Surprising Science — April 20, 2011

Why Can’t We See Multiple Dimensions?

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Physicists have proposed that there could be dozens of dimensions in addition to the normal three we experience in daily life. But where are they?

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.

Five modern philosophy books about the idea of justice on a pink background.

Thinking

5 books that shaped 21st-century philosophy

Philosophy isn’t stuck in the past. Here are five texts to connect you with its ongoing dialogue.

A digitally enhanced view of a crescent planet Earth with a galaxy in the background.

Starts With A Bang

What was it like when planet Earth first formed?

The Earth that exists today wasn’t formed simultaneously with the Sun and the other planets. In some ways, we’re quite a latecomer.

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Surprising Science

657 New Barrier Islands Discovered

The Earth has 657 more barrier islands than previously thought, according to a new global survey by researchers from Duke University and Meredith College in Raleigh, N.C.