Words of Wisdom — January 21, 2014

Paul Allen on Invention

“What should exist? To me, that’s the most exciting question imaginable. What do we need that we don’t have? How can we realize our potential?”- Paul Allen (born on this date in 1953)

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“What should exist? To me, that’s the most exciting question imaginable. What do we need that we don’t have? How can we realize our potential?”
– Paul Allen (born on this date in 1953)

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

Collage featuring scientific diagrams, two black-and-white portraits of men, wheat plants, and "Solutionism" text in the center.

Thinking

Blind optimism is not a cure for blind pessimism

We need to fully acknowledge problems, while vigorously pursuing solutions. Call it “solutionism.”

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Starts With A Bang

The biggest holes in NASA’s suite of observatories

NASA’s space telescopes and observatories bring humanity unrivaled science images and scientific discoveries. Here’s what should be next.

A deep space image showing numerous galaxies of different shapes and sizes scattered across a dark background, with many stars and cosmic objects, including the ancient Methuselah star, also visible throughout.

Starts With A Bang

Is the “Methuselah star” really older than the Universe?

The Universe is precisely dated at 13.8 billion years old, but astronomers claim the Methuselah star is 14.5 billion years old. What gives?

Starts With A Bang

Ask Ethan: Has a new study disproven dark matter and dark energy?

There are a wide variety of theoretical studies that call our Standard Model of cosmology into question. Here’s what they really mean.

warm-hot intergalactic medium sculptor wall

Starts With A Bang

How heavy hydrogen reveals the dark Universe

Just by observing the tiny amount of deuterium left over from the Big Bang, we can determine that dark matter and dark energy must exist.

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