Guest Thinkers — December 21, 2010

Come on…

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

I mean, come on.

Locusts? From Somalia? I guess that validates the old axiom, that when it rains, it pours upon your country biblically ironic plagues.

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Collage of geopolitical symbols, featuring a close-up of a man's bald head, China's flag, a globe highlighting Taiwan, and circuit patterns.

The Present

Why the USSR and China fell behind the US in the Chip Cold War

Both nations made missteps, but China still has a chance to make up lost ground.

A globe is encircled by golden barbed wire against a gray background, evocative of autocracy and symbolizing restriction or confinement with a sense of luxury.

The Present

Today’s dictators are united — but not by ideology

Modern autocracies operate “not like a bloc but rather like an agglomeration of companies,” says journalist and historian Anne Applebaum.

Aerial image of a Martian landscape with rough, textured surface featuring blue and reddish-brown hues marked by undulating ridges and valleys.

Hard Science

“Follow the salt”: A new strategy for finding life on Mars

Scientists might be looking for Martian life in the wrong place.

Image with a split view: the left half shows a black-and-white image of Earth, the right half depicts a grayscale crowd scene. Text overlay: "More Humans Are Better," with the number "3" in the top right corner.

The Present

The overlooked virtues of a crowded world

In a world of rising cynicism, a celebration of our capacity to create, adapt, and thrive.

Multicolored shoelaces in varying shades of yellow, green, blue, and orange are arranged neatly on the right side of a wooden surface. The left side of the surface is empty.

High Culture

9 ordinary things you (probably) didn’t know had fascinating names

Have you ever noticed how many things you interact with but can’t name? So did we.

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