Guest Thinkers — December 21, 2010

No surprise here

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

This should not come as a surprise: the US and UK embassies have been closed, citing security threats.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is going to retaliate, the only question is when and where.

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Close-up of a mechanical watch face with exposed gears and intricate details, highlighted by gold and dark tones. The minute and second hands are visible.

Thinking

The perpetual quest for a truth machine

Why human attempts to mechanize logic keep breaking down.

A montage of famous philosophers’ portraits next to a large question mark on the right, intersected by a horizontal arrow.

Thinking

Everyday Philosophy: Why does it seem like philosophy is dead?

Philosophy cures no disease and invents nothing new. What’s even the point?

Starts With A Bang

Ask Ethan: Why are inertial and gravitational mass equivalent?

The mass that gravitates and the mass that resists motion are, somehow, the same mass. But even Einstein didn’t know why this is so.

A storefront with signs for psychic telepathy readings and a phone number. Two white plastic chairs are placed in front. The storefront is pink with a black awning and a large hand sign advertising $10 readings.

Neuropsych

The psychology of the psychic

Thinking of a number between one and ten? Here’s how predictable human responses create the illusion of telepathy.

A room simulating a Martian landscape with red sand, rocky walls, a green tent, and NASA equipment.

The Future

NASA medical officer on spending 378 days in a Mars simulation

“When you feel the isolation setting in at times, you have to reframe your mindset.”

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