Boston Globe -- Ideas section

Brainiac

Joshua Rothman — 2011-09-09T17:21:00Z

What would you rather own--a 600-square-foot apartment in Beacon Hill, or a 2,500-square-foot house, with pool, in Phoenix? As housing prices in America’s biggest cities rise, people around the country are opting to move elsewhere ...

Uncommon Knowledge

Kevin Lewis — 2011-09-09T17:20:08Z

The goal of affirmative action is to give more opportunities to disadvantaged groups. According to a new study, though, hiring applicants from such groups into sales positions might be purely strategic ...

Ground Zero

Ben Zimmer — 2011-09-09T17:19:32Z

Are these words tied to 9/11 forever?

‘A new species of monster’

Christopher Klein — 2011-09-09T17:18:34Z

The real story of how Massachusetts spawned the gerrymander-and immediately tried to kill it

9/11: What else it taught us

Leon Neyfakh — 2011-09-09T17:17:23Z

From mathematics to psychology, the attacks changed what we know about the world

Uncommon Knowledge

Kevin Lewis — 2011-09-02T17:28:37Z

It is oftern said of Mitt Romney that he looks presidential, and, indeed, research has shown that superficial perceptions of politicians can predict electoral success. New research suggests that CEOs can also have a successful look - specifically, the width-to-height ratio of the face ...

Brainiac

Joshua Rothman — 2011-09-02T17:28:13Z

Picture an artist at work, and you probably imagine someone in a studio, surrounded by materials like paint, stone, or clay. She’s elegantly disheveled, paint-splattered, dust-covered - someone, in short, who gets her hands dirty. For many contemporary artists, however, this vision bears little relation to reality ...

Don’t hate me because I’m Comic Sans

Erin McKean — 2011-09-02T17:28:01Z

What words say may depend on what they look like

The myth of closure

Christopher Dreher — 2011-09-02T17:27:19Z

A new book argues that this popular concept doesn’t exist -- and that chasing it might hurt us

Boston’s summer colors

Andrew Woodruff — 2011-09-02T17:27:04Z

What public photos reveal about the shades of the city

Meet the new power players

Thanassis Cambanis — 2011-09-02T17:24:13Z

Ten years ago, 9/11 announced an important change in how the world works. Our thinking hasn’t caught up yet.

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2011-09-02T17:24:13Z

The all-purpose guide to epic movies

Patrick Garvin, Globe Staff — 2011-07-15T18:39:15Z

As you may have heard, a movie just opened this weekend - the last installment of an epic where a reluctant hero is guided by a wise sage through a dangerous magical world where he eventually confronts a villain of unknowable power. And, of course, there’s a comic sidekick and a traitorous schemer along the way.

Two nations, over the air

Tim Wallace — 2011-07-08T19:00:27Z

Portrait of a rivalry in radio waves

The year in language

Erin McKean — 2011-01-07T18:27:37Z

The best and worst of 2010

2011: The year you weren’t expecting

Samuel Arbesman — 2011-01-01T00:49:23Z

A calendar of the obscure and surprising in the year to come.