Guest Thinkers — November 26, 2010

Cancun Climate Talks

Fred Pearce looks at what hopes there are for agreement on a replacement for the Kyoto protocol as world experts get together from 29th November to 10th December in Mexico.

bigthinkeditor

Fred Pearce looks at what hopes there are for reaching agreement on a replacement for the Kyoto protocol as world experts get together from 29th November to 10th December in Cancun, Mexico. “In truth, hopes are not high for reaching agreement on a replacement for the Kyoto protocol. …Three things have gone wrong. First, the global recession has given politicians other priorities. Second, in international diplomacy, failure breeds failure. Having not delivered last year, few leaders want to invest political capital in another try. And finally, there is the cataclysm that has overtaken climate science in the meantime.

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The Future

3D-printed “metamaterial” is stronger than anything in nature

It’s 50% stronger than comparable materials used in aerospace.

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Neuropsych

25 years since Columbine: We’re closer to decoding mass-shooter psychology

Public mass shooters almost always have worldviews shaped by the "3 Rs": rage, resentment, and revenge.

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Thinking

Everyday Philosophy: “Is there anything wrong with trauma dumping?”

When does "oversharing" become an issue?

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Leadership

Adam Grant on how to identify and develop high-potential leaders

The ability to toggle between abstract and concrete thinking is a key differentiator of high-potential leaders.

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Business

Want true success? Be more philosophical about “good” and “bad” failure.

Bob Dylan gave us the paradoxical gem "there's no success like failure, and failure's no success at all." He had a point.

Up Next

Culture & Religion

We Go With The Immoral Flow

Psychologists have discovered more "bad news" about human nature: If doing the wrong thing is easier than doing the right thing, most of us will just go "with the immoral flow."