Guest Thinkers — February 16, 2011

Change Week: Don’t forget!

Scott McLeod

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

A person sits on a sidewalk near an escalator entrance, next to an overturned shopping cart on a metal grate.

The Present

Can science solve the poverty problem?

An evidence-based policy movement is arming the fight with tools and programs that are more effective than ever before.

In the depths of space, a spiral galaxy twists like a cosmic Kraken, its bright core and distinct arms encircled by a sea of stars against the dark expanse.

Starts With A Bang

Devouring “the Kraken” led to the modern Milky Way

Did the Milky Way form by slowly accreting matter or by devouring its neighboring galaxies? At last, we’re uncovering our own history.

Starts With A Bang

Our Universe has more galaxies than Carl Sagan ever imagined

Forget billions and billions. When it comes to the number of galaxies in the Universe, both theorists’ and observers’ estimates are too low.

The letters "AI" appear with a glitch effect in multicolored pixels against a black background.

The Present

AI skeptic Gary Marcus on AI’s moral and technical shortcomings

The cognitive scientist argues the current AI environment is failing us as consumers and a society. But it’s not too late to change course.

Starts With A Bang

Ask Ethan: Do gravitons need to exist?

Electromagnetism, both nuclear forces, and even the Higgs force are mediated by known bosons. What about gravity? Does it require gravitons?

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