Because sarcasm is often difficult to discern and improperly used, it can operate as a linguistic mulligan. But deploy the excuse too much, and you might raise some eyebrows.
President Donald Trump, during a meeting in the cabinet room at the White House, Washington, Nov. 22, 2019.
AP/Susan Walsh
President Donald Trump and his supporters exhibit the methods of science deniers. Like anti-evolutionists and flat-earthers, they reject what they don’t want to believe and accept what they favor.
It’s these brain cells that really make humans unique.
anyaivanova/Shutterstock.com
We have more neurons in our cortices than any other species, courtesy of an early technology – and along with them came our long, slow lives, with plenty of chances to gather around the dinner table.
The movement to ban miniature toiletries isn’t likely to make a dent in the global plastic crisis.
vaidehi shah/Flickr
Yossi Sheffi, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
InterContinental Hotels Group plans to switch miniature toiletries for bulk products, but it isn’t likely to do as much for the environment as activists might think.
Mueller testifies before the House Intelligence Committee.
Reuters/Alex Brandon
To one scholar of the post-truth era, tuning in to Robert Mueller’s testimony Wednesday was to hear a duel over the facts. Not what the facts imply – but what the facts are.
What does all that data mean to you?
Andrey_Popov/shutterstock.com
The people who get the most out of self-tracking tend to be ‘systematic thinkers’ who search for meaning in patterns.
U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller makes a statement on his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, May 29, 2019.
REUTERS/Jim Bourg
What’s the role of someone who, like
Robert Mueller, speaks only facts in a tornado of partisan bombast? Is it a breath of fresh air or an abdication of responsibility to protect America’s interests?
These small ‘robots’ can create a complex system when they find each other as they roam around.
Felice Frankel
Felice Frankel, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Using an artistic eye when creating pictures of scientific phenomena and new technologies can elevate the resulting images in terms of both their beauty and how informative they are.
Trump speaks with reporters in the Oval Office, April 14, 2019.
AP/Evan Vucci
The president’s blame-the-press rhetoric is, to the news media, calculated to score political points. But are there real problems US journalists need to address in their work? Yes, says one scholar.
Marital status is a defining characteristic of U.S. tax law.
AP Photo/Keith Srakocic
Globalization is making it harder to identify and trace outbreaks of foodborne illness. Technology can help, but consumers may also have to rethink their food choices.
Does a microchip implant have a deeper meaning?
Reuters/Barbara Goldberg
Tiny electronic items can identify pets, clothes and even people. Evangelical Christians aren’t the only people worried about what this technology might mean.
A seven-qubit quantum device at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, N.Y.
AP Photo/Seth Wenig
Computers were once considered high-end technology, only accessible to scientists and trained professionals. Today, almost everyone has one. Will quantum computing follow the same path?
Tarana Burke created #MeToo in 2006 but it didn’t emerge as a mass social movement until 2017.
AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes
From the French Revolution to #MeToo, social movements often burst into the mainstream with what seems like little warning. Cass Sunstein explains why.
The U.S. may be ahead for now, but not by much.
onime/Shutterstock.com
Clifford Johnson, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
The film wowed critics and fans. But its hidden power may be black lead characters who are accomplished scientists – just the thing to help inspire future generations to follow in their footsteps.
Nope, not a real news report from Hurricane Irma.
Snopes
It’s easier than ever to create a fake image and spread it far and wide online. But there are steps that you can take to protect yourself from fishy photos.
True love could be hiding inside mounds of data.
xtock/Shutterstock.com