Guest Thinkers — September 1, 2010

SI/USGS Weekly Volcano Activity Report for 4/8-14/2009

All your volcano news and a Sakurajima webcam!

Here’s the latest Global Volcanism Program activity report for worldwide volcanism. Some of the highlights (beyond Fernandina and Llaima) include:

Vulcanian-style eruptions at Sakurajima, Japan. And guess what? There is a Sukarajima webcam!{Hat tip to Eruptions reader Jodie Morris for this link}.

Strombolian-style explosions and avalanches associated with lava flows at Arenal, Costa Rica.

A 10,000 foot / 3,000 meter ash plume from Dukono in Indonesia.

Satellite imagery exposed a thermal anomaly in the dome at Shiveluch on the Kamchatka Peninsula.

a painting of a buddha surrounded by other figures.

Thinking

The Axial Age: When the greatest minds walked the Earth

Plato, Sun Tzu, and Buddha all lived in a “golden age” of philosophy that laid the foundation of modern thought.

A digital art image of a human made of small white blocks.

Health

Reading the mind with machines

Brain-computer interfaces could enable people with locked-in syndrome and other conditions to “speak.”

a poster of a man and a woman holding a knife and a book.

Leadership

Why great managers don’t spend equal time on criticism and praise

Our brains are hardwired to find fault. The best managers don’t let this steer how they interact with their team.

a painting of a group of people riding horses.

The Past

Humanity solved the “trust paradox” by going tribal — and paid a horrific price

Evolutionary pressures drove the formation of tribes who encoded their values in myths and symbols. Was this cooperation cursed?

a man sitting in a wheel chair next to a laptop.

High Culture

This MIT scientist gave Stephen Hawking his voice — then lost his own

Remember Stephen Hawking’s robotic voice? It wasn’t a robot.

Up Next

Guest Thinkers

Things settling down at Redoubt

The eruption at Redoubt might have not seemed that destructive, but the economic effects might be more significant than expected on Alaska’s economy.