Guest Thinkers — February 16, 2011

Video – What does it mean to be literate in the 21st century?

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Here’s a new video from Heidi Clark and Anita Bramhoff, two Canadian teachers who made the film as part of some work at the University of British Columbia. Happy viewing!

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

A man with short dark hair, glasses, and a goatee, wearing a blue jacket over a light shirt, stands in front of a beige, textured background.

13.8

“Mystery humbles you”: Scott Derrickson on why skepticism and faith aren’t enemies

The “Doctor Strange” director says mystery shifts your worldview — “not in a metaphorical sense, but in a deeply experiential one.”

Man in a dark shirt smiling against a purple background with black scribbles and a white rectangle, reminiscent of "The Year of Living Biblically," embracing the chaos with serene humor.

Books

What happens when you follow the Bible literally for a whole year?

A.J. Jacobs looks back at what he learned about religion, himself, and modern American culture during “The Year of Living Biblically.”

A green planet with rings is shown against a starry black background, with shadowy humanoid figures visible inside the planet’s outline.

The Past

Aliens, everywhere: Why scientists once assumed every planet was inhabited

Long before the search for biosignatures, scientists imagined a cosmos teeming with intelligent life.

A man in a suit holds up a Hurricane Dorian forecast map in an office, tracing the storm’s projected path and intensity over several southeastern U.S. states and the Bahamas—echoing the urgent clarity of a 1938 science manifesto defending democracy.

Starts With A Bang

This 1938 pro-science manifesto defended democracy against fascism

As democracy recedes and fascism rises in the USA and around the world in 2025, history provides a lesson in how science can fight fascism.

A vintage-style illustration of a celestial scene, echoing science fiction by scientists, features a textured black planet and a whimsical moon with an eye, all enclosed in a pale green border against a starry background.

Books

5 classic science fiction novels written by scientists

What happens when scientists “write what they know”? Some amazing science fiction stories.

Up Next

Guest Thinkers

Kudos, Dr. Watson!

Bill Watson, Activities Director for the Urbandale (IA) Community School District, received his doctorate this evening from Iowa State University. As his doctoral advisor, I had the pleasure of ‘hooding’ […]