Guest Thinkers — November 30, 2010

Correction: “Wire” Creator David Simon Not Optimisitic At All

A student asked Wire creator David Simon whether he saw any hopeful signs for the younger generation….

[Photo credits: “Correction,” great catch by Dennis G. of Balloon Juice, David Simon would be proud that someone is still paying to read the news in print; “David Simon” by Lindsay Beyerstein.]

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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Thoughts on the Future from Ray Kurzweil

Inventor, entrepreneur, author of best-selling book The Singularity is Near, and futurist Ray Kurzweil recently spoke to TIME magazine about his predictions for humanity’s future. Some highlights: 1) Computers are becoming cheaper, […]