In Logic, Inconsistency is the Cardinal Sin, and Consistency the First of the Virtues.

How ad hominem arguments can demolish appeals to authority. 

Sam Shepard Saw It All Coming

The family battles he described foreshadowed our current national crisis.

Bless Us, O Instagram

The social media site has popularized grain bowls, kale smoothies—and a new form of prayer.

Truth and Consequences

Untruth has been spreading with new ease and abandon, and often to undemocratic effect.

‘Siberian Maldives’ is Actually a Toxic Dump

Russian lake that has sparked social media frenzy is full of metal oxides from coal ash.

Cannonball-Eating Spanish Forts

The secret is inside the walls themselves. As I explained in Orion’s Cartwheels.

Well, Well...

Lookee here...

Decoding the Language of Neurons

A new study reveals surprising variations in the neural code.

Remembering João Gilberto

Eccentricity was inseparable from this musical innovator’s artistic vision.

Zen Terror

Master Nissho Inoue and his band of assassins teach some uncomfortable truths about terrorism, for those who will hear.

Is Failure the New Literary Success?

From memoir and self-care books to comic novels, writing about our flaws and imperfections has never been so popular. But can failing ever be a success?

So, Gutenberg Didn’t Actually Invent the Printing Press

On the unsung Chinese and Korean history of movable type.

Archaeologists Uncover Palace of the Mittani Empire in the Duhok Province of the Kurdistan Region/ Iraq

German-Kurdish research team came upon a surprising discovery as ruins emerge from the waters of the Tigris River.

Fossil of Ancient Four-Legged Whale with Hooves Discovered

Giant 42.6m-year-old fossil was found along coast of Peru and suggests creature could walk on land.

The Guilty Pleasures of Mansion Porn

Each week, The Wall Street Journal offers its readers the choice between envy and schadenfreude.

Chinese Railroad Workers

 in North America Project at Stanford University.