Surprising Science — May 4, 2012

What Money Can’t Buy: Michael Sandel LIVE on Big Think

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Michael J. Sandel is the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Government at Harvard University, where he has taught political philosophy since 1980. His recent book, Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do?, relates the big questions of political philosophy to the most vexing issues of our time. His new book, What Money Can’t Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets, will be published in spring 2012.

Watch the video here:

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Silhouette of a person against a blue background, overlaid with white node and line networks.

Thinking

Mechanized minds: AI’s hidden impact on human thought

While we’re busy wondering whether machines will ever become conscious, we rarely stop to ask: What happens to us?

A person reminiscent of Daniel Dennett, known for his critical thinking, stands with raised hands, sporting a beard and glasses. He wears a gray blazer over a blue shirt against a neutral background.

The Learning Curve

3 brilliant critical thinking tools used by Daniel Dennett

The late philosopher suggested adding a couple of “Occam’s heuristics” to your critical thinking toolbox.

A globe is encircled by golden barbed wire against a gray background, evocative of autocracy and symbolizing restriction or confinement with a sense of luxury.

The Present

Today’s dictators are united — but not by ideology

Modern autocracies operate “not like a bloc but rather like an agglomeration of companies,” says journalist and historian Anne Applebaum.

Two hands piecing together a collage of illustrations including elements like the US Capitol dome, an American flag, a portion of the US Constitution, and an eye from a dollar bill against a blue background.

The Present

Americans don’t understand their government. They’re paying the price.

It’s a problem on both sides of the political divide.

A fiery landscape with molten lava flows and a distant orange sky. Smoke rises from several volcanoes, the most prominent one in the middle emitting a large plume reminiscent of things sent into space. Rocky foreground.

Hard Science

The weirdest stuff we’ve sent into orbit

Fifteen human space oddities.

Up Next

Culture & Religion

Who Should Authors Turn to for Editing Advice?

Writers invest their very lives in their work, so who should they turn to when a manuscript is finished? Increasingly, literary agents are taking the place of publishing house editors.