Guest Thinkers — December 21, 2010

Open Thread Redux

Greg is traveling this weekend and I am in a cabin in Wisconsin. So we’re going to try another open thread below. Readers, feel free to comment, hypothesize, argue, ask questions- anything. We would love to hear your thoughts on where you think Yemen is going, what US policy should be, what anyone’s policy should be. Have a good weekend, all.

A painting challenging perception with the words 'c'est pas une pipe'.

Business

Defamiliarization: How “ostranenie” can redefine life, art, and business

Defamiliarization is a common tool in the arts. Here we learn how seeing things from a different angle can lead to billion-dollar success.

The Past

How humanity became slaves to the clock

In a world without clocks, people used common activities in place of time units. How long it took you to go to the toilet mattered.

A post-career world with a desk holding a laptop and hand holding a pen.

The Learning Curve

How to succeed and find meaning in a “post-career” world

In work and life, the rules of success are being redefined.

Why haven’t we found aliens? A physicist shares the most popular theories

There are a few theories as to why we’ve never found other intelligent life in our Universe. Physicist Brian Cox walks us through them.

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13 min

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with

Brian Cox

Starts With A Bang

Ask Ethan: Is our Universe truly matter-dominated?

The laws of physics don't prefer matter over antimatter. So how can we be certain that distant stars & galaxies aren't made of antimatter?

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Guest Thinkers

Really easy tea leaves

GENEVA – The United Nations food agency said on Friday a lack of funds had forced it to cut back rations for around one million people in Yemen, despite growing […]