Science Update: Higgs Boson
First things first–Don’t call it the God Particle, even if you are making a joke about about the particle going to church. Don’t understand the big deal? Don’t sweat it–you’re…
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science
208 posts
Frontal Cortex
This week The New Yorker launched a new science blog called Frontal Cortex, by Jonah Lehrer. (Did you catch our interview with him?) The inaugural post touts the virtues of…
Odor and Desire
“I went into this party wondering what kind of guys I’d be attracted to just on the basis of pheromone smell. Could I clear away all the flotsam in my…
What About the Sky?
According to scholars, Homer never mentioned the color blue in any of his works; neither did the Bible, nor an abundance of ancient texts. Also, linguists have found a near-universal…
Coffee for Life
Here at Rumpus HQ, we take every caffeine-addiction-validating study to heart. So we’re pleased by this week’s research finding that “people who drank four or five cups of coffee a…
Memory Excavation
Guernica examines the intersections of science, emotion, and memory by way of an exchange between novelist Rivka Galchen and neuroscience professor David Linden, featured in the Rubin Museum’s Brainwave series. “As…
Worst. Water Bed. Ever.
The Animal Kingdom, specifically the marine insect known as the water skater, has devised a new use for the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, using the expanse of pelagic plastics as…
Booze and the Brain
According to a new study, “beer makes men smarter,” or more scientifically stated, drinking alcohol “may enhance creativity problem solving by reducing the mind’s working memory capacity, which is the…
Brain Mapping
“Since the 19th century people have speculated that the essence of human identity is stored in the connections between our neurons. Today we have the technology to find out if…
Our Brains On Art
“While Rembrandt was an astonishingly talented artist, our response to his art is conditioned by all sorts of variables that have nothing to do with oil paint. Many of these…
Fast and Slow Thinking
Psychologists believe that the brain has two complementary modes of thought. If you’re curious about the difference between system 1 (fast mode) and system 2 (slow mode), check out this…
Dark Matter
As scientists search for the “God particle,” The Awl explains some things about Higgs and gives us a glimpse into the world of physicists and all their certainty. “Physicists do…