Surprising Science — February 24, 2014

Death by Black Hole

The most surprising and impactful new stories delivered to your inbox every week, for free.

Here’s your existential food-for-thought for the day. What exactly would happen to you if you got sucked into a black hole? What would that demise be like? Everyone’s favorite astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson explains in this short video:

Image credit: NASA Goddard Photo and Video/Flickr

The most surprising and impactful new stories delivered to your inbox every week, for free.

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

High Culture

Stephen Hawking’s famous voice belonged to this pioneering MIT scientist

Dennis Klatt developed trailblazing text-to-speech systems before losing his own voice to cancer.

Starts With A Bang

Ask Ethan: Could a black hole eventually swallow Earth?

The odds are slim, but the consequences would be literally world-ending. There really is a chance of a black hole devouring the Earth.

a collage of a woman with a baby in a stroller.

Thinking

Why the simulation hypothesis is pseudoscience

The simulation hypothesis is fun to talk about, but believing it requires an act of faith.

The Learning Curve

Why do high IQ people stagnate in their careers? Emotional intelligence

Research suggests that emotional intelligence is more vital for success than IQ.

Hard Science

Neil deGrasse Tyson explores 3 mind-blowing space facts

Dr. Tyson explains where we might find aliens, why “dark matter” is a misleading term, and why you can blame physics for your favorite team’s loss.

Up Next

Surprising Science

Visit the Cloudy Center of a Galaxy

What is at the heart of an active galaxy? Researchers believe that massive black holes millions of times more massive than our sun comprise galactic cores, according to NASA. This […]