Guest Thinkers — August 16, 2010

CalTech Scientists Test World Cup Ball and a U.S. Prediction

You have to like the U.S. chances in advancing to the semi-finals of the World Cup. That’s right, the semi-finals. If the U.S. beats Ghana on Saturday–and they should be a favorite–they play the winner of Uruguay and S. Korea in the quarterfinals.

Meanwhile, readers will find interesting this video from Reuters featuring CalTech scientists testing the controversial “Jabuluani” ball used at the World Cup.

What do you think? Like the U.S. chances to make the semis? Has the ball had an impact on the games?

a computer generated image of a human brain.

Thinking

The great free will debate featuring Michio Kaku and Steven Pinker

Who — or what — really controls your mind?

Building destroyed by the Halifax Explosion. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

The Past

The largest accidental explosion of all time

More than a century ago, Halifax suffered an accidental blast one-fifth the size of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

a collage of photos of a man with a hat and a book.

High Culture

6 great books with wildly unreliable narrators

Dive into the twisted truths and concealed realities told by literature’s most unreliable narrators.

a group of five matches on a pink background.

The Well

Signs you’re burned out — and how to bounce back

If you don’t feel better after the weekend, the “burnout paradox” could explain why.

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7 min

—

with

Laurie Santos

Starts With A Bang

The trick to instantly identifying JWST images

If you can identify a foreground star, the spike patterns are a dead giveaway as to whether it’s a JWST image or any other observatory.

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