Guest Thinkers — October 15, 2010

Panic In Porn Valley as Actor Tests Positive for HIV

At least five major porn studios have shut down after an actor tested positive for HIV this week.

In my latest story for Working In These Times, I report on potential structural conflicts of interest in the industry-sponsored HIV testing program for straight porn in the San Fernando Valley. The industry often holds up the program as an excuse for why it shouldn’t have to follow California’s occupational health and safety laws about condoms on the set.

Industry representatives often claim that the testing program keeps the talent pool so clean that condoms are unnecessary. So, it should give us pause that the very (industry-supported) organization responsible for testing is also in charge of investigating itself when the system fails.

[Photo credit: Eschipul, Creative Commons.]

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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