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Love-Death-Time: The Existential Triangle at the Core of 'Collateral Beauty'
Despite overall poor reviews, a saving grace of the film is that the plot makes us reflect on our own losses and how we choose to deal with them.
January 18, 2017
An Unforgettable Journey to the Red Planet
As we close the books on 2016, it's worth watching this clip from the film Roving Mars in an effort to start the new year with hope and optimism for what we can accomplish as we work together.
January 9, 2016
The Star of Bethlehem and the Magi: Myth or Reality?
If nothing else, the story of the Star of Bethlehem tells us of a time when looking up to the skies in awe and wonder was part of most people's lives.
December 31, 2016
Taking Stock of the State of the Universe
As a species, we can be proud of our remarkable scientific prowess: This is an ongoing effort, a narrative we build slowly, gathering data and ideas that stretch our imagination.
December 27, 2016
What Smart Aliens Could Teach Us About Survival
Once we mix in real science with the possibility of extraterrestrial life, we can learn much about our current dilemmas and, hopefully, about our survival as a species.
December 20, 2016
ExxonMobil vs. the World
Oil companies once led in climate science; if they put a fraction of their profits into the search for alternative renewable fuels, they could ensure our collective well-being.
December 13, 2016
The 'Arrival' of the Hectapods: Time Holds the Key to Everything
Arrival speaks to all of us, making us think about where we are in life and what we've been doing with the time we have — confronting us at the individual and collective level.
December 6, 2016
The Key To America's Future? Science
We must unify America around the need for science and STEM education as the only guarantee for prosperity: Only education can keep America great.
November 29, 2016
Lessons on Time Loops and Power Loops From 'Doctor Strange'
The film reminds us we are the sum total of our choices and must consider carefully where they lead — good to remember in these post-election days, and in life.
November 15, 2016
An Issue That Should Bring Us Together: The State Of Our Planet
Thoughts of colonization of other planets aside — stuff that stands far away in the future — our problems are right here and right now, affecting us globally.
November 8, 2016
Seeing the Reality of Atoms and Molecules
In the early 20th century, we weren't able to visualize reactions of tiny matter. We didn't doubt they were there, but we weren't sure of the details. Now we are.
November 1, 2016
Are We Turning Into Machines?
The challenge we face is to keep a healthy balance between power-on life and power-off life — to be sure we don't become something we are not.
October 25, 2016
Would You Trust A Self-Driving Car?
California's governor just signed a bill to allow testing of driverless cars. The future is here — but it's important to consider the consequences as development moves ahead.
October 18, 2016
How Does Molecular Action in the Brain Make Thoughts?
The hope is that the connectome, a map of all neural connections, will somehow address how physical processes are connected with consciousness.
October 11, 2016
A New Culture of Cooperation in Academia Is Emerging
A liberal arts education was supposed to expose students to the sciences and the humanities without exploring their affinities or overlaps — but this era is coming to an end.
October 4, 2016
Is Running Good or Bad for Your Health?
It makes some sense that too much of a good thing may end up being bad for you, but, so far, the science hasn't proved this to be true of running.
September 27, 2016
Are Aliens Talking to Us?
There are lessons to be learned in the false detection of alien signals: Sure, we should keep on listening, but we also should understand our role as guardians of Earth.
September 14, 2016
Can Science Crack the 'Hardest' Question?
Where did the world come from? Unless future physicists make new observations from the Big Bang, it's hard to contemplate any science coming from the first originating event.
September 7, 2016
Excitement, Frustration, Glory: The Olympics — Or Science?
There is a hero-like narrative in science that is not that far from a sports narrative — the striving for success with the hope of bringing something unimagined to the field.
August 31, 2016
The Porous Boundary Between Science and the Mysterious
Imagine how sad it would be if, one day, we arrived at the end of knowledge — that would be incomparably worse than embracing doubt as the unavoidable partner of a curious mind.
August 23, 2016