At first, zero caused confusion. “Its ability to represent ‘nothing’ and enable complex mathematical operations challenged deeply ingrained theological and philosophical ideas,” Nieder said. Particularly due to the influence of the church, philosophers and theologians associated “nothing” with chaos and disorder and were disinclined to accept it. Many even feared it, considering it “the devil’s… Continue reading How the Human Brain Contends With the Strangeness of Zero
Meet the First U.S. Species to Go Extinct from Sea-Level Rise
Meet the First U.S. Species to Go Extinct from Sea-Level Rise A tall cactus found only in Florida’s Key Largo is the U.S.’s first species to go extinct from sea-level rise By Ayurella Horn-Muller & Grist The Key Largo tree cactus was initially found growing in the United States in 1992 at a single site.… Continue reading Meet the First U.S. Species to Go Extinct from Sea-Level Rise
A Second Trump Term and the States
The presidential election is in its final stretch and the race is neck-and-neck, according to the polls. The outcome will have a profound impact at all levels of government and business, so preparing for a second Trump term would be prudent. In office and on the campaign trail, former President Trump has championed federalism and… Continue reading A Second Trump Term and the States
The Mystery of Pontius Pilate (Biblical Mystery)
Podcast: Download MYS334: Pontius Pilate may be the most famous Roman governor because of his role in Jesus’ death. But who was he? Jimmy Akin and Dom Bettinelli look into who Pilate was and competing claims as to whether he was a villain or a saint. Get all new episodes automatically and for free: Follow… Continue reading The Mystery of Pontius Pilate (Biblical Mystery)
Bizarre Mineral Clumps Make ‘Dark Oxygen’ on Deep Seafloor
The dark seabed of the Pacific Ocean’s Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) is littered with what look like hunks of charcoal. These unassuming metal deposits, called polymetallic nodules, contain metals such as manganese and cobalt used to produce batteries, marking them as targets for deep-sea mining companies. Now researchers have discovered that the valuable nodules do something… Continue reading Bizarre Mineral Clumps Make ‘Dark Oxygen’ on Deep Seafloor
PA Supreme Court Effectively Preserves Requirement to Date Mail-Ins
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently declined to decide, prior to the November election, issues related to mail-in ballots in the state. It rejected a request by left-leaning groups to force counties to count mail-in ballots that lack a date or have an incorrect date next to the voter signature on the return envelope. That simple… Continue reading PA Supreme Court Effectively Preserves Requirement to Date Mail-Ins
Kamala Harris’s Record on Abortion Rights Shows Strong Support
Throughout Joe Biden’s presidency, he leaned on the outspoken former prosecutor and senator he selected as his vice president, Kamala Harris, to be the White House’s voice of unflinching support for reproductive health rights. Now, as Democrats rebuild their presidential ticket just a few months before Election Day, Harris would widely be expected to take… Continue reading Kamala Harris’s Record on Abortion Rights Shows Strong Support
Stealth Edit: FBI Quietly Revises Violent Crime Stats
When the FBI originally released the “final” crime data for 2022 in September 2023, it reported that the nation’s violent crime rate fell by 2.1%. This quickly became, and remains, a Democratic Party talking point to counter Donald Trump’s claims of soaring crime. But the FBI has quietly revised those numbers, releasing new data that… Continue reading Stealth Edit: FBI Quietly Revises Violent Crime Stats
The ‘Beautiful Confusion’ of the First Billion Years Comes Into View
Susan Kassin, an astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute, showed images from previous observatories compared to JWST’s. It was like having the optometrist flip a lens so that the last lines on an eye chart come into focus. “Thank you, Webb — it’s a $10 billion difference,” she said. People chuckled and nodded. JWST… Continue reading The ‘Beautiful Confusion’ of the First Billion Years Comes Into View
Buying the News: How Leftwing Donors Are Taking Over Local Journalism
American journalism has experienced a spectacular collapse in the last 25 years – daily newspaper circulation has declined from over 60 million subscribers to just over 20 million. And the trend is accelerating: According to the Pew Research Organization, the average monthly number of unique visitors to the websites of the country’s top 50 newspapers plummeted 20% in one… Continue reading Buying the News: How Leftwing Donors Are Taking Over Local Journalism