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Cheryl Nong

Why (You and I Think) Billionaires Suck

Hating billionaires has been a favourite pastime of us lowly mortals for a long time—and for good reason. “Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg agree to hold cage fight.”¹ There go the uber-wealthy doing ridiculous things once again. But where does this strong dislike come from? Are the one percenters truly different than the rest of us? Or is there something in the perception of the other 99% that fuels the dislike? It might be a bit of both.

digital illustration of a cluster of black fish swimming upwards across the page. Behind them are a spread of radioactive waste barrels, droplets of mercury, and a submarine.

Ultra-Black is the New Black

Life is bright here on the surface of the Earth – the sun shines, the moon glows, and the stars glimmer. With plants being at the bottom of most food chains, it’s reasonable to believe that animals would only live in areas touched by the light of the sun. Yet, over 200 metres under the sea lives a completely different world, beyond the reach of the sunlight that travels millions of miles to shine upon our planet.1 Whether it’s day or night, it’s all the same darkness – that is, until you’re graced by the light of a jellyfish floating by. Down here, all light is produced by bioluminescence (the process that allows animals to generate their own light), making for a seemingly alien landscape in the deep sea.1 However, some fish have taken a different route to adapt to life in the deep by fully embracing the darkness. Only a few other species in the animal kingdom exhibit these features, but no one does it as well as ultra-black deep-sea fish.

The Struggle is Real: The Moral Psychology of Temptation

The concept of extraterrestrial life is often associated with outlandish science fiction hypotheticals, little gray Martians, and conspiracy theorists donning tin-foil hats. Despite its seemingly fantastical nature, scientists continually look towards the vastness of space seeking to answer the big question: Are we alone? Around 778 million kilometers away from Earth, Jupiter’s fourth largest moon, Europa, orbits the gas giant. This formerly inconspicuous moon has been the one of the centerpieces of discussion ever since scientists discovered ice on its surface in the 1970s.1,2 With recent groundbreaking findings, deniers of extraterrestrial life have certainly been given even more of a run for their money.

A colorful digital illustration of two women in knight armor swordfighting intensely under an archway made of roses.

From Foes to Flames: Does the Enemies-To-Lovers trope exist in real life?

If you are a fervent reader of slow-burn romance novels, star-crossed enemies-to-lovers stories, rivalry, and similar exhilarating genres, you’ve likely come across the infamous idiom, “There’s a thin line between love and hate.” But how accurate is this phrase in reality? And is this phenomenon an actual occurrence beyond literature and pop culture?

A digital drawing of planet Earth surrounded by falling pink particles. Golden rays radiate out from the planet's surface into space.

The Particle Shower That is Changing The Way We See The World

Life on Earth exists under a constant particle shower. Tiny invisible particles form in the
atmosphere and fall towards the Earth’s surface, passing through our bodies and everything around us on their way. From the Great Pyramids of Giza to Mount Vesuvius, one such particle, the muon, is being used by particle physicists to make new discoveries about the physical structures that surround us on Earth.

A nervous young person wrapped in blankets looks down over the edge of their bed. Two red eyes stare out from the darkness beneath the bed.

Using Memory Techniques to Face the Monsters Under Our Beds

Nightmares are no rare phenomenon; every one of us has at some point been forced to confront the monsters under our beds. Medically, a typical nightmare is nothing to be afraid of. Even recurring nightmares are perfectly normal.