May 4, 2013

The Fundamental Incomprehensibility of Cats

The only thing I’ve benefited from cats is I don’t understand them.

Question: Why do you have so many cats?

Ai Weiwei: I think it’s always a treasure for a human to understand another animal or another life. And of course we’ll never understand their language and their life, but still it’s such a privilege to live with them.

Question: Can you talk about if spending so much time around cats influences the way you live and work?

Ai Weiwei: The only thing I’ve benefited from cats is I don’t understand them.

Strange Maps

The Indian Ocean has the world’s largest gravity hole. Now we know why

Seventy-five years after the anomaly's discovery, scientists have finally figured out why sea levels are so much lower here.

A woman is standing in front of many emojis.

Perception Box

In your feelings? Turns out, we all experience emotions differently

Biology plays an important role in emotional reactions, but neuroscientist Kristen A. Lindquist posits that our culture is just as influential.

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7 min

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with

Kristen Lindquist

Perception Box

Unlock your inner math genius, in 4 minutes

Yes, you CAN be a “math person” — as long as you follow these learning techniques.

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4 min

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with

Po-Shen Loh

A painting of orange and red circles on a blue background, displaying randomness in its arrangement.

Life

Three places on Earth where life might have started

Ancient organic chemistry.

A yellow and black snake with a black background.

Why the wrong people end up in power

“Only a narcissist would want to become president.” This is the psychology of an authoritarian unpacked.

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11 min

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with

Brian Klaas

Up Next

A Year on the Sun

The picture above is a composite of 25 images recorded in extreme ultraviolet light by the Solar Dynamics Observatory over the course of the past year.