Guest Thinkers — December 21, 2010

Huthis and Saudi Arabia

I often feel that before even sitting down to write about Yemen one has to spend significant chunks of time separating fact from fiction in the swirl of rumors and speculation that often surrounds nearly every event in the country.

Today’s muddled news about the Huthis and Saudi Arabia is no different with a host of stories, a Huthi denial as well as a threatening statement. Unfortunately, previous commitments mean that I have little time to do the sorting today.

Instead, Waq al-waq will try to bring you another up-date from Sada al-Malahim this time on the Shi’a and the three stages of confrontation.

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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