Guest Thinkers — December 21, 2010

Away

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

I’ll be traveling for the next three days, and postings will be fairly light. Although we will try to bring the wit and charm you have come to expect from Waq al-waq, albeit in abbreviated form.

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

A black and white image of a bunch of spheres, symbolizing the multiverse concept discussed by scientists.

Starts With A Bang

How logic and reasoning can fail as scientific tools

In logic, ‘reductio ad absurdum’ shows how flawed arguments fall apart. Our absurd Universe, however, often defies our intuitive reasoning.

Life

Moving trees north to save the forests

As the world warms, trees in forests such as those in Minnesota will no longer be adapted to their local climates. That’s where assisted migration comes in.

Starts With A Bang

Why “incompleteness” matters in theoretical physics

Physicists just can’t leave an incomplete theory alone; they try to repair it. When nature is kind, it can lead to a major breakthrough.

Comparison of early Mars with abundant water and a thicker atmosphere versus the dry and arid Mars of today, much like Venus, which also died in terms of its potential to support life.

Starts With A Bang

What was it like when Venus and Mars both died?

In the early stages of our Solar System, there were three life-friendly planets: Venus, Earth, and Mars. Only Earth thrived. Here’s why.

An abstract composite image depicting where life began with mountainous terrain, chemical structures, and a monochrome inset of a cloudy sky.

Starts With A Bang

What was it like when life first sprang forth on Earth?

Although early Earth was a molten hellscape, once it cooled, life arose almost immediately. That original chain of life remains unbroken.

Up Next

Guest Thinkers

Reports of Arrest Greatly Exaggerated

I have little confidence in Mareb Press‘ sourcing for reports of the arrest of ‘Abd al-Malik al-Huthi. There seems to be much smoke and little fire.