Technology & Innovation — April 5, 2010

Principles and Profits

Ted Leonsis says his 25 years as an entrepreneur and investor have shown him a link between pursuing happiness and achieving financial success in business.

bigthinkeditor

Ted Leonsis says his 25 years as an entrepreneur and investor have shown him a link between pursuing happiness and achieving financial success in business. “AOL offers one of the best examples of my happiness model at work. When the company pursued the higher calling of spreading Internet access, both our bottom lines were healthy and our company was happy. When we got off that path and worshiped the false god of the short-term earnings bump, we lost our way.”

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?

Up Next

Surprising Science

Junk (Food) Science

Maia Szalavitz looks at research into the addictive quality of fattening foods, which suggests that long-term exposure to fattening items make users less likely to derive pleasure from them.