Surprising Science — April 9, 2014

Einstein’s Last Desk

Albert Einstein passed away on April 18, 1955. A photographer from LIFE snapped his desk at Princeton hours after Einstein had died. Einstein gave new meaning to the saying, cluttered desk, cluttered mind. Perhaps genius requires a little disorder.

13.8

Quantum physics forces us to make really weird choices

Einstein always loses in the quantum realm.

The Past

Did extraterrestrials visit ancient Sumer?

Venerated astrophysicist Carl Sagan entertained the possibility.

Leadership

Great leaders ask great questions: Here are 3 steps to up your questioning game.

Questioning isn’t just a way to get the right answer — it’s also a means for sustaining relationships and creative thinking.

Starts With A Bang

A failed proton decay search accidentally birthed neutrino astronomy

Before we discovered gravitational waves, multi-messenger astronomy got its start with light and particles arriving from the same event.

The Past

Japan isolated itself from the rest of the world for 265 years. Here’s why.

Japan just opened to tourists for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began, echoing the island country’s isolationist policies during the feudal era.

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Words of Wisdom

Khalil Gibran on Work

“Work is love made visible.” – Khalil Gibran