The Marginalian
The Marginalian

Reads tagged with “science”

Alan Lightman on Science, Genius, and Common Sense
Alan Lightman on Science, Genius, and Common Sense

A homemade rocket, a Feynman fiasco, and why genius and common sense don’t always coexist.

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How Richard Dawkins Coined the Word Meme: The Legendary Atheist’s Surprising Religious Inspiration
How Richard Dawkins Coined the Word Meme: The Legendary Atheist’s Surprising Religious Inspiration

“Just as genes propagate themselves in the gene pool by leaping from body to body via sperms or eggs, so memes propagate themselves in the meme pool by leaping from brain to brain.”

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Brave Genius: How the Unlikely Friendship of Scientist Jacques Monod and Philosopher Albert Camus Shaped Modern Culture
Brave Genius: How the Unlikely Friendship of Scientist Jacques Monod and Philosopher Albert Camus Shaped Modern Culture

“Being aware of one’s life, one’s revolt, one’s freedom, and to the maximum, is living, and to the maximum.”

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The Beautiful and Frightening Experience of How Science Is Done: Richard Feynman’s Letter to James Watson about <em>The Double Helix</em>
The Beautiful and Frightening Experience of How Science Is Done: Richard Feynman’s Letter to James Watson about The Double Helix

A manifesto for messiness and the value of the subjective in the advancement of knowledge.

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What George Eliot Teaches Us About the Life-Cycle of Happiness and the Science of Why We’re Happier When We’re Older
What George Eliot Teaches Us About the Life-Cycle of Happiness and the Science of Why We’re Happier When We’re Older

“One has to spend so many years in learning how to be happy.”

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How Much a Planet Costs: Astronomy, Economics, and the Trouble with Pricing the Priceless
How Much a Planet Costs: Astronomy, Economics, and the Trouble with Pricing the Priceless

“In our lives we all in some way contribute to this greater choice, either drawing our collective future down to Earth or thrusting it out closer to the stars.”

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October 1, 1847: Miss Mitchell’s Comet and How Scientists Stand in Solidarity
October 1, 1847: Miss Mitchell’s Comet and How Scientists Stand in Solidarity

A heartening story of misfortune made right by the collective integrity of the scientific community.

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How the Universe Works: Stephen Hawking’s Theory of Everything, Animated in 150 Seconds
How the Universe Works: Stephen Hawking’s Theory of Everything, Animated in 150 Seconds

A Brief History of Time in no time at all.

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The Psychology of Stress, Orgasm, and Creativity
The Psychology of Stress, Orgasm, and Creativity

“To understand the vagina properly is to realize that it is not only coextensive with the female brain, but is also, essentially, part of the female soul.”

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How Evolution Works, Animated in Minimalist Motion Graphics
How Evolution Works, Animated in Minimalist Motion Graphics

From Darwin to your dog, or why DNA copying errors explain blue eyes.

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