Will having a cartoon animal that lives in your fridge and firmly tells you to save energy get you to close the fridge door faster?
Read More »Tag Archives: theory
Feed SubscriptionOne Brainy Fish: Electric Fish from the Congo May Hold the Key to How We Move
For decades neuroscientists have been building theories of brain function despite a near total lack of data on the most numerous neurons of all: cerebellar granule cells.
Read More »Move With the Speed of Disruption
Can you predict change? Michael Raynor, author of The Innovator's Manifesto, explains his theory for identifying disruption early, and dramatically changing your industry. What if we could predict which businesses would survive, and which would crumble
Read More »How Car Crash Modeling Technology Could Predict Offshore Drilling Disasters
We put cars under rigorous tests to determine if and how they will break.
Read More »Daily Red Meat Raises Risk for Diabetes, Large Study Says
Sugary soda and other sweet treats are likely not the only foods to blame for the surge in diabetes across the U.S.
Read More »Can Innovation Be Learned?
Or are truly creative people born with something special? Clayton Christensen discusses his latest book, The Innovator's DNA, which analyzes the traits of CEOs who have disrupted their industries
Read More »Midtown In Motion Could Eliminate NYC Traffic Jams
Using a system of sensors and cameras, the new program lets city engineers control traffic signals in real time in response to changing road conditions. Sitting in traffic isn't just unpleasant; it also wastes gasoline and is a major trigger for heart attacks, among other health problems. And of all the places to get stuck in traffic, Midtown Manhattan may be one of the worst.
Read More »Beauty Pageants and the Misunderstanding of Evolution Meet….Again
Last week, self proclaimed "geek," Miss California, Alyssa Campanella made beauty pageant history ...by default . When the interviewer posed a Theory of Evolution question, she was one of only two delegates to use the scientific definition of the word "theory" in her response. The honey-drenched, colloquial, conjecture-based definition that the majority of her competitors clung to was, yes, diplomatic.
Read More »Bet on the Losing Team
In this year’s NBA playoffs the Dallas Mavericks displayed an uncanny ability to come from behind and win. Uncanny because to do so implies a defiance of expectation – teams that are ahead should, obviously, have a greater chance of winning a game. However, new research from Jonah Berger and Devin Pope suggests that once we account for some basic psychological principles of motivation, the odds of winning might, in some cases, be reversed.
Read More »Evolution of the Eye (preview)
The human eye is an exquisitely complicated organ. It acts like a camera to collect and focus light and convert it into an electrical signal that the brain translates into images. But instead of photographic film, it has a highly specialized retina that detects light and processes the signals using dozens of different kinds of neurons
Read More »Great People Are Overrated (Part II)
I'm pleased, although not surprised, by the incredible wave of reactions to and comments about my post, "Great People Are Overrated." (I'm also not surprised by the vitriol and personal nature of some of the barbs aimed at me. That seems to go with the territory whenever you question an article of faith among the web startup crowd.) My guess is that the post touched a nerve because it touched on one of the great dividing lines in our business culture today. As members of an economy, a society, and a collection of companies, all of us are engaged in a conversation (sometimes explicit, mainly implicit) about what makes the world go 'round -- individual brilliance or group genius, self-possessed superstars or well-rounded teams.
Read More »Groupon Is The Next Google (Unless It’s The Next Webvan)
There was a lot of snickering Thursday after Groupon announced an IPO valuing it at $30 billion. But the company might actually be worth a lot more than people think. It didn’t take long after Groupon filed for an IPO Thursday that valued the company at $20 billion for the snark to start flying around the web.
Read More »A Mystery Wrapped in a Crystal
The fact that first graders grow crystals for science projects might lead you to think that physicists know how these snazzy shapes form and unform. Alas, there is still a big blank spot in physics textbooks where the theory of crystal melting should be.
Read More »What College Degrees Are Really Worth
A new study from Georgetown University breaks down which majors of study result in the highest career earnings.
Read More »Living In A Quantum World (preview)
According to standard physics textbooks, quantum mechanics is the theory of the microscopic world. It describes particles, atoms and molecules but gives way to ordinary classical physics on the macroscopic scales of pears, people and planets
Read More »