Guest Thinkers — February 16, 2011

6,000 Twitter followers. Wow.

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Sarah Daly (@IrishAsian05) – a self-described Spanish teacher, school counselor, almost criminologist, Notre Dame grad, shoe addict, and pug lover in New Jersey – is my 6,000th Twitter follower.

Thanks for the follow, Sarah, and thanks to the rest of you Tweeps too. I’m humbled and encouraged by the support.

The most surprising and impactful new stories delivered to your inbox every week, for free.

Strange Maps

How did chess pieces get their names?

One player’s pawn is another’s farmer. And at one time, the queen was a rather powerless virgin.

Map showing Copenhagen, Denmark’s projected 2080 climate as similar to Demigny, France today, with a red arrow connecting the two cities and climate details listed in pop-up boxes.

Strange Maps

Mapped: How hot your city will be in the 2080s

“Climate analog mapping” finds the place that is currently as warm as your city might be in 60 years.

Michio Kaku wants to solve Einstein’s unfinished equation

“An equation, perhaps no more than one inch long, that would allow us to, quote, “Read the mind of God.””

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01:08:41 min

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with

Michio Kaku

Starts With A Bang

Ask Ethan: Why do scientists avoid the possibility of God?

When it comes to our Universe’s origins, scientists discuss the Big Bang, cosmic inflation, and other theories. Why doesn’t “God” come up?

Five World War I soldiers in uniform stand and sit near sandbags in a trench, with a sign reading "Surrey Lane" visible in the background—evoking camaraderie amid the Ring of Fire on the front lines.

Books

Not just the Western Front: “Ring of Fire” rediscovers WWI’s global story

Historians Alexandra Churchill and Nicolai Eberholst reexamine the pivotal conflict from a grassroots perspective.

Up Next

Guest Thinkers

Should we get rid of technology directors?

[This is a guest post from Doug Green. If you’re interested in being a guest blogger, drop me a note. Happy reading!] Update: see also Don Watkins’ response to this […]