History and Society

History and Society

a painting of people sitting at a bar.
How humans came to feel comfortable among strangers, like those in a café, is an under-explored mystery.
John Templeton Foundation
a map of germany with a question mark on it.
Here’s what Europe would have looked like if the Confederation of the Danube had been established after WWII.
a large building in the middle of a forest.
How one man's divine dream became a poultry-shaped reality.
A diagram of a galaxy with blue arrows suggesting the past hypothesis.
How do physicists solve a problem like entropy?
a group of three pink pigs standing next to each other.
Uncover the high cost of raising a family and discover strategies to make it more manageable and rewarding.
Million Stories
A stack of rocks sitting on top of each other.
Nagomi helps us find balance in discord by unifying the elements of life while staying true to ourselves.
a red object in the middle of the night sky.
Once the initial blaze of heat dissipated, the constituent particles of atoms were free to bind.
8mins
Educator Irshad Manji emphasizes that diversity is a fact of life, and it should be harnessed to unite society rather than divide it. Recognizing that humans tend to react defensively […]
a group of people sitting around a conference table.
As AI evolves — and more robotic warfare systems are deployed — the nature of conflict could change beyond recognition.
atom
Quantum uncertainty and wave-particle duality are big features of quantum physics. But without Pauli's rule, our Universe wouldn't exist.
a pile of hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello.
What do Remus Lupin, Katniss Evergreen, William Wordsworth, and Usain Bolt all have in common?
JWST most distant galaxy proto-cluster
Finding out how the Universe grew up was the biggest science goal of JWST. This ultra-early proto-galaxy cluster is one amazing discovery.
a drawing of a man with a mustache and hat.
Some authors never saw their books score widespread acclaim—or even get published at all.
White handwritten text reading "I am not a robot" appears distorted and crossed with a horizontal line, set against a black background with scattered small white dots.
5mins
How World War II codebreaker Alan Turing invented modern AI.
jwst background galaxies
From quarks and gluons to giant galaxy clusters, everything that exists in our Universe is determined by what is (and isn't) bound together.
Bronze replicas of the Terracotta Warriors
Though Sun Tzu’s "The Art of War" is a classic military treatise, its advice applies to all manner of conflict.
a painting of a boat floating in the ocean.
Ocean fertilization is extremely controversial, but if done correctly, it just might work.
a close up of a hat with gold leaves on it.
And her clothing tells an important story, says archeologist Rita Wright.
a person holding a glass ball in their hand.
The acceptance of our cosmic loneliness and the rarity of our planet is a wakeup call.
John Templeton Foundation
a wooden dummy with a wooden stick sticking out of it's mouth.
You can’t spot a liar just by looking — but psychologists are zeroing in on methods that might actually work.
learning and development quotes
This collection of learning and development quotes serves as a reminder of the meaning and purpose behind this important work.
a statue of a man scratching his head
From consciousness to nothingness and beyond, these questions still baffle the brightest minds. Will they ever be solved?
Mount Vesuvius 1760-1761 eruption
Nearly 2000 years ago, Mt. Vesuvius erupted, burying Pompeii but incinerating Herculaneum. The most lethal volcanic phenomenon is at fault.
a book and magazine cover and article
Is Eliezer Yudkowsky the same false prophet that Paul Ehrlich was?
Changes in the world population are determined by two metrics: the number of babies born, and number of people dying.
a map of volcanoes on Venus with different colored dots.
Like Mars today, Venus used to be a sci-fi superstar. Recent discoveries could re-ignite our interest in Earth’s “evil twin.”