Technology & Innovation — October 22, 2009

Hacked Off

In these ‘lean times’ media agencies are angered by journalist’s living it large all-expenses-paid.

A furore has been caused after it was revealed that notable writers from the The New York Times and The Washington Post enjoyed a free trip to Jamaica last week courtesy of consumer sponsors including Thrillist and JetBlue. The luxury holiday included a round-trip flight from JFK International to Montego Bay and two nights at a top hotel where they received “overstuffed gift bags…filled with T-shirts, sunglasses” and other freebees, according to Daily Finance. Embarrassed by their antics — which has caused criticism of the hacks’ willingness to live-it-large at the expense of a commercial venture — The Washington Post released a statement saying it plans to reimburse the cost of the trip. The Times chose to disassociate itself one of its reporters on the trip (Mike Albo) stressing that he was a “freelancer” and saying that he was not on a Times assignment. All parties appeared pretty hacked off.

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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