Note — this was originally published with Physics World. The explosion of a nearby star could have caused a mass extinction that occurred long ago on Earth. …

There are growing rumblings about the need for a National Commission on Truth and Reconciliation for the post-Trump world. In a recent Philadelphia Inquirer opinion piece, Will Bunch wrote that “The idea behind such panels is to hold high-profile hearings that aren’t geared toward punishment but exposing the truth of…

Free speech is a value, not a right. Understanding this distinction sheds light on the various debates in the culture war — who social media platforms should ban, the role of the First Amendment, and cancel culture. It’s true that companies like Twitter and Facebook have the moral right to…

If you are reading this, then you are taking advantage of the global information network we call the Internet and a piece of electronic hardware known as a computer. For much of the world, access to these technologies is commonplace enough to be taken for granted, and yet they only…

Historically, the creation of ideas has been a messy process. Knowledge has not usually been delivered as an immaculate gem, but as a needle in a grubby haystack of wrong ideas. It is only with the benefit of hindsight that we are able to differentiate between our ancestors’ mistakes and…

In my office of hallowed halls I sit staring at sullied paper, Seeking answers that do not yet exist, That no one can give me, One fist to chin for thinking, One hand to pencil for scribbling. — What is the world made of? The question taunts me, haunts me…

Human nature is not to be cruel, Nor kind, Nor to run alone, Nor to tribe. — To be a person is to be an explainer, Capable of understanding all of Reality, From the motion of particles to the evolution of life, There is no remainder. — From this, we should be optimistic! For every problem we face, From hunger to stress to war to mortality itself, All require knowledge to overtake, And a person, an explainer, can acquire any knowledge at all,

In our fight against COVID-19, we must respect the universal principles that allow for problem-solving in general. While these will never tell us exactly what we should be doing in any given problem-situation, such as the one in which we currently find ourselves, they provide the framework in which we…

Out of nothing came the world, Space-time and particles and heat and force, Chaos to start. — Father Reality grew defined with age. Particles wed, Banged and congealed, Swirling matter brewed in cosmic storms, The Universe came ablaze with round, fiery Titans. — Eight or ten billion years on, One…