Guest Thinkers — December 21, 2010

Some Lite Blog News

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

This is the last time I’ll be doing this, but I have a column up on the internet. This one is not about Yemen. I’ll only mention them in a main post if they have to do with the main topic of this blog- Yemen, for those of you that stumbled here accidentally- but there is now a link up on the side of this page for people who are interested.

I will self-promote no more forever.

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

A Rubik's cube with a red X floats in space, next to a planet and moon—each marked with green checkmarks—that boast their perfect round shape.

Starts With A Bang

Is “round” the only allowable shape for planets?

All the stars, stellar corpses, planets, and other large, massive objects take on spherical or spheroidal shapes. Why is that universal?

In a black and white illustration, four cartoon characters stand among poppies, set against a fantasy world backdrop. Overlaid text delves into the 19th-century currency debate, highlighting the clash between "Silverites" and "Goldbugs," merging historical intrigue with imaginative charm.

High Culture

5 beloved fantasy novels based on real history

Many beloved fantasy adventures take place in worlds that bear a striking resemblance to our own.

An older man with white hair and a suit receives a document from another man in a robe during an event, as several people look on in the background. In the age of viral misquotes, capturing such moments accurately becomes ever more crucial.

High Culture

Einstein didn’t say that: How viral misquotes evolve and replicate

From Einstein to Twain, Garson O’Toole investigates the truth behind your favorite — and often misattributed — quotes.

A globe is encircled by golden barbed wire against a gray background, evocative of autocracy and symbolizing restriction or confinement with a sense of luxury.

The Present

Today’s dictators are united — but not by ideology

Modern autocracies operate “not like a bloc but rather like an agglomeration of companies,” says journalist and historian Anne Applebaum.

An older man with glasses writes on paper, superimposed on a graph with a wavy purple line on a black grid background, evoking the Hemingway effect.

The Learning Curve

Tap into the “Hemingway effect” to finish what you start

To maintain momentum and flow, the great novelist Ernest Hemingway didn’t burn himself out — but learned when to put his work down.

Up Next

Guest Thinkers

Catching-up

I returned home from vacation to find that apparently both Brian and the readership of this blog also decided to take a few days off. The news, however, did not. […]