Guest Thinkers — December 21, 2010

Programming Note

The most surprising and impactful new stories delivered to your inbox every week, for free.

I’m heading off for a few days of what I like to think is a much-deserved vacation later today, which means that postings will likely be sporadic over the next week. I’m sure I will post some, but much of it will be determined by how bored I am and/or how frustrated I am with attempting to understand set theory.

The most surprising and impactful new stories delivered to your inbox every week, for free.

Starts With A Bang

Ask Ethan: Could dark energy be more negative than a cosmological constant?

The fact that our Universe’s expansion is accelerating implies that dark energy exists. But could it be even weirder than we’ve imagined?

A graphic featuring the text "The Nightcrawler," a black-and-white photo of a lighthouse amid waves that outlast the storm, and a green-tinted portrait of a man.

Business

Why I’m writing OUTLAST: a book about resilience (and hope)

Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.

Starts With A Bang

The Universe is not symmetric

The laws of physics obey certain symmetries and defy others. It’s theoretically tempting to add new ones, but reality doesn’t agree.

A healthcare worker wearing gloves administers an injection with a syringe into a person's upper arm, reminding us that when it comes to vaccines, do your own research and stay informed.

Starts With A Bang

What to know about vaccines in the do-your-own-research era

For centuries, vaccines have been the top life-saving, expert medical intervention known to humans. How can individuals make the right call?

Visualization of a section through the large-scale structure of the universe highlighting cosmic web patterns and distributions.

Starts With A Bang

Ask Ethan: Is dark energy just leftover momentum from the Big Bang?

Since 1998, we’ve known our Universe isn’t just expanding, but the expansion is accelerating. Could the Big Bang itself be the reason why?

Up Next

Guest Thinkers

Jabal Dukhan

News Yemen helps to explain the strategic importance of Jabal Dukhan and gives a bit more information, which is helpful since the mountain is not in my mu’ajim al-buldan.