Politics & Current Affairs — October 11, 2011

Dartmouth Republican Presidential Debate Pre-Show, Moderated by Morton Kondracke, to Stream LIVE on Big Think at 5pm EST

Tonight’s Republican Presidential Debate at Dartmouth College will feature a pre-debate panel discussion, exclusively co-sponsored by Big Think and Dartmouth College. This discussion will stream LIVE on Peter Lawler’s Rightly Understood blog at 5pm EST tonight.

Tune in to watch the show LIVE right here.

The Past

The oldest relative of living animals is a jellyfish

The 557-million-year-old specimen challenges the theory that animal body plans were laid out in the Cambrian explosion.

The Past

Meet Qikiqtania, a fossil fish who stayed in the water while others ventured onto land

Human beings are descendants of these early tetrapods – at least those who made a new life on land.

Strange Maps

Turns out most famous people aren’t that famous at all

An interactive “globe of notability” shows the curious correspondences and the strange landscape of global fame.

Starts With A Bang

Yes, the Universe really is 100% reductionist in nature

The whole isn’t greater than the sum of its parts; that’s a flaw in our thinking. Non-reductionism requires magic, not merely science.

The Present

Why regulating “bad speech” online is one of society’s biggest conundrums

It is through speaking and listening that human beings become who they are.

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Why Andy Warhol Still Makes Headlines

Even before Occupy Wall Street invaded the National Mall in Washington, DC, and closed down the National Air and Space Museum, Andy Warhol had already occupied several other museums for […]