Scholars
Leading intellectuals in the fields of history, philosophy and science
Charles H. Sternberg’s Lost Dinosaurs
On December 6, 1916, a German military vessel sunk a highly-valued shipment of Canadian dinosaurs.
January 09, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
China’s Dinosaur Folklore
Dinosaur tracks aren't just scientific curiosities--they have also inspired many legends in China
January 04, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
Creating the Age of Reptiles
Why is an image of the Garden of Eden considered art, while an exquisitely detailed depiction of Jurassic life is derided as juvenile junk?
January 03, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
Top Ten Science Blog Posts of 2011
Cats, zombies, earthquakes, chickens--our readers have an eclectic taste
December 28, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
A Mysterious Thumb
What did Iguanodon use its big thumb spikes for—stabbing attackers, breaking into seeds, or possibly stripping foliage from branches?
December 27, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
The Story of the WWI Christmas Truce
It has become one of the great legends of World War I. But what really happened when British and German troops emerged from their trenches that Christmas Day?
December 23, 2011 |
By Mike Dash
Huxley’s Apocryphal Dinosaur Dinner
Fossil lore says 19th century naturalist T.H. Huxley realized that birds were dinosaurs when he carved into a Christmas turkey, but what really happened?
December 22, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
Hitchcock’s Primeval Birds
Paleontologist Edward Hitchcock was one of the first dinosaur track experts, but why did he insist that birds left the footprints?
December 19, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
A Comedy of Dinosaur Errors
If any dinosaur has a tortured history, it's the giant predator Saurophaganax
December 16, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
Read Sir Isaac Newton’s Works Online
Cambridge University is digitizing its collection of works by Newton and other revolutionary scientists of the past
December 14, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Dinosaurs In Space!
It's not just science fiction—dinosaurs have already been in space twice
December 12, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
Emperor Wang Mang: China’s First Socialist?
In A.D. 9, the Chinese emperor nationalized his state's land and redistributed it to the peasantry. That revolutionary act cost him his throne and his life—and even now his motives remain unclear
December 09, 2011 |
By Mike Dash
Who Wrote the First Dinosaur Novel?
A decade before The Lost World debuted, one science fiction writer beat Arthur Conan Doyle to the dinosaurian punch.
December 08, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
Lambe’s Lazy, Scavenging Gorgosaurus
Back when tyrannosaurs were new to science, paleontologist Lawrence Lambe cast them as bumbling scavengers that ate rotten flesh
December 01, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
Henry Morton Stanley's Unbreakable Will
The explorer of Dr. Livingstone-fame provides a classic character study of how willpower works
December 2011 |
By Roy F. Baumeister and John Tierney
History Heroes: Marc Bloch
The scholar created a whole new way of looking at history, but found time to fight in two World Wars–latterly, aged 60, as a leader of the French Resistance
November 10, 2011 |
By Mike Dash
The Origin of a Little Tyrant
Is "Nanotyrannus" a small-bodied tyrannosaur, a juvenile of some unknown species, or a young Tyrannosaurus rex?
November 08, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
William Shakespeare, Gangster
Could the gentle Bard have been a thug? A scholar's discovery in the British Archives adds a different stroke to the portrait of one of the most admired but least-known men in English letters
November 07, 2011 |
By Mike Dash
Q and A with Alan Alda on Marie Curie
A new play explains how despite the many challenges, the famous scientist didn’t stop trailblazing after her first Nobel
November 03, 2011 |
By Casey Rentz
Five Historic Female Mathematicians You Should Know
Albert Einstein called Emmy Noether a "creative mathematical genius"
October 07, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
