Should you bring a kid into this world? Climate change. War. Civil unrest. Is it responsible to have kids today? ▸ 4 min — with Ari Wallach
Sponsored How Amazon made $200 billion a year in pure profit Some analysts predict that Amazon’s revenue will double over the next five years.
Neuropsych Sleep duration clearly divides adult lifespan into 3 phases Sleep less, sleep less, sleep more.
Hard Science Weather forecasts have radically improved. Have you noticed? “A modern five-day forecast is as accurate as a one-day forecast in 1980.”
Starts With A Bang The 4 fundamental meanings of “nothing” in science All the things that surround and compose us didn’t always exist. But describing their origin depends on what ‘nothing’ means.
Thinking Killer robots and the banality of evil “Lethal autonomous weapon” sounds friendlier than “killer robot.”
The “heroic dose” of psychedelics, according to Johns Hopkins Our society is in a mental health crisis. Are psychedelics the way out? ▸ 11 min — with Matthew W. Johnson
Neuropsych Psychedelics alter users’ beliefs about God, reality, and superstition Belief in God and the afterlife increased, while belief in superstition decreased.
Starts With A Bang Standard Model survives its biggest challenge yet For years and over three separate experiments, “lepton universality” appeared to violate the Standard Model. LHCb at last proved otherwise.
The Present Generative AI: The technology of the year for 2022 Even lifelong technologists and AI researchers like myself were genuinely surprised by the speed and impact of generative AI.
The Present Despite gloomy headlines, our planet is getting cleaner and healthier The media sells bad news, but scientific evidence shows that we are making progress toward a greener planet.
The Past PhD student solves a mysterious ancient Sanskrit text algorithm after 2,500 years A Cambridge Ph.D. student has solved a grammatical problem that has befuddled Sanskrit scholars since the 5th century BC.
Thinking What sort of ethics would aliens practice? If aliens are driven mostly by biological imperatives, humanity could be in big trouble if we ever meet technologically advanced beings.
Starts With A Bang What happens when an astrophysicist puts ChatGPT to the test? You can lead an overconfident chatbot to expert knowledge, but can it actually learn and assimilate new information?
Neuropsych Circadian rhythms: What time is your brain at its cognitive peak? For college students, it’s the early afternoon.
Neuropsych How the brain diminishes certain memories during sleep To prevent overloading the memory system, the brain may have a mechanism that tosses out certain types of memories.
13.8 The mathematical explanation for “spontaneous synchronization” It’s spooky, and it’s happening all around us. And inside us.
Thinking Slavoj Žižek: Why be happy when you can be interesting? Philosopher Slavoj Žižek argues that we often don’t truly want to obtain what we think we desire.
Starts With A Bang Hubble lives! See its top 10 images from 2022 2022 was a year full of scientific discoveries and the dawn of the JWST. But Hubble’s still going after 32 years. Here’s the amazing proof!
The Universe in 90 minutes: The Multiverse, time, free will, God, & more Everything you ever wanted to know about the Universe, explained by physicist Sean Carroll. ▸ 1:33:47 min — with Sean Carroll
Life New CRISPR tech makes it possible to wipe out invasive mice Merely 256 genetically engineered mice could make an island’s pest population go extinct.
The Present The top 10 science stories of 2022 2022 was another busy year in the realm of science, with groundbreaking stories spanning space, materials, medicine, and technology.
The Present Liberica, a rare type of coffee, could dominate by the end of the century Goodbye, Arabica? Learn to love Liberica.
Neuropsych Goat or motorcycle? Sound radically alters our visual perception What you see is what you hear.
The Future Fusion power is a scientific triumph, but not (yet) a commercial one. How do we make it so? Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
Strange Maps An interactive map with bizarre poems about England Is the dumpster in the alley worthy of a poem?
Debate world champion: Why agreement is overrated Our impulse to seek out agreement is stifling us, says world debate champion Bo Seo. ▸ 4 min — with Bo Seo