Surprising Science — March 31, 2010

Worlds Collide

It cost $10 billion and took 16 years, but the Large Hadron Collider finally went into operation yesterday in Switzerland -- and the world didn't end after all.

bigthinkeditor

It cost $10 billion and took 16 years, but the Large Hadron Collider finally went into operation yesterday in Switzerland — and the world didn’t end after all. Scientists are hoping to figure out the nature of so-called “dark matter” as well as the Higgs boson — a hypothetical elementary particle that may explain the origin of mass. “We are on this planet and in this universe a short time,” wrote Michael Barnett, a physicist from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. “The dreams of a lifetime are waiting, and hopefully not much longer.”

A woman is standing in front of many emojis.

Perception Box

In your feelings? Turns out, we all experience emotions differently

Biology plays an important role in emotional reactions, but neuroscientist Kristen A. Lindquist posits that our culture is just as influential.

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7 min

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with

Kristen Lindquist

Perception Box

Unlock your inner math genius, in 4 minutes

Yes, you CAN be a “math person” — as long as you follow these learning techniques.

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4 min

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with

Po-Shen Loh

A painting of orange and red circles on a blue background, displaying randomness in its arrangement.

Life

Three places on Earth where life might have started

Ancient organic chemistry.

A yellow and black snake with a black background.

Why the wrong people end up in power

“Only a narcissist would want to become president.” This is the psychology of an authoritarian unpacked.

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11 min

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with

Brian Klaas

Perception Box

Can you trust your own brain? Neuroscientist Heather Berlin explains

Combining years of neurological research and mindfulness techniques, Dr. Heather Berlin helps us better understand how the body’s most complex organ can easily be misled into negative thinking - and how we can stop that from happening.

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with

Heather Berlin

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