Scientists have recognized that memory formation is a multistage process since at least the early 1950s, in part from their studies of a patient named Henry Molaison — known for decades in the scientific literature only as H.M. Because he suffered from uncontrollable seizures that originated in his hippocampus, surgeons treated him by removing most… Continue reading The Usefulness of a Memory Guides Where the Brain Saves It
Five Charts That Tell Us About the State of Public Education Right Now
A lot happens every year in U.S. public schools, and it can be hard to keep track of it all. To monitor trends in public education, the RAND Corporation fields over a dozen surveys annually to teachers, principals, and superintendents who are members of the American Educator Panels. These five charts taught us the most… Continue reading Five Charts That Tell Us About the State of Public Education Right Now
Why Mathematical Proof Is a Social Compact
Now, with the use of not just computers but even AI, how is the notion of proof changing? We’ve moved to a different place, where computers can do some wild things. Now people say, oh, we’ve got this computer, it can do things people can’t. But can it? Can it actually do things people can’t?… Continue reading Why Mathematical Proof Is a Social Compact
Pandemics Don’t Really End—They Echo
The public health emergency related to the COVID-19 pandemic officially ended on May 11, 2023. It was a purely administrative step. Viruses do not answer to government decrees. Reported numbers were declining, but then started coming up again during the summer. By August, hospital admissions climbed to more than 10,000 a week. This was nowhere… Continue reading Pandemics Don’t Really End—They Echo
Reincarnation Research (Ian Stevenson)
Podcast: Download MYS275: Belief in reincarnation is found in multiple world religions, but it is also studied from a scientific perspective today as well. Jimmy Akin and Dom Bettinelli discuss what parapsychologists have found about cases of the reincarnation type and ask what could explain their findings. Get all new episodes automatically and for free:… Continue reading Reincarnation Research (Ian Stevenson)
Ruins of Emperor Nero’s Theater Discovered near Vatican
Ahead of construction of a luxury hotel, archaeologists working at a site near the Vatican unearthed the ruins of a private theater where the notoriously cruel Roman emperor Nero once prepared for his public appearances. The whereabouts of the first-century-C.E. theater, which is described in Roman writings, were unknown until now. The researchers who made… Continue reading Ruins of Emperor Nero’s Theater Discovered near Vatican
China Ponders Russia’s Logistical Challenges in the Ukraine War
A saying attributed to General Omar Bradley notes that “amateurs talk strategy, professionals talk logistics.” Any attempt by China to use military force to seize Taiwan would be an immense logistical undertaking requiring moving large quantities of troops and materiel across the Taiwan Strait. What then, are Chinese observers learning from the logistical realm of… Continue reading China Ponders Russia’s Logistical Challenges in the Ukraine War
Alan Turing and the Power of Negative Thinking
Algorithms have become ubiquitous. They optimize our commutes, process payments and coordinate the flow of internet traffic. It seems that for every problem that can be articulated in precise mathematical terms, there’s an algorithm that can solve it, at least in principle. But that’s not the case — some seemingly simple problems can never be… Continue reading Alan Turing and the Power of Negative Thinking
A Trilateral Summit to Deal with Trilateral Threats
U.S. President Joe Biden, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in August held a trailblazing trilateral summit. The summit’s particular focus was on countering military threats in East Asia, and it hailed “a new era of trilateral partnership” in which the three countries “are determined to align our collective efforts… Continue reading A Trilateral Summit to Deal with Trilateral Threats
Magnetism May Have Given Life Its Molecular Asymmetry
Some event or series of events early in the history of life must have “broken the mirror,” as biochemists put it, throwing life into molecular asymmetry. Scientists have debated why life became homochiral, and whether it needed to happen or if it was purely a fluke. Were chiral preferences impressed on early life by biased… Continue reading Magnetism May Have Given Life Its Molecular Asymmetry