bigthinkeditor
“In 1960 a spirited animal lover with no scientific training set up camp to observe chimpanzees. Today Jane Goodall’s name is synonymous with the protection of the species.”
“The World Trade Organization has found that much of the $22 billion benefit Boeing enjoyed from tax breaks and defence and research contracts was also an illegal subsidy.”
“Immersive theatre is billed as a thrilling and intimate alternative to traditional drama, but it smacks of triviality and low-level fascism.” Prospect magazine on the steadiest theater trend.
“In regions scarred by intractable poverty, innovative programs to build new sources of wealth through these four businesses are providing lessons for entrepreneurs.”
“The next X PRIZE competition, the Google Lunar X PRIZE, is offering $60 million to land a robotic rover on the moon and use it to complete certain objectives.”
How is it that we’re able to focus on a distant conversation while ignoring the person who is speaking right in front of us? Tony Zador, a neuroscientist at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, breaks down the brain mechanisms that allow us to have selective auditory attention.
“Positive psychology is a movement in social psychology which attempts to change the way that we think about humans,” explains positive psychology expert Shawn Achor. “Instead of focusing merely on […]
“Science validates the notion that people with a strong social network live longer. It’s not yet clear if the benefits apply to those who turn to the Internet for friendship.”
“Just a few small changes in the social behaviors of even solitary animals may set in motion an evolutionary cascade ending in massive, globe-spanning migrations.”
The Boston Globe says more must be done to ferret out conflicts of interest in peer-reviewed journals, which are a key way doctors keep informed of cutting-edge research.
“Online video radically changes the reach and speed of the improvement cycle. Things like dance, snowboarding and TED talks keep getting better, and faster…”
“Gaga’s entire persona seems to question what’s expected of women.” ‘Lady’ with suggestions of gentility, sweetness…’Gaga’ with intimations of infantility, madness…
A mobile-web advertising company is facing a proposed class action over its use of an HTML5 ‘trick’ to track iPhone and iPad users across a number of websites.
“For sound mental health, the fundamental question is not whether a thought is negative or positive, but whether it is accurate.”
The German government is banking on help from imams educated at German universities to improve the integration and “success” of its young Muslims.
Is piracy an enemy or a necessary part of business in a digital world? This Swedish video game developer sees it as the latter and even a benefit in terms of marketing.
How would a medical audience respond to a lecture that was completely devoid of content, yet delivered with authority by a convincing phony? Overwhelmingly positively…
“The intuitive view is that the only thing that really determines whether an act is brave is whether you think the right path is the treacherous one, and take it anyway.”
“Mr. Allen, who has made most of his recent films overseas where it’s easier for him to secure financing, says ‘You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger’ is a good title for the United States.”
“Microsoft’s new web browser, IE9, is its most ambitious yet, as the company bids to take on Google Chrome and Firefox.” The Telegraph reviews the browser’s newest edition.
“What is happening in France today would most likely be referred to as ‘ethnic cleansing’ in less prestigious countries.” Spiegel on President Sarkozy’s campaign against Romanian gypsies.
“News that Ernest C. Withers, a photojournalist who documented the civil-rights movement, was also an F.B.I. informant has been met with mixed reactions from scholars.”
“Aerospace and defense giant Boeing has tossed its hat into the space-tourism ring, announcing that it has agreed to market future rides into Earth orbit to paying customers.”
“The People’s Republic is becoming a technological superpower, but who’s checking the facts?” The New Humanist seeks out the Chinese science cops who fight fabrication and plagiarism.
“Scientists have discovered that starting a romantic relationship typically costs two close friends from the inner circle of intimate contacts that most people rely on for support and advice.”
“A survey of 71 nations placed the U.S. third in entrepreneurial performance, after Denmark and Canada.” America’s frail technology sector and lack of high-growth business is at fault.
“It is little wonder that boxing, more than any other sport, has functioned as a metaphor for life. Aside from the possibilities for self-fulfillment, boxing can also contribute to our moral lives.”
You may hate contemporary art, but it hates you even more, says filmmaker and provocateur John Waters. The point of art is to “wreck whatever came before it,” he believes. […]
“The foods you eat often affect how your neurons behave and, subsequently, how you think and feel. From your brain’s perspective, food is a drug.” This is your brain on food.
MIT historian John Dower examines the history of American militarism through its justifications for military expenditure, namely that other cultures lack the capacity for Western logic.