Guest Thinkers — December 21, 2010

Monday edition

Despite appearances we have not gone AWOL here at Waq al-waq – we’ve just gotten busy. Article deadlines and preparations for a couple of public talks later this week means that blogging will be light over the next few days.

One thing I did want to point out is the strange timing of AQAP’s statement of responsibility for the second suicide bomber in March. The state followed on the heels of the Yemeni government’s announcement of his identity. Also, just like last time, the statement was posted to a separate section of the jihadi forums before it was given a banner headline.

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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