Words of Wisdom — January 9, 2014

Jack London’s Call to be Wild

"I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet." - Jack London (born on this date in 1876)

bigthinkeditor

“I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.” – Jack London (born on this date in 1876)

Starts With A Bang

How Einstein made the biggest blunder of his life

When Einstein gave General Relativity to the world, he included an extraneous cosmological constant. How did his ‘biggest blunder’ occur?

an open book with a drawing of flowers on it.

The Past

Can statistics help crack the mysterious Voynich manuscript?

The meaning of the cryptic text has eluded scholars for centuries. Their latest efforts include computational analyses seeking new insights into the medieval enigma.

a group of people taking pictures of a projector.

The Present

Apple’s truly revolutionary headset will usher in the age of augmented reality

One of Apple’s key innovations serves as a psychological breakthrough, as its technology eliminates the isolating feel of headset use.

a black hole with a white light coming out of it.

Hard Science

Scientists are exploring how deadly gamma-ray bursts could sterilize — or vaporize — the Earth

Gamma-ray bursts are so powerful they could vaporize the Earth from 200 light-years away. Recreating them in the lab is not easy.

a multicolored image of the earth on a black background.

Neuropsych

How a global network of “psychedelic centers” could help beat existential anxiety

Neuroscientists and artists alike are making the case that we could transform the world through psychedelics.

Up Next

Starts With A Bang

Why we think there’s a Multiverse, not just our Universe

How our best physical understanding of the early stages of the Universe — that set up the hot Big Bang — inevitably leads us to conclude that there’s a lot more than what’s merely […]