Personal Growth — November 27, 2009

Shopacalypse Now

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

It’s Black Friday here in the U.S., the worst shopping day of the year. Do yourself a favor and check out an alternate reality: the Rev. Billy’s Church of Life After Shopping, where today is Buy Nothing Day.

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

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.

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.

Starts With A Bang

Why “incompleteness” matters in theoretical physics

Physicists just can’t leave an incomplete theory alone; they try to repair it. When nature is kind, it can lead to a major breakthrough.

Comparison of early Mars with abundant water and a thicker atmosphere versus the dry and arid Mars of today, much like Venus, which also died in terms of its potential to support life.

Starts With A Bang

What was it like when Venus and Mars both died?

In the early stages of our Solar System, there were three life-friendly planets: Venus, Earth, and Mars. Only Earth thrived. Here’s why.

An abstract composite image depicting where life began with mountainous terrain, chemical structures, and a monochrome inset of a cloudy sky.

Starts With A Bang

What was it like when life first sprang forth on Earth?

Although early Earth was a molten hellscape, once it cooled, life arose almost immediately. That original chain of life remains unbroken.

Up Next

Politics & Current Affairs

Thanking 10

Thanks giving for President Barack Obama was largely about thanking the armed forces giving their lives in Afghanistan.