To some, the very idea of optimism seems peculiarly American. In fact, the concept was German, the word was French, and the trait precedes nations altogether: it is baked into our DNA. I'd argue--as Tali Sharot does in her enlightening cover story and her book from which it was adapted--that optimism is an evolutionary trait, that it helped our ancestors strive and survive. Optimism is in part a self-fulfilling prophecy: it allows us to attempt things we might not otherwise ...

It's hard to overstate the shock astronomers felt when the true nature of quasars began to dawn on them in the early 1960s. At first, these mysterious objects seemed like ordinary stars, tucked in the embrace of our familiar Milky Way. But a closer look revealed that they were billions of light-years away, far beyond the confines of our galaxy. To be visible at such vast distances, a quasar must, by itself, have been as bright as ...

The region of Ethiopia called the Middle Awash, some 140 miles northeast of the capital of Addis Ababa, is a hot, harsh and inhospitable place--a rocky desert punctuated by tree-lined rivers, the occasional lake and patches of lava that are slowly being buried by sediments flushed out of the hills by the torrential rains that come along twice a year. But between 5 million and 6 million years ago, the landscape here was very different. The same tectonic forces ...

With Phuket overrun, and Koh Samui headed that way, Koh Kood could become Thailand's next holiday bolt-hole. This pristine isle is reached only by ferry, keeping tourist traffic low. Here are five Koh Kood essentials. 1. Soneva Kiri Six Senses resorts are known for their quirky facilities, and the newest is no exception. Scan the heavens at a real observatory, or dine on a wooden platform high in the jungle canopy, with surreal meal service by waiters on ...

With classwork like this, who needs to play? Undergraduates taking Cyberporn and Society at the State University of New York at Buffalo survey Internet porn sites. At New York University, assignments for Anthropology of the Unconscious include discussing X-rated Japanese comic books. And in Cinema and the Sex Act at the University of California, Berkeley, undergrads are required to view clips from Hollywood NC-17 releases like Showgirls and underground stag reels. It's called the porn curriculum, and it's quietly taking ...

College football may seem like a religion to Americans, but to many American Catholics the University of Notre Dame football team is the incarnation of their faith in sport. Yet, apart from the battle for the college football national championship, the biggest biggest news in college football this season has been the continued decline of Notre Dame. After another disappointing season, the University of Notre Dame has lost another football coach. Charlie Weis tried to make the ...

At first it sounded like science fiction, curing genetic diseases by giving people new genes. Then it seemed like simple fiction: while theoretically possible, gene therapy appeared unlikely to become a true therapeutic option, the field having suffered years of complications and high-profile setbacks. But over the past year, a series of small but intriguing advances has suggested that the technique may hold real future potential. In September, researchers at the University of Washington reported in the journal ...

For a company founded and still largely run by a bunch of engineers, Google apparently knows a lot about human nature. Just as they did with Gmail, the Googlers have made their newest product invitation-only. You can't just use Google Wave; you have to be chosen. It's like Willy Wonka and the golden ticket. By the time I finally got my Wave invitation, I actually felt grateful. In some part of my brain, I really believed that instead of ...

"Top Chef" host Padma Lakshmi is pregnant with her first child, her publicist confirmed to CNN on Thursday. Lakshmi, 39, has not identified the father. Her representative told US Weekly that the television personality conceived after a long battle with endometriosis. "Model, author, and Emmy-nominated Padma Lakshmi confirms that she is carrying her first child after years of struggling with endometriosis, a cause for which she has co-founded the Endometriosis Foundation of America," the representative told the magazine. ...

Who would be the coach of a football team? In a business driven by results along with the fickle nature of team owners and capricious loyalties of fans - job security is not a phrase normally linked with the post of football coach.