Guest Thinkers — December 21, 2010

Monday Papers (or News without details)

The most counterintuitive, surprising, and impactful new stories delivered to your inbox every Thursday.

News Yemen, and a number of other outlets, are reporting that the Ministry of Information has a new guide book for the country’s most wanted.

Al-Ghad attempts to fit all the Islamist news of the past week into one short article, which of course means that there is little to no details on anything – from the fighting in Ja’ar to al-‘Awfi’s “confessions.” (I finally have a transcript of what he said, and not just press articles about what he said, so hopefully I will have a chance to read it today.) Al-Ghad continues its news without details trend writing about an al-Qaeda suspected that was arrested on his way to Hudaydah.

The most counterintuitive, surprising, and impactful new stories delivered to your inbox every Thursday.

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?

Up Next

Guest Thinkers

Catching-up

I returned home from vacation to find that apparently both Brian and the readership of this blog also decided to take a few days off. The news, however, did not. […]