The Blank Slate
The long-accepted theory that parents can mold their children like clay has distorted choices faced by adults trying to balance their lives, multiplied the anguish of those whose children haven't turned out as hoped, and mangled the science of human behavior
by Steven Pinker, Photography by Holly Lindem
What We Learned About Tall Buildings from the World Trade Center Collapse
What We Learned About Tall Buildings from the World Trade Center Collapse
Free Radical
The eminent, controversial, and endlessly inventive biochemist Bruce Ames thinks he has found a way to slow the aging process in the brain. May the force be with him
Discover Roundtable
In an age when computers, not to mention calculators, can do just about any kind of math, is it more important to know how to get the answer than to know the math behind it?
Treasure Under Saddam's Feet
As the waters of the Tigris rise and the world awaits war, archaeologists fear for priceless ancient marvels of the first great empire
The Very Best Telescope
A powerful, new, and rather bizarre collection of six small telescopes atop Mount Wilson is about to change our view of the stars forever