Guest Thinkers — September 1, 2010

Redoubt Mini-update

For all you Redoubt vigil holders…

According to AVO at ~12:30 (2/5/09):

Starting at 11:18 AKST (20:18 UTC), a burst of more intense seismic tremor occurred. This episode lasted for about 4 minutes and was the most most energetic since January 30. Radar and pilot observations confirm our analysis that no eruption occurred.

The Future

A general-purpose robot is entering the workforce

Named “Phoenix,” this AI-powered humanoid could be your next coworker.

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High Culture

Forget Transylvania. Dracula was inspired by an Irish cholera epidemic

Bram Stoker’s mother survived a terrible cholera outbreak and recounted the ghastly scenes to her son years later.

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The Learning Curve

The 3 disciplines of Stoicism: A guide for living a life of meaning and intention

Philosophers Massimo Pigliucci and Greg Lopez discuss how Stoicism can help us gain perspective on our emotions and act with intention in the world.

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Neuropsych

87 brain scans of people watching Hollywood movies unlock a “brain map” of social perception

A new study from Finland suggests that we all process the behavior of others using the same neural networks.

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The Well

I’m “spiritual but not religious.” Here’s what that means for a physicist

Spiritual experiences can be explained in terms of a highly evolved brain. But they also can be extremely meaningful.

Up Next

Guest Thinkers

More signs of melting at Redoubt

The “eruption watch” continues at Redoubt … Saturday revealed that things are getting hotter at the summit near the 1989/1990 dome (see picture above that made Redoubt famous in 1989). […]