bigthinkeditor
From high-speed rail and congestion pricing to privatization, Americans debate the best ways to invest in infrastructure and stimulate economic activity.
The word “occult” is loaded with all sorts of associations. To some it conjures images of devil worship and witchcraft; to others it is just a concoction of superstition and […]
“Beautifully preserved bees, ants, spiders and other small prehistoric creatures that lived 50 million years ago have been unearthed in a huge amber deposit in India.”
“Governments don’t want to admit the failure of health-care or surveillance systems, and they are afraid of the trade and travel sanctions that may result from a large outbreak.”
Software developer Steve Laniel says that if we really want the Information Age rather than the Chatter Age, there’s only one solution: relearn self-control.rn
“The creator of America’s first and best satirical daily newspaper cartoon talks about 40 years of upsetting politicians and editors.”
“Mentally disturbed people are not merely paying a personal price for our social sanity, but are sometimes gifted too in their own peculiar way.”
“What makes cobras kings is not just their size, or their deadliness…it is that they eat other snakes. How does the king cobra maintain such an apparently high-risk lifestyle?”
“Our self-image is one of bold action. In reality, Americans resist change, pressing the government to act boldly only when a national calamity forces it upon us.”
“One obvious problem for many porn users is the conflict between their stated belief in equality and respect for women, and the material they’re watching in private.”
“American journalists in Baghdad were under attack not just from Iraqi insurgents, but, at least verbally, from our own country’s civilian and military commanders as well.”
A US study into adult creativity has discovered that the more an adult acts and thinks like a child, the more imaginative he or she becomes.
“For both F.D.R. and Obama, national economic disaster was electoral good fortune. But Obama’s luck ran out almost as soon as the votes had been counted.”
Is our universe simply a hologram? Particle astrophysicist Craig Hogan is building the most precise clock of all time to directly measure whether our reality is an illusion.
“Writer Hunter S. Thompson, the king of gonzo journalism, was not a skier, so why did he choose to live in Aspen?” The Guardian searches for the ski-resort counterculture.
“What makes some people so much more alluring than others? The Independent discovers that good looks and sexiness are determined before we’re even born.”
“There is a tension between stories and statistics, and one under-appreciated contrast between them is simply the mindset with which we approach them.”
As car ownership rates drop in urban areas, B.M.W. has a foreword thinking business idea. The company will rent its cars by the hour to customers in Munich, Germany.
“Will the average earnings of women begin before long to exceed that of men after being so far behind in the past?” Nobel Laureate Gary Becker on women’s propensity for education.
A new Japanese internal combustion engine gets its high fuel economy of 70 m.p.g. from an improved gas engine and a lightweight design rather than hybrid technology.
“As complex families proliferate, the law considers: Can a child have more than two parents?” The Boston Globe reports on the changing legal definition of parenthood.
According to civic engagement, education and intellectual atmosphere, Boston is America’s smartest city. The Daily Beast ranks 55 of America’s metropolitan areas.
Gerontologist Thomas Kirkwood thinks women tend to live longer than men because their reproductive capacity is more essential to the survival of the species.
As America becomes more aware of the costs its healthcare system imposes on the national economy, online sources are helping consumers find out about healthcare prices.
The Iraq War Logs released yesterday by WikiLeaks demonstrate the discipline and accountability problems inherent in the practice of contracting mercenaries.
New documenting technology can recognize and delete corporate logos caught in the field of view of your smartphone camera or video recorder. Other artistic uses are proliferating.
Social change often works against generations of tradition, so what accounts for its success or failure? The New York Times looks at examples of reform in China and Kenya for clues.
An initiative at M.I.T. that helps to connect venture capitalists with inventors and innovators may spur the creation of a new social network. The government is watching for results.
The industrialized world is aging, but perhaps there is cause to celebrate. Stefany Anne Golberg at The Smart Set sees a future of technological wonder and wise elders.
A study by the Electromagnetic Compatibility Society finds that: “There is no definitive instance of an air accident known to have been caused by a passenger’s use of an electronic device.”