Guest Thinkers — December 21, 2010

Blog Addition

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Waq al-waq is proud to link to Jarret Brachman’s blog on all things Jihadi. Jarret was kind enough to let me sit beside him at a conference last year back before he retreated from the east coast, and he has many good things to say.

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Animated characters observe a family walking in a snowy scene through a viewing screen, inside a control room.

Thinking

Everyday Philosophy: Is there such a thing as a “negative emotion”?

There’s little more infuriating in the world than being told to “calm down” when you’re in the midst of a simmering grump.

A Rubik's cube with a red X floats in space, next to a planet and moon—each marked with green checkmarks—that boast their perfect round shape.

Starts With A Bang

Is “round” the only allowable shape for planets?

All the stars, stellar corpses, planets, and other large, massive objects take on spherical or spheroidal shapes. Why is that universal?

A robotic prosthetic arm with visible internal mechanisms, wires, and a mechanical hand. Labels such as "SFU" and "BESOM" are visible on the arm casing.

The Present

The Cybathlon: Bionic athletes compete for the gold — and push assistive technologies forward

In the international competition, people with physical disabilities put state-of-the-art devices to the test as they race to complete the tasks of everyday life.

A white lab mouse sits in a glass petri dish, cradled gently by hands clad in blue gloves. The captivating scene underscores the crucial role of lab mice in scientific research and discovery.

Life

Scientists kill 192 million lab mice each year. Is there a better way?

Can laboratories become more humane, or is it time to end animal research altogether?

Yellow book cover titled "Consider the Turkey" by Peter Singer, featuring a red illustration of a turkey—perfect for Thanksgiving reading.

Thinking

The case for sparing 46 million turkeys this Thanksgiving

Philosopher Peter Singer argues it’s time to examine a morally dubious practice.

Up Next

Guest Thinkers

Make sure you read this: Firsthand from Sa’dah

This is an extraordinarily powerful piece of writing from an aid worker, Saddam al-Abdeeni, in Sa’dah.