Surprising Science — April 3, 2010

iWant iPad

Ahead of Saturday’s iPad launch, CNN looks at Apple’s new computer to answer questions and distinguish it from other computers already in our homes and offices.

bigthinkeditor

Ahead of Saturday’s iPad launch, CNN looks at Apple’s new computer to answer questions and distinguish it from other computers already in our homes and offices. “You’ve seen the television commercials and the product reviews. But maybe, like many gadget lovers, you’re still debating whether you really need this new touch-screen computer from Apple. To help you make sense of the hype, here are answers to 12 common questions about the iPad, Apple’s much-anticipated “slate” computer, which goes on sale Saturday. Buying an iPad? What will you do with it? Is there anything else you’d like to know? If so, please post in the comments section below and we’ll do our best to answer your questions.”

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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Romanians flocking to burger joints in their post-communist gorge may soon be subject to a junk food tax intended to reduce national obesity rates and fill government coffers.