Guest Thinkers — August 16, 2010

More Than 170 Expected for Tonight’s Swedish Embassy Talk

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I’m told that more than 170 have RSVPed for tonight’s Framing Science talk and panel discussion at the House of Sweden in Georgetown. Details here.

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

Microscopic view of green cyanobacteria chains forming spiral and linear patterns against a dark background, highlighting their role within the microbiome.

Books

Why your microbiome may matter more than DNA for your lifelong health

In “The Microbiome Master Key,” Brett and Jessica Finlay argue that we need to stop waging war on all germs and start working with the microbes that make us who we are.

A young armored man consults an elderly bearded man holding a key and a staff, both seated and looking at an open book, as if exploring how stories teach philosophy.

Big Think Books

5 stories that teach you philosophy (better than some philosophy books)

Want to study philosophy but skip some of its heavier tomes? These five novels are a great place to start. (Existential despair guaranteed.)

A dense star field and distant galaxies with bright galaxy clusters and several white squares highlighting specific points in the image.

Starts With A Bang

JWST discovers how we’re able to see the Universe at all

For hundreds of millions of years, a cosmic fog blocked all signs of starlight. At last, JWST found the galaxies that cleared that fog away.

A silhouette of a person blends into an image of a galaxy displayed in a gold ornate frame on a gray wall.

Thinking

5 scientists on finding meaning in our Universe’s 13.8-billion-year story

“The stars made our minds, and now our minds look back.”

Close-up illustration of a neuron cell with branching dendrites and axon, set against a dark background with small glowing particles, evoking the intricate physics of consciousness.

Starts With A Bang

Does physics truly have anything to say about consciousness?

Many, from neuroscientists to philosophers to anesthesiologists, have claimed to understand consciousness. Do physicists? Does anyone?

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