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The Conversation

The life-changing love of one of the 20th century’s greatest physicists

  • Written by The Conversation Contributor
imageLove is for everyone.mawazeFL/Flickr, CC BY-NC

One of the great short stories of the 20th century is Nobel Laureate Isaac Bashevis Singer’sThe Spinoza of Market Street. It tells of an aged scholar who has devoted his life to the study of Spinoza’s great work, Ethics. Protagonist Dr Fischelson has lost his library job and, like his hero,...

Read more: The life-changing love of one of the 20th century’s greatest physicists

Why Supreme Court case on race in admissions matters more than ever

  • Written by The Conversation Contributor
imageCould the decision in the Abigail Fisher case exacerbate racial tensions on campuses?Serena Lee, CC BY-NC

In a number of recent incidents across the country, black students have expressed how they continue to experience hostility because of their skin color. These students have spoken of their feelings of isolation and disempowerment.

Colleges and...

Read more: Why Supreme Court case on race in admissions matters more than ever

The ethics of climate change: what we owe people – and the rest of the planet

  • Written by The Conversation Contributor
imageAhead of the Paris climate summit, protesters in the Philippines march for climate justice. Erik de Castro/Reuters

Ethics is a particularly relevant if underreported topic of conversation at the United Nations conference on climate change in Paris. While technical disputes grab the lion’s share of attention, we should not forget the moral...

Read more: The ethics of climate change: what we owe people – and the rest of the planet

Scientists tend to superspecialize – but there are ways they can change

  • Written by The Conversation Contributor
imageIf scientists' knowledge is segregated in non-overlapping silos, there can't be cross-pollination between fields.Doc Searls, CC BY

Crossing disciplinary boundaries is unusual – and crucially important. In 1998, groundbreaking thinker and eminent biologist EO Wilson cautioned against scientific overspecialization, warning that thought silos...

Read more: Scientists tend to superspecialize – but there are ways they can change

Targeting black viewers: what The Wiz Live! tells us about race and TV advertising

  • Written by The Conversation Contributor
imageMore than 11 million people tuned in to the primetime special.NBC

For two hours on a Saturday night in 1955, TV viewers in Harlem turned off their television sets, a boycott meant to send a message to the nation’s broadcasting networks.

The reason? According to NAACP Vice President Odell Clarke (quoted in a February 21 1955 St Petersburg Times...

Read more: Targeting black viewers: what The Wiz Live! tells us about race and TV advertising

Obama shows the flaws in America’s efforts to combat ISIS

  • Written by The Conversation Contributor
imageSpeaking to the nation December 6Yuri Gripas/Reuters

Winston Churchill famously suggested that:

You can always count on Americans to do the right thing – after they’ve tried everything else.

Speaking with his characteristic mix of the compassionate and cerebral, the articulate and analytic, President Obama reminded Americans of the need...

Read more: Obama shows the flaws in America’s efforts to combat ISIS

Why treat gene editing differently in two types of human cells?

  • Written by The Conversation Contributor
imageA snip here, but not a snip there?DNA image via www.shutterstock.com

At the conclusion of the recent International Summit on Human Gene Editing in Washington, DC, its organizing committee released a much-anticipated statement recommending how human genetic engineering should be regulated. Co-organized by US, UK and Chinese national academies, the...

Read more: Why treat gene editing differently in two types of human cells?

Wall Street watchdog SEC can't end violence in Congo

  • Written by The Conversation Contributor
imageThe conflict mineral provision has hurt the victims of the violence more than the perpetrators.Reuters

A civil war has raged in the Democratic Republic of Congo for more than 15 years, resulting in the deaths of millions and displacing millions more.

Fueling the violence has been the illicit sale of minerals such as tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold,...

Read more: Wall Street watchdog SEC can't end violence in Congo

More Articles ...

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  2. Climate activists take to social media for Paris summit, but who are they reaching?
  3. If you give a man a gun: the evolutionary psychology of mass shootings
  4. How pervasive anti-millennial sentiment has hurt the cause of student protesters
  5. Total recall sounds great, but some things should be forgotten
  6. When fear is a weapon: how terror attacks influence mental health
  7. Here's how screen time is changing the way kids tell stories
  8. Can solar geoengineering be part of responsible climate policy?
  9. Forget about designer babies – gene editing won't work on complex traits like intelligence
  10. To talk or not to talk? The dilemma of suicide contagion
  11. Six things Americans should know about mass shootings
  12. The latest bad news on carbon capture from coal power plants: higher costs
  13. When families move, high school students may suffer
  14. Older adults: an untapped, renewable resource on climate action
  15. Focus on college affordability obscures real problem: we're overeducated
  16. What clues does your dog's spit hold for human mental health?
  17. Students' demand for diverse faculty is a demand for a better education
  18. How HIV became a treatable, chronic disease
  19. Here's why academics should write for the public
  20. The artist's dilemma: what constitutes selling out?
  21. Why corporate sustainability won't solve climate change
  22. Want to do something good for your health? Try being generous
  23. Why Europe will let member states opt out of GM crops
  24. Germany needs to rethink what it means to be German to resolve refugees and ISIS
  25. China's plan to put two-faced citizens on credit blacklist isn't all that foreign
  26. Purging daily demons: what's behind the popularity of exorcisms?
  27. How children with disabilities came to be accepted in public schools
  28. Russia, Turkey and the US: between the terrible and the catastrophic
  29. Locavore or vegetarian? What's the best way to reduce climate impact of food?
  30. Passeth the cranb'rry sauce! The medieval origins of Thanksgiving
  31. Machine learning and big data know it wasn't you who just swiped your credit card
  32. Why do women need special laws to protect them from violence?
  33. From the clinic to the street: how the explosion in prescription painkillers has created more heroin users
  34. Why Thanksgiving tells a story of America's pluralism
  35. Why do American cops kill so many compared to European cops?
  36. The Asian roots of umami -- the 'fifth' taste central to Thanksgiving fare
  37. Where are the voices of indigenous peoples in the Thanksgiving story?
  38. Is Black Friday a thing of the past?
  39. Expert roundtable: the psychological benefits of our Thanksgiving rituals
  40. Explainer: why does the price for turkeys fall just before Thanksgiving?
  41. Giving thanks, but to whom? Fewer Americans embrace organized religion
  42. Want to change perceptions of Muslims? Support students of all beliefs
  43. Is double-dipping a food safety problem or just a nasty habit?
  44. Why does culture sometimes evolve via sudden bursts of innovation?
  45. Climate change's hotter weather could reduce human fertility
  46. Despite recent victories, plights of many LGBT people remain ignored
  47. Brain connections predict how well you can pay attention
  48. Making the moral case on climate change ahead of Paris summit
  49. How fast can we transition to a low-carbon energy system?
  50. How the painting got its name