.

A split image shows a hand with fingers crossed on the left, evoking the idea of a noble lie, and a person in military uniform saluting on the right.

Mini Philosophy

The noble lie: Why countries that lie together, stay together

This is my country and this is what we stand for. At least for now.

Infographic displays spacecraft names and missions around the Sun, planets, and moons, illustrating the current and planned science fleet exploring the Solar System.

Starts With A Bang

American science to soon face its largest brain drain in history

Over the first half of 2025, the US has cut science as never before. This disaster for American science may be a gift to the rest of the world.

Perception Box

Paralyzed, Alana Nichols thought her athletic career was over. Then she changed her mind.

Rediscovering competition in an unexpected place helped her rewrite what was possible — and go on to win gold.

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8 min

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with

Alana Nichols

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Why don’t we do more pre-testing?

[cross-posted at LeaderTalk] When I moved to Iowa from Minnesota, the Iowa Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) didn’t test me before it issued me a driver’s license. It took into account […]