Guest Thinkers — December 21, 2010

Huthis: The Sixth War

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

My own offerings on the Huthi conflict – or at least what I believe the war is all about – are now up in a piece over at the National.

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

A vintage-style illustration of a celestial scene, echoing science fiction by scientists, features a textured black planet and a whimsical moon with an eye, all enclosed in a pale green border against a starry background.

Books

5 classic science fiction novels written by scientists

What happens when scientists “write what they know”? Some amazing science fiction stories.

Black and white image of a classic flying saucer-shaped object in the sky, tilting to one side with a faint cloudy backdrop.

Books

Science fiction, Project Blue Book, and the beginnings of the UFO craze

In this preview from “The Saucerian,” author Gabriel McKee explains how the combination of fantastical stories and obscure bureaucracy launched the “space age of the imagination.”

Starts With A Bang

Ask Ethan: What right do we have to colonize other worlds?

In all the known Universe, Earth is the only planet known to have native life. What should guide us in expanding humanity beyond our world?

A collage featuring hands holding a plant, additional hands in sepia tone, a grid background, orange accents, and the text "Reclaim Meaning" with the number 4.

Thinking

How to reclaim meaning in a changing world

What if the barrier to a fulfilled life isn’t technology but culture?

Collage of geopolitical symbols, featuring a close-up of a man's bald head, China's flag, a globe highlighting Taiwan, and circuit patterns.

The Present

Why the USSR and China fell behind the US in the Chip Cold War

Both nations made missteps, but China still has a chance to make up lost ground.

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Guest Thinkers

Battle of Marib Video

The new video AQAP posted on the Battle of Marib today – September 8 – is by far the most technologically impressive piece of propaganda I have seen it produce […]