Guest Thinkers — September 1, 2010

Back from east coast, time to play catch-up

I’ve made it back from my trip to Washington DC. The Smithsonian Institution is quite a fun place to visit, especially if rocks are your ilk. Be sure to check out the wonderful mineral collection at the Natural History Museum. I only wish the Global Volcanism Program would have a more interactive (and visible) spot in the museum itself.

A diagram of the solar system with the sun, earth, and uranus.

Starts With A Bang

Astronomer Johannes Kepler solved life’s hardest problem: marriage

How can you maximize the amount of love and happiness in your life? One of history's greatest scientists found the answer: with math.

A Chinese philosophy book with open pages.

Thinking

5 philosophy books that shaped Chinese thought

Dive into China's profound intellectual legacy through five seminal texts that have shaped millennia of thought.

Dolly Parton on stage with an acoustic guitar showcases her musical talent.

High Culture

Are America’s distinct accents dying out?

In Georgia, it's becoming less common to pronounce words like "prize" as "prahz."

The Well

When neutron stars collide

NASA’s Michelle Thaller explains what happens when the densest stars in the galaxy collide.

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5 min

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with

Michelle Thaller

Hard Science

How Mars lost its magnetic field — and then its oceans

Chemical changes inside Mars' core caused it to lose its magnetic field. This, in turn, caused it to lose its oceans. But how?

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Guest Thinkers

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