December 12, 2013

This Picture Gives New Meaning to London Fog

The image above depicts skyscrapers in the Canary Wharf business district of east London poking out as much of the rest of the city is shrouded in fog on December 11, 2013. The photo was taken by the London Metropolitan Police.

bigthinkeditor

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.

Up Next

If Your Theory Requires Wormholes, Try Again

Be skeptical of any theory that produces the possibility of time travel, particularly if it relies on wormholes. That’s not a theory based on physical reality, but rather fodder for science fiction writers and television shows.