Words of Wisdom — January 13, 2014

Jay McInerney on Living

“I like the fact that I’m living in the world rather than in a university.”- Jay McInerney (born on this date in 1956)

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“I like the fact that I’m living in the world rather than in a university.”
– Jay McInerney (born on this date in 1956)

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

Black and white photo of a young woman resting her chin on her hand, set against a green background with circular and brain patterns.

Thinking

Why Hannah Arendt left philosophy behind to face the world

Arendt thought 20th-century philosophy had become too passive and abstract. She called for “active thinking” that prepares us to live in the real world.

Starts With A Bang

The importance of caring about the truth

You don’t need to be a scientist or a philosopher for facts, reality, and the truth to matter. The alternative is simply known as bullshit.

Starts With A Bang

Ask Ethan: What right do we have to colonize other worlds?

In all the known Universe, Earth is the only planet known to have native life. What should guide us in expanding humanity beyond our world?

An astronaut stands proudly on the moon's surface near scientific equipment and a lunar lander, as the American flag waves in the background, symbolizing a pioneering USA nation.

Starts With A Bang

Science’s value, unlike NASA, cannot be destroyed by politics

After drastic cuts to the NIH, the FDA, the NSF, and the DOE, NASA science faces down its smallest budget ever. All of society will suffer.

Starts With A Bang

Why nuclear reactions on an exoplanet won’t imply alien life

Planets can create nuclear power on their own, naturally, without any intelligence or technology. Earth already did: 1.7 billion years ago.

Up Next

The Passive War: “The blind warning the blind about a nonexistent danger”

Over the past century a war has been fought in universities around the world which has resulted in countless bottles of red ink spilled over students’ work, in the form […]