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Western Sahara, near the Mauritanian border.

Bruno Barbey/Magnum

Western Sahara: Why Africa’s last colony can’t break free

In global politics, playing by the rules doesn’t always help. By Jenn Abelson

  • Video: Timeline of African nations achieving statehood

Boston’s population boom speeds up

Michael Schmitt of the United States Naval War College.

Q&A

The laws of cyberwar

What a little chaos does for music

Brainiac

The password that even you don’t know

What if you could implant a passcode into your unconscious? 

Uncommon Knowledge

Does homeownership make unemployment worse?

And more surprising insights from the social sciences. 

“The stalemate over independence here in Western Sahara, Africa’s last remaining colony, raises the uncomfortable question of whether a peaceful breakup of nations is really possible — even when the process, officially speaking, enjoys the full support of the UN.”

Jenn Abelson 

Ideas on Boston.com

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2013/01/03/BostonGlobe.com/Ideas/Images/brainiac9090.gif Brainiac blog

Covering news and delights from the worlds of art, science, literature, history, design, and more. 

Inside

How Boston changes in summer — by the numbers

A depiction of the interior of a bank owned by the Medici family of Florence. Woodcut, Italian, 15th century.

Someone tell the Vatican: Monarchy and banks don’t mix

Larry Hunter of the University of Colorado.

Q&A

Larry Hunter, the Cassandra of digital privacy

A boarded up home in a housing development in Warrensville, Ohio.

Q&A

Poverty finds the suburbs

Ideas

How Boston powered the gay rights movement

Should the school year be longer?

The daily planner: An American history

Messages at a memorial for the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings.

Boston’s Marathon memorial: How much should we save?

American energy independence: the great shake-up

Interactive graphic

A baby picture of the Web

Michael Kirham for The Boston Globe

The too-smart city

From Sunday’s Globe | Ideas

The long, weird history of the Nigerian e-mail scam

Brainiac

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  • Brainiac blog on Boston.com

Brainiac

The Tea Calendar, as it's called, was created by the German tea company Halssen & Lyon as a promotional tool for its tea industry clients.

A daily calendar made of tea

And other recent highlights from the Ideas blog.

Latest Headlines in

  • The body-part garden
  • When textbooks were the next big, evil thing
  • Harvard’s guide to Star Trek
  • Lost dogs of 18th-century London
  • Stand back, bedbugs: we have leaves!

The Word

The Word

Why we love ‘cronuts’

The devilish pull of the food portmanteau.

Latest Headlines in

  • How do you pronounce ‘cicada’?
  • “Boston Strong,” the phrase that rallied a city
  • At this year’s spelling bee, make way for meaning
  • Boston driving: So bad it needs its own lingo?
  • Why ‘surreal’ took over

Uncommon Knowledge

Uncommon Knowledge

My Facebook posts make me love myself

And other surprising insights from the social sciences.

Latest Headlines in

  • How the hot hand delusion messes with the game
  • The cruelty of markets: Die, mouse
  • Marijuana, shield me from rejection
  • When single ladies ovulate, they vote Barack
  • Facing death? Try sex

Books

Book Review

Columbia University neuroscientist Carl Hart used and sold drugs as a youth in Miami. He weaves personal stories with research to debunk what he considers myths about addiction.

‘High Price’ by Carl Hart

The Columbia neuroscientist weaves personal stories with research to debunk what he considers myths about addiction.

Latest Headlines in Books

  • ‘The Son’ by Philipp Meyer
  • ‘TransAlantic’ by Colum McCann
  • Nearing 85, Donald Hall’s habits and life have changed
  • ‘America 1933’ by Michael Golay
  • ‘The Interestings’ is getting lots of local interest

Opinion

“Americans aren’t stupid. At some point, insinuations and accusations will no longer be enough.”

Scot Lehigh 

Latest Headlines in Opinion

Magazine

The cover for the June 16 2013 issue

Jun 16, 2013

Last of their kind

  • Scandinavian midsummer menu
  • Marathon and Memorial Day tributes, city champs, and more
The cover for the June 9 2013 issue

Jun 9, 2013

Seaside haven

  • How to get your house cool this summer
  • Against the gray
The cover for the June 2 2013 issue

Jun 2, 2013

Weekend Fun Guide 2013

  • The very definition of marriage
  • Parlor tricks
The cover for the May 26 2013 issue

May 26, 2013

The great froyo gold rush

  • 33 spots to shop for antiques
  • Talking about a past marriage

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