Personal Growth — February 9, 2009

Yen Rises While We Don’t Pass Stimulus

Bloomberg today reports that the yen rose against the dollar after “the U.S. government delayed the announcement of a financial- recovery plan.” Traders took refuge.

“Japan’s currency gained as U.S. stock-index futures dropped, spurring investors to trim holdings of higher-yielding assets funded in the yen. The Norwegian krone climbed against most of the 16 most-active currencies after Norway said it would inject $14.8 billion in capital to revive bank lending,” according to Bloomberg.

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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