Why do we group so many things in sevens? Seven is more than a lucky number or a famous baseball player's uniform. It's the brain's natural shepherd, herding vast amounts of information into manageable chunks. It's also a special tool that can help you make smart decisions and sift through...

In April 2008, New York Times columnist David Brooks wrote about "The Great Forgetting." He said that the 21st century will probably be known as the Bad Memory Century. It's not just aging baby boomers who are suffering from memory lapses and "where did I put my keys?"...

The reason John McCain is ten points behind Barack Obama is, ironically, one of the main reasons people want to vote for him -- he's a maverick. A Senate maverick who has played that role for more than 25 years becomes a self-anointed critic of other people's ideas. McCain's greatest...

The European Union is flexing its politically correct muscles again, this time taking straight aim at what they deem to be advertisements that portray women as sex objects. The woman behind this initiative is Eva-Britt Svensson, a 62-year old member of the European Parliament (MEP) who has never...

Sometimes, the answer to a complex problem is so simple, so elegant that you wonder why you didn't think of it yourself. That was my reaction yesterday as I sat at the World Science Festival Summit and listened to Columbia University professor Dickson Despommier describe an ingenious idea...

Finally, someone in grape valley climbed out of the wine cellar to figure out what wine drinkers really want aside from great taste: peel-off wine labels. According to Trend Central, an Australian wine producer, Oxford Landing, is offering this consumer-friendly perk on their Shiraz. It's no wonder since there are...

Can monkeys form gangs and terrorize people? Just ask the residents of Gibraltar where a pack of 25 macaques have broken into hotels through open windows, vandalized rooms, and have been seen rummaging through garbage in the center of town. When I first read about this, I thought Judd Apatow...

You might think mice and rats are the answer to solving mankind's medical afflictions. I thought so too until I read that the lowly fruit fly may hold the key to restoring memory in humans. Turns out we have a lot in common, genetically speaking, with the common fruit fly,...

At first glance Charlotte Allen's misogynistic Op-Ed piece in The Washington Post looks like post-feminism on hyperbolic steroids from China--an over the top rant with a dose of heavy-metal poison thrown in for effect. She takes on those adoring Obama fans--mostly women--although I've seen a few guys melt...

Maybe we should rethink our "No Child Left Behind" program. If we eliminate all expectations for achievement and behavior, we may actually be able to recapture our economic and moral supremacy, and be number one in the world. Sounds counterintuitive, I know, but there is a precedent for this kind...