What happens when someone claims to have proved a famous conjecture? Well, it depends. When a paper is submitted, the journal editor will pass it off to a respected expert for examination. That referee will then scan the paper looking for a significant new idea. If there...

The three Democratic presidential candidates took the debate stage in New Hampshire Saturday night, less than two months before the first-in-the-nation primary there. Perhaps you missed the debate or the exchanges between candidates left you with...

The celebration of Christmas is marked by many symbols, among them the nativity scenes that dot the lawns of churches and homes and the twinkling lights that represent the star said...

American consumers have been enjoying Christmas since July – that is, July 2014, when the average price for all grades of gasoline peaked at US$3.75 per gallon, according to the Energy Information Administration. Since then, prices have declined substantially, as...

As parents, you are constantly walking on a thin line. If you don’t show up at the school enough, it’s assumed you don’t care about your child’s education; show up too much and you’re a “helicopter parent” who suffocates your child and her/his...

From the recent attack on Planned Parenthood to the shooting in San Bernardino, extremists of all stripes are revealing the ugly side of religion. The confluence of these events and election season demagoguery is generating fear and outrage.

In the midst of these national struggles, many families...

On the opening night screening of The Force Awakens, every seat is occupied well before show time. Many in the audience proudly don Star Wars t-shirts (but not the Vader masks, light sabers and blasters, which have been banned due to security concerns). The energy spills over to the previews;...

A choice that football coaches have to make after every touchdown – whether to get the relatively easy point or risk it by going for two – offers helpful insights into why Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen (the economy’s coach) decided to raise interest rates this...

The climate change agreement adopted by 195 countries in Paris last week raised the profile of forests in ways never seen before.

In past multilateral environmental conferences, deforestation proved too thorny for nations to reach agreement. Now, however, some of the most heavily forested...

In every culture that anthropologists have ever studied, people tell stories.

Families most frequently tell stories around the time of vacations, family reunions, (sadly) funerals, Thanksgiving and, of course, the family-oriented winter holidays of Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa.

Stories are told...