Technology & Innovation — July 9, 2013

Airline Crash Statistics: We’re Going Down!

Flying is incredibly safe.

In the welter of sensationalist news stories rushing to cover this weekend’s catastrophic Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 crash, the media has missed the forest for the trees. (Hat tip to my brilliant colleague Steven Mazie)

The real story? A new record!

When people want to diminish the likelihood of something, they call it “one in a million”.

But, with about 20,000 commercial flights a day, and the last multiple-fatality, major commercial airline crash occurring in 2001, that means that the current trend has the likelihood of being in a plane crash at around 87,600,000for the plane.

Given that only two of the several hundred passengers in this weekend’s crashed died, I have to say that I like those odds.

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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