Surprising Science — October 3, 2009

The High Cost of Dying

Anti-aging expert Aubrey de Grey came through Big Think Friday afternoon looking not a bit older than when he first appeared on our site, in December 2007. He was in New York for the two-day Singularity Summit at the 92nd Street Y. We interviewed him for an hour and then joined him for a pre-singularity soiree that lasted until early this morning. Among the many reasons he gave for devoting his career to defeating aging was a sobering economic one: in the last year of our lives, Americans spend as much on medical care as they spend on doctors in all the years up to then combined.

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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