Politics & Current Affairs — May 21, 2010

Racism Lite

English-only policies run contrary to America’s concept of liberty and fears of a multilingual society ignore many of the world’s nations which officially recognize multiple languages.

bigthinkeditor

English-only policies run contrary to America’s concept of liberty and fears of a multilingual society ignore many of the world’s nations which officially recognize multiple languages. “English-only is racism lite. It pits mostly whites against many who have darker skins. If America prides itself on treating everyone equally and being the land of the free, it should grant everyone who lives here the freedom to do their business in their own native language.”

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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