Guest Thinkers — May 23, 2010

Defending Islam

The New Criterion takes issue with moral relativism and asks after what limits exist to tolerating cultural practices that advocate violence against the defenseless.

bigthinkeditor

The New Criterion takes issue with moral relativism and asks after what limits exist to tolerating cultural practices that advocate violence against the defenseless. “When we reported on Tariq Ramadan in this space a couple of years ago, we noted that one of the things that has made him such a star among left-liberals is his apparent moderateness when it comes to the application of Islamic law. Note the word ‘apparent.'”

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

Guest Thinkers

God Save the Queen

“In Europe and parts of Asia, many politicians, political scientists, and citizens have lately developed greater respect for the positive role a constitutional monarch can play in democracy.”