Guest Thinkers — September 1, 2010

GSA 2009 pre-update

GSA, as always, was 1000% busier than planned.

I did a really terrible job of updating during the Geological Society of America meeting – mostly because (a) I was way too busy, (b) an iffy internet connection at my home and (c) a lack of concentration.

However, there was quite a bit of interesting info I heard which I’ll likely post tomorrow including:

The northern Cascades of the US are filled with calderas.

The eruption of Kasatochi was quite impressive (if you didn’t think so already).

Bubbles at Erebus come from deep down.

Holocene volcanism in Colorado.

Thanks to all the people I met this week as well, including Callan Bentley, Tuff Cookie, Ron Schott and others.

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

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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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Ask Dr. Jonathan Castro your Chaiten questions

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