Surprising Science — January 15, 2010

The Loose Ends of String Theory

String theory has been one of the most famous ideas to emerge from physics in the past 50 years, yet a vocal minority of physicists have criticized its failure to provide testable experimental predictions. In an interview this week, Columbia University’s Peter Woit untangles a fundamental model of nature his book calls “Not Even Wrong” and voices skepticism that it will turn out to be the long-sought-after “theory of everything.”

Woit goes on to explain the nature of the elusive Higgs particle and the role the new Large Hadron Collider (LHC) will play in proving its existence or nonexistence. Having tied the viewer’s mind into some intricate theoretical knots, he then discusses his experience as a physics blogge r, and the unintentional comedy that results when the average Internet commenter pits his wits against Nobel-winning scientists.

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Neuropsych

25 years since Columbine: We’re closer to decoding mass-shooter psychology

Public mass shooters almost always have worldviews shaped by the "3 Rs": rage, resentment, and revenge.

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Thinking

Everyday Philosophy: “Is there anything wrong with trauma dumping?”

When does "oversharing" become an issue?

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Leadership

Adam Grant on how to identify and develop high-potential leaders

The ability to toggle between abstract and concrete thinking is a key differentiator of high-potential leaders.

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Business

Want true success? Be more philosophical about “good” and “bad” failure.

Bob Dylan gave us the paradoxical gem "there's no success like failure, and failure's no success at all." He had a point.

Starts With A Bang

The idea that matter is mostly empty space is mostly wrong

Practically all of the matter we see and interact with is made of atoms, which are mostly empty space. Then why is reality so... solid?

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Culture & Religion

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