The Comedic Philosophy of John Cleese

Number of words: 5,810 “I want to murder this thing,” says John Cleese, fiddling with a medical contraption that’s attached to his leg. The 77-year-old founding member of the Monty Python comedy troupe — arguably humanity’s greatest comedic endeavor — and the star and co-creator of perennial best-sitcom-ever contender Fawlty Towers, is in his office on … Read more

The Philosophical Implications of Autodidactic Algorithms in Science

Number of words: 596 In fascinating new research, cosmologists explain the history of the universe as one of self-teaching, autodidactic algorithms. The scientists, including physicists from Brown University and the Flatiron Institute, say the universe has probed all the possible physical laws before landing on the ones we observe around us today. Could this wild idea … Read more

Childhood Dreams Meet Legal Realities

Number of words: 819 In North Carolina, officers arrested a six-year-old Black boy for picking a tulip near his bus stop. The aftermath of this flower-picking incident shows racism can blossom at any time. Inequality doesn’t wait until a Black person reaches a particular age or milestone. Rather, systemic racism starts impacting children at a young age … Read more

The Power of Being a Generalist in a Specialized World

Number of words: 1,298 RANGE: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, by David Epstein. Published by arrangement with Riverhead, a member of Penguin Random House LLC. Copyright © 2019 by David Epstein. The boy’s father could tell something was different. At six months old, the boy could balance on his father’s palm as he … Read more

The Intersection of Agriculture and Wildlife Conservation

Number of words: 923 MUMBAI: After several failed attempts, Dhanesh Parashar, a 36-year-old cashew farmer from Dodamarg in the Sindhudurg district has finally found a new ally in his struggle to keep free-ranging elephants from chomping down on his crop: honey bees.NSyes, elephants — the largest animal on land — are afraid of bees. So intensely that the … Read more

From Sunlight to Fuel: A New Era in Energy Solutions

Number of words: 349 Researchers from the University of Cambridge have developed a first-of-kind device that converts sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water into carbon-neutral fuel. This conversion takes place without requiring any additional components or electricity. This device is a major step towards achieving artificial photosynthesis, which is a process mimicking the ability of plants … Read more