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History and Society
There are two methods to measure the expansion rate of the Universe. The results do not agree with each other, and this is a big problem.
Is there an ultimate answer to the age-old question?
While many imagine terrifying futures run by AI, Rohit Krishnan is quietly identifying real problems and solutions.
Fear of technology is not new. But we misunderstand its origin. In reality, we don't fear technology but each other.
Diogenes engaged in shocking behavior to demonstrate the contradictions, small-mindedness, and sheer absurdity of prevailing social conventions.
And why you, a non-expert, should absolutely not consider "explaining what you know" to an actual expert in the field.
Before Constantine received his history-defining vision, a pagan Sun god paved the way for Jesus Christ’s triumphal entry into the Eternal City.
Memorial day is a time to remember veterans killed in the line of service. These spaceflight heroes deserve to be remembered, too.
From forgotten Hollywood movies to Frank Herbert’s "Dune," science fiction illustrates some of our deepest fears about technology.
Would you confess your crimes to a skeleton with "an unnatural ghastly glow"? One inventor thought you would.
A philosophy of birth can offset the prevailing narrative around extinction and mortality.
"Groupthink" gets a bad rap. In reality, we need groups to focus our thinking and to build on the ideas of others.
John Templeton Foundation
We commonly stereotype psychopaths as criminals, but there are probably more in upper management.
Memory, responsibility, and mental maturity have long been difficult to describe objectively, but neuroscientists are starting to detect patterns. Coming soon to a courtroom near you?
In a time when we dislike and distrust our politicians, why can't we get more popular leaders like Kim Jong Un and Bashar al-Assad?
Walking is rarer in the U.S. compared to similar nations. It is also deadlier: Nearly 7,500 pedestrians were killed in 2021.
If our Universe were born a little differently, there wouldn't have been any planets, stars, galaxies, or chemically interesting reactions.
Germans are masters of building cars, cooking brats — and sitting while peeing.
"Superhabitable" planets might be real, but Earth is probably as good as it gets.
Some scientists think we should allow our bodies to more harmlessly live with pathogens until they’re cleared from our systems.
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Does humanity have a moral imperative to seed life on lifeless worlds? And should we avoid colonizing a planet if life already exists there?
Within a month of that initial conversation, Peter Singer became a vegetarian.
The Shirky Principle states that "institutions will try to preserve the problem to which they are the solution."
Soviet censorship was thorough yet fallible.
George Orwell got it right: "Never use a long word where a short one will do."
The cycles of life all rely on the dynamism of the Earth's crust.
But make sure you bring the fossegrim the proper offering—or else.
Cyberattacks are growing in number and sophistication.