Discouraged by a steady decline in the number of U. S. students studying languages, and by the racial and religious discriminations against teachers in other lands —which they deplored*—2,500 members ...
Most people are drawn to clear purpose and application in everything they do. And still, there’s power in “useless” knowledge. “What am I going to use this for?” That’s the question that I invariably ...
Why is research that doesn't have immediate utility necessary?At the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton in the 1930s, ...
IN conversation with a learned friend lately, our talk ran on various definitions of culture, and on the fact that for one reason or another we found them all unsatisfactory. This led us to ponder the ...
How a chemical in lizard spit inspired one of the most important medical advancements. Our lizard friend the Gila monster probably has no idea that a chemical in its spit inspired one of the most ...
Fundamental discoveries don’t always have practical uses, but they have soul-saving applications. By Bret Stephens Opinion Columnist In October 1939, as Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin were plunging the ...
How much completely useless knowledge do your pupils have? The Useless Knowledge Quiz is a fun and unusual general knowledge quiz packed with bizarre facts, strange information and wonderfully ...
It’s right there in the Bible—ask, and it will be given to you. It’s also right there on gaming Twitter, where the small gaming podcast Super Pod Saga posed an innocent question on January 15 and ...