Surprising Science — March 12, 2014

The Accidental Universe

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

Alan Lightman on whether our universe may be an accident.

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

Green abstract image with floating, glowing funnel-shaped objects and spherical wireframe shapes evokes a black hole universe, all set against a misty green background with ethereal light streaks.

Ask Ethan: Could our whole Universe be a black hole’s interior?

Once you cross a black hole’s event horizon, there’s no going back. But inside, could creating a singularity give birth to a new Universe?

A collage featuring an open book, a light source, and images of the moon captures post-AI wisdom, with the title "The Night Crawler" at the top.

Business

Creating wisdom infrastructure for the next 100 years

Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.

Starts With A Bang

Why is “F = ma” still the most important equation in physics?

From high school through the professional ranks, physicists still take incredible lessons away from Newton’s second law.

A man dressed in red crawls on all fours with a bit in his mouth, while a woman in a checkered dress rides on his back, indulging in a playful kink scenario.

Mini Philosophy

The Tree of Kink: What science teaches us about fetish clusters

How deep is your kink?

A painting depicts compassionate leaders, as a person in a blue robe carries an injured figure on a brown horse, set against swirling blue and yellow brushstrokes in the background.

Business

3 essential self-care habits for compassionate leadership

The benefits of compassion in the workplace are manifold — but leaders should retain an intentional focus on mental, emotional, and physical balance.

Up Next

“Lord of the Flies,” Still Haunting at 60

On the 60th anniversary of its publication, Lord of the Flies continues to be a valuable literary and cultural reference point and, more surprisingly, an instructive manual about contemporary political life—and its liabilities.