Thomas Paine, 1737-1809

“Where liberty is not, there is mine.” —Thomas Paine, replying to Benjamin Franklin’s remark, “Where liberty is, there is my country.” Thomas Paine, one of the founding fathers of the United States, was born on... Read More

Bad/Good Teachers

The Law of Unintended Consequences comes in many forms, which is the point of the so-called ancient Chinese curse: “May you get what you wish for.” A less dramatic way of expressing this sentiment is... Read More

Priscilla Robertson, 1910-1989

“The first thing I desire for my children is a kind of openness to experience. I hardly know whether to call this openness the ability to love or the ability to perceive truth, for it... Read More

Pedaling Our Way to Energy Independence

During the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign the buzzword “energy independence” reemerged atop the nation’s political agenda. U.S. policy makers and talking heads have increasingly declared the need for energy self-sufficiency. According to economist Daniel Yergin,... Read More

In Pursuit of the God Particle

The large hadron collider, the atom smasher sitting beneath Geneva, Switzerland, is the largest and most expensive scientific instrument ever built. On September 10, 2008, it succeeded in sending beams of protons all the way... Read More