Personal Growth — September 7, 2014

In Commemoration of Onam, a Pookalam Floral Carpet in Bangalore, India

Thiruvonam, the final day of the Hindu festival Onam, was celebrated today in areas of southwestern India, most notably in the state of Kerala. In commemmoration, revelers throughout the region constructed floral carpets like the one above.

Although Onam is primarily celebrated in Kerala (where it’s the state festival), the above Onam Pookalam was created in the city of Bangalore, located in neighboring Karnataka state.

More on Onam: Kerala Tourism, Times of India, Onam Festival

Photo credit: Ramesh NG / Flickr

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

Where Do Truly Original Ideas Come From?

Every so often, an individual comes forward with a completely original idea that changes how we view the world, starting as if from nowhere, without relying on the gains of the past.