Personal Growth

N.A.S.A.’s newest Mars rover, Curiosity, will be deployed to the planet to study rocks that may shed light on whether life existed there. But its cousin Opportunity may steal its thunder.

Two years ago, Mind Candy was just another online gaming company. In one “last roll of the dice” it created virtual kids’ game Moshi Monsters, which now has 50 million users.

Blind people are being taught to “see” the world just as bats and dolphins do. By training their ear, they can use sound to map different objects and respond effectively to their surroundings. 

Fellow billionaires Sir Richard Branson and Ted Turner on philanthropy and their global health initiatives. Branson’s advice: First achieve success then make a difference.

Innovation, along with increasing existing business, now outranks all other means of potential expansion, including new markets, mergers and acquisitions, and joint ventures.

After a day of strict task ‘batching’, Cal Newport concludes that the resulting inconvenience in workflow was worth it for the reduced distraction and increased quality of his work.

John Maeda, President of the Rhode Island School of Design, shares leadership lessons and ways to motivate people. Offering students free pizza, for instance, works wonders.

Glen T. Senk, CEO of Philadelphia-based retailer Urban Outfitters, says among the secrets to success are to lead an authentic life and to hire the right people—then listen to them.

N.A.S.A.’s Kepler Space Telescope detected 1,235 alien planet candidates in its first four months of operation. Alien solar systems with multiple planets appear to be common in our galaxy.

Martin Belam’s account of the BBC’s Social Media Summit, including hostile questions over Al Jazeera’s role in the Arab spring uprisings and why the NYT has social media right.

N.A.S.A. Administrator Charles Bolden recently spoke about private development of the American space program, getting help from the Russians and the future of deep space missions. 

Martin Seligman on why focusing solely on the positive emotion of happiness isn’t enough. Think PERMA: positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment.

Some examples of courageous individuals who dared to think for themselves and ignore the commands of their mullahs. They are worthy of your emulation.

Acquiring and integrating talent requires strong, skilled leadership. Brian Dodd summarizes some “how to” insights gleaned from the Miami Heat.

Oscar-winning filmmaker James Marsh discusses the moments of inspiration behind his films and emphasizes the importance of trusting your instincts. 

Celebrating Osama bin Laden’s death, while allegedly cathartic, will likely bring unhealthy feelings of vengeance to the surface, opening old wounds and creating new ones, say psychologists. 

Why are we good at reasoning in some cases and hopelessly biased in others? Did reasoning evolve just to help us win arguments? Argumentative Theory says yes.

Vision determines direction. Leadership is about going somewhere. If you aren’t going somewhere, your leadership style doesn’t matter. Plus more reasons vision is vital.

No one knows more about life’s ethical dilemmas than Randy Cohen. After spending over a decade answering readers’ questions for the New York Times Magazine column The Ethicist, Cohen has fielded […]

Professor of physics at Columbia University, Brian Greene explains how the idea of multiple universes, or a singular “multiverse”, supports other theories of how our universe came to be.

Why does more education lead to less accurate beliefs? The answer returns us to the difference between rational voters (what we think we are) and rationalizing voters (what we really are).

The co-founder of the web application firm discusses common pitfalls of starting a new business and the need to be flexible with your business model.

Will senior leaders in the U.S. State Department lead by example in using Corridor, an internal social network supporting their new ‘need to share’ not ‘need to know’ ethos?

Entrepreneurship, like theater, requires you to imagine something that doesn’t exist. Hollywood star Jeffrey Wright explains how his training on the stage prepared him to found a mineral company and non-profit in Sierra Leone.

The Allen Telescope Array, a set of 42 radio telescopes that has been searching for alien signals and conducting astronomical research since 2007, has been shut down due to budget cuts. 

A record 34 women made Time magazine’s 2011 list of the world’s 100 most influential people. But why weren’t there 50? And after featuring last year, why is Sarah Palin missing? 

Pinpoint the “pride builders” in your organization when you need to implement change. They are a key “viral” factor in igniting the necessary emotional motivation for other workers.

Inventor of the cellular phone Martin Cooper explains his moment of genius in which he devised the radical idea of mobile communication.

We are currently living in the “learning decade,” according to entrepreneur Sam Herring. Here are some of the most exciting startups that are trying to capitalize on the new currency of ideas. 

A game-like environment will increasingly be innovation’s hothouse, the gamification industry claims. The World Bank has Evoke and UK government workers share ideas on Idea Street.