bigthinkeditor

No one knows monsters better than Guillermo del Toro. The director of “Pan’s Labyrinth” and the “Hellboy” franchise is renowned for creating fantastical beasts like the terrifying Pale Man, with […]

“Brazil goes to the polls on Sunday to choose a new president. After two terms, Lula will leave behind a booming economy and renewed international confidence.”

“Patient outcomes may not be as inextricably linked to doctors as many pay-for-performance programs presume.” An M.D. writes on incentive-based physician pay.

“Anyone with a video camera and some talent has the chance to reach millions; many budding producers want to talk about brands—whether or not brands want them to.”

“American society has become increasingly harsh, where the richest Americans buy their way to political power, and the poor are abandoned to their fate.”

“Last week, the FCC adopted a regulation that could dramatically improve our wireless devices. The rule offered a much-improved slice of the radio space for unlicensed use.”

“Casino-resort developer Steve Wynn is betting big on the art market this fall. Mr. Wynn has enlisted Christie’s to auction off a Roy Lichtenstein painting for at least $40 million.”

“The role of religion seems increasingly to be filled by environmentalism. It has become ‘the religion of choice for urban atheists,’ according to Michael Crichton, the late author.”

“Female sexual dysfunction—which is claimed to affect up to two thirds of women—is a disorder invented by the pharmaceutical industry to build global markets for drugs to treat it.”

“Collective intelligence exists among groups of people who cooperate well; such intelligence extends beyond the cognitive abilities of the groups’ individual members.”

“Gliese 581g would be the first Earth-like planet found orbiting in a star’s habitable zone. The new plant is located in a region where temperatures could sustain life and liquid water.”

“I don’t like failure,” says Robert Sutton, professor of organizational behavior at Stanford University. “It’s a terrible thing. I wish it wasn’t necessary, but I can’t figure out any other […]

“People are going to look at you and they’re going to ask you know a very interesting question, ‘Why should I follow you?’,” says Jeffrey Pfeffer, professor of organizational behavior […]

“Rahm Emanuel’s expected departure is more than just your standard White House shakeup: it costs Obama the man with the political grit and muscle to make his dreams come true.”

“Experiments on monkeys suggest that the animals can recognise and react to their own image in a mirror. They altered their posture to look at their own genitals.”

“A family of four in the U.S. have put themselves up for sale offering to advertise companies for $2 a day.” The Telegraph reports on the self-named ‘Billboard-family’.

“My sense is that the mama-grizzly phenomenon is part of populist conservatism’s obsession with American authenticity.” The Economist on why mama-grizzly has nothing to do with policy.

“Time and opportunities have created a new breed of so-called ‘feminist’ artists. Intelligent Life’s Jessica Machado talks to a few de facto practitioners.”

“Two new studies suggest that Twitter isn’t exactly a font of credibility as viewed by the general public.” Many users do not hold information from the site in high regard.

“The utter lack of a sense of solidarity among so many people—horrifyingly evident in the U.S. health-care debate—is now undermining the very basis of what a modern democratic society is.”

“The Indian government says its prototype tablet computer will cost only $35, but past attempts at building inexpensive PCs have fallen short.”

“As an antiterror measure, the U.S. government has deployed mobile X-ray technology to randomly scan cars and trucks. But the measure is riling privacy proponents.”

“After years of saying habitable exoplanets are just around the corner, planet hunters have found Gliese 581g, the first planet found to lie squarely in its star’s habitable zone.”

Steve Dahl makes the case for checking the veracity of political ads. “Don’t count on the broadcasters…I have never seen them come down on the side of truth over money.”

This year marks the 35th anniversary of the publication of ‘Montaillou’, a book in the French literary tradition that treats laziness with the gravity and intelligence it deserves.

We can’t be sure that the events in our memories really happened the way we recall. We all add and alter details. The only sure way is to write them down while still fresh.

It is an ongoing myth you need to write short, pithy posts. Nothing could be further from the truth. If you wish to tell deeper stories, do it, says Adam Singer.

Exterminating wolves from Yellowstone de-watered the land. Their reintroduction has reshaped an entire ecosystem and shown how large predators regulate their ecosystems.

Across Europe, right-wing populist parties are enjoying significant popular support. They are exploiting fear of Muslim immigration and frustration with the political establishment.

“To fix the U.S.-China trade imbalance, new initiatives are needed to encourage Americans to save more and Chinese to spend more.”