Culture & Religion — May 10, 2010

The Global Language

“Globish” is a highly simplified form of English, without grammar or structure—but perfectly comprehensible. Robert McCrum writes that it is the language that unites us.

bigthinkeditor

“Globish” is a highly simplified form of English, without grammar or structure—but perfectly comprehensible. Robert McCrum writes that the term is “more than just a new word for a dialect or an international communication tool. It was a description of a lingua franca, but with a difference. On further consideration, it was also a metaphor for the novelty of global English culture today.”

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.

▸

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.

Up Next

Surprising Science

Faking It

“Fake medical treatment can work amazingly well,” writes Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow. Members of the medical community are increasingly asking whether they should put placebo treatments to work.