Search
History and Society
What you need to know about this smallpox cousin.
Will nature or nurture win out?
Searching for truth in unorthodox ways can be a valuable exercise. But Anatoly Fomenko's alternate world history is just plain weird.
Shame is a powerful tool that must be used with care.
"I believe our society's gotten to the point where you can't question. You can't provoke. You just have to adhere to consensus."
Stand Together
The high pitches from the flute and the harp would reach your ears before the notes from the tuba and the cello.
In 100 years, perhaps this map showing humanity clustering around the equator will seem “so 21st century.”
The sky is blue. The oceans are blue. While science can explain them both, the reasons for each are entirely different.
"A cheap loan is beyond all new destiny." Does that mean anything to you?
Could Russia's plan actually destroy demand for natural gas?
At four million solar masses, the Milky Way's supermassive black hole is quite small for a galaxy its size. Did we lose the original?
To the ancient Greeks, exotic animals were proof of mythological creatures. To the ancient Romans, they were oddities and adversaries.
A recent advance in 3D imaging techniques helped spark the biggest ever discovery of North American cave art.
Cold War meets Star Wars in this cut-away of a 1950 “rubber bubble,” the first line of defense against nuclear sneak attack.
Hoarders know their habits are abnormal, and yet they cannot help themselves. Maybe you can help them.
Are psychopaths cold-blooded murderers? Not usually.
Basic and breath-taking – Dr. Frank Wilczek addresses symmetry’s critical role in nature’s laws and what we consider to be beautiful.
John Templeton Foundation
Aristotle's ancient virtues play a vital role in today's war.
Popular media often frame scientists as having a cold, sterile view of the world. That couldn’t be further from the truth.
John Templeton Foundation
Singapore is a breeding ground of truly green buildings.
And debate over it started soon after.
Were Hitler’s SS henchmen willing executioners fueled by racial propaganda or mindless servants vying for promotions?
Paintings played an important role in these ancient civilizations. Unfortunately, pigment is not nearly as durable as marble.
The apes taught sign language didn't understand what they were doing. They were merely "aping" their caretakers.
The Spanish language has the ability to minimize and exaggerate by the simple addition of a suffix.
We have long thought that Pluto was completely frozen solid, but the discovery of cryovolcanoes challenges that assumption.
Safety through technology is no bad thing—Nietzsche himself sought doctors and medicines throughout his life—but it can become pathological.
Equations that describe time travel are fully compatible and consistent with relativity — but physics is not mathematics.
Diplomacy is war by other means.