Guest Thinkers — February 16, 2011

BlogBall08 – The playoffs begin!

The first season of edublogger fantasy baseball is nearing its conclusion. Dr. Jon Becker of Educational Insanity ran away with the league, despite many of us his questioning his sanity as he added and dropped Billy Butler from his roster multiple time over the season (there’s apparently a real love-hate relationship there). Poor Chris Higgins of Mr. Higgins’ Blog spent much of the season holding down the twelfth spot and Chris Lehmann at Practical Theory made a heroic charge in the last week to squeak into the sixth and final slot for the playoffs. Here are the final regular season standings:

The playoffs have now begun. Here is the bracket for the top six teams vying for the championship:

And here is the consolation bracket for the rest of the teams:

Good luck, everyone!

Collage of classical art suggesting a theme related to somatic markers.

Business

How “somatic markers” can transform your decision-making

Ditch the old brain vs. heart assumptions, and instead think about a heart-led brain.

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.

A wooden sign indicating "assisted migration rep 2" in a pine forest under a clear blue sky.

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.

Historical map illustration depicting a planned city layout with a circular central area and radiating streets.

Strange Maps

Ohio’s Circleville ditched the grid system. Then it got squared.

A small Ohio town tried to escape America’s addiction to rectangular grids. It didn’t last long.

Bullet Cluster separation mass gravity x-ray lensing

Starts With A Bang

Flagship NASA space telescope faces a penny-pinching death

NASA's only flagship X-ray telescope ever, Chandra, still works and has no planned successor. So why does the President want to kill it?

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