Words of Wisdom — February 10, 2014

Pasternak on the Virtue of Falling

"I don't like people who have never fallen or stumbled. Their virtue is lifeless and it isn't of much value. Life hasn't revealed its beauty to them." - Boris Pasternak (born on this date in 1890)

bigthinkeditor

“I don’t like people who have never fallen or stumbled. Their virtue is lifeless and it isn’t of much value. Life hasn’t revealed its beauty to them.” – Boris Pasternak (born on this date in 1890)

Neuropsych

The lies that skulls told us

The pseudoscience phrenology swept the popular imagination, and its practitioners made a mint preying on prejudices, gullibility, and misinformation.

A black and white photo of a building that has been destroyed in New Jersey.

13.8

The most important lesson about being a scientist I learned in New Jersey

"I grew up in New Jersey in the 1970s and that experience gave me everything I needed to become a skeptic."

An visualization of dark matter across the universe

Hard Science

Scientists rule out a popular alternative theory to dark matter

The paper does not prove the existence of dark matter, but it mostly eliminates a rival theory called Modified Newtonian Dynamics.

Black and white photo of a woman holding a stack of papers, illustrating Parkinson's Law.

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Overcome your fear of deadlines with Parkinson’s law

How to figure out the right amount of time for any project.

NASA solar dynamics observatory view of the sun

Starts With A Bang

What was it like when the first elements formed?

In the early stages of the hot Big Bang, there were only free protons and neutrons: no atomic nuclei. How did the first elements form from them?

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