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“Politics is weird. It’s the only business in the world in which you take a really, really important position, and you give it to someone with no qualifications.” —Tony Blair

The very concept of a “problem with no solution” goes against human nature. But we must accept this harsh reality to have peace in our lives.

“The movement is much bigger than Sam Bankman-Fried, or any one person, no matter how wealthy,” philosopher Peter Singer told Big Think.

Ultracold gases in the lab could help scientists better understand the universe.

In a new book, an MIT scholar examines how game-theory logic underpins many of our seemingly odd and irrational decisions.

It’s on a 100,000-year timescale, though, so the next few centuries might not be so comfortable.

Historical geniuses used the “creative nap” to give their minds a boost. Apparently, the “hypnagogic state” can help with problem solving.

Humans seemingly have opposing desires to fit in and to be unique. The interplay between these might drive the evolution of fads.

Isaac Asimov’s “Foundation” series helped inspire the field of social physics, which uses math to understand crowd behavior.

The Universe has asymmetries, but that’s a good thing. Imperfections are essential for the existence of stars and even life itself.

Will nature or nurture win out?

If computers can beat us at chess, maybe they could beat us at math, too.

According to neuropsychologist Julia DiGangi, no one can live a life free of emotional pain. We can only choose how those emotions empower us.

Unless you confront your theory with what’s actually out there in the Universe, you’re playing in the sandbox, not engaging in science.

From unexplained tracks in a balloon-borne experiment to cosmic rays on Earth, the unstable muon was particle physics’ biggest surprise.

Sick of remembering a random string of letters, numbers, and special characters?

If nature were perfectly deterministic, atoms would almost instantly all collapse. Here’s how Heisenberg uncertainty saves the atom.

We spend much of our early years learning arithmetic and algebra. What’s the use?

In the quest to measure how antimatter falls, the possibility that it fell “up” provided hope for warp drive. Here’s how it all fell apart.

These were the stories you clicked on the most.

There are many theories of gravity out there, and many interpretations of wide binary star data. What have we really learned from it all?

We will become billions of people who share a single vast intellect.

Our current form of education is almost 200 years old. What should schools of the future look like?

Philosopher and logician Kurt Gödel upended our understanding of mathematics and truth.

How efficiently could quantum engines operate?

In our Universe, all stable atomic nuclei have protons in them; there’s no stable “neutronium” at all. But what’s the reason why?

When making any tough decision, the key is not to be overly exploratory or exploitative.

Centuries ago, the plague forced people into quarantine for years. Isaac Newton and Galileo used the time to revolutionize the world.

A next-generation LHC++ could cost $100 billion. Here’s why such a machine could end up being a massive waste of money.

Achieving values and pursuing growth is the real secret to a fulfilled life.