The cruelty of convenience. Humans will rationalize almost anything if it’s easier than the alternative. Principles are sturdy until they cost something. Then they’re flexible. Self-deception is the real pandemic. People don’t lie to others half as much as they lie to themselves. … read more

You can’t prove it in the mathematical sense — because the claim “there are no undiscovered naturally occurring elements” is a universal negative. In science, you can only make it extremely unlikely by combining (1) theory about what could exist and persist in nature, and (2) very broad, very … read more

Among the three stars — Vega, Altair, and the Sun — Vega will die first, followed by Altair, and then our Sun, which will be the last to reach the end of its life. The primary reason for this sequence lies in their masses and lifespans, which are inversely related: the more massive a star, the … read more