All From the Editors
CommentaryReading the Quran in a new wayLike the Bible, the Quran is filled with fiery passages and gentle ones. Some sentences contradict others. But a new way of reading the Muslim holy book -- based on an old way of storytelling -- might shed a very different light on its meaning.
CommentaryBalancing food, weather, and populationThe drought that has hit the United States and other grain-producing nations could be global warming or just a one-season aberration. But while weather fluctuates year to year, global population doesn't. And that means that feeding 9 billion mouths by 2050 will require unprecedented effort.
CommentaryYou can call me "A.I."Artificial intelligence may soon reach the point where it can answer questions that make it seem indistinguishable from human intelligence. But machines and humans are a long way from answering the most basic question of all: Where did intelligence itself come from?
CommentaryThe many forms of exploitationAcross the world, women, children, and men are forced or pressured into jobs that keep them in modern-day servitude. Some involve sexual exploitation. Millions more are central to the goods and services the developed world enjoys.- CommentaryA word about comments on CSMonitor.comWe've shifted our approach. Comments on articles aren't available on most articles. You can still contact us, though.
CommentaryWhy we work -- and keep workingHere are five reasons: (1) The paycheck. (2) Fulfillment. (3) Sociability. (4) Dignity. (5) The paycheck. And there are hundreds more as workers stay on the job well into their senior years.
CommentaryConvention watch: The speech's the thingBegun as a reform movement in the 19th-century United States, political conventions do little real party business today. Their one redeeming virtue? They are a showcase for political speech.
CommentaryTeachers who excel: A lesson from Miss SmootNothing is more important in K-12 education than the quality of a teacher. But how do we make great teachers? We could start with someone like Jane Smoot.
CommentaryAfter Aurora: the role of media violenceThe connection between violent images and violent acts is an age-old debate. Recent research appears to show the connection is real. So what's to be done? There's an age-old antidote.
CommentaryTracing America's green rootsJohn Muir and Gifford Pinchot represent the two strains of environmentalism in the United States -- and most of us think like both of them. We want nature pristine and undisturbed, but we also rely on its resources and understand the need to use care in extracting them.
CommentaryThe end of 'faster, higher, stronger?'As the cream of the world's athletes converge on London for the Olympics, sports scientists say humans may be reaching the limits of their ability to set world records. But that takes nothing away from the drama of athletic competition.
CommentaryTo each his own nicheMass-market campaigning is as passe as mass-market retailing.聽Politicians and pollsters increasingly slice and dice the electorate into demographic niches and tailor their messages to narrow groups of voters. Who are the 'soccer moms' of 2012?
CommentaryWomen warriors: How close to combat?Women in the US military have been unofficially on the front lines in Afghanistan and Iraq. Now they are looking to formalize their role.聽
CommentaryDinner is not just for diningSitting down, breaking bread, and wielding utensils properly are not just pleasant ways to end the day. Families grow closer, kids get smarter, and food tastes better.
CommentaryCollege: more than a credentialEven as many people question the worth -- and cost -- of a bachelor's degree, college remains crucial to civilization. It is how knowledge is transferred from one generation to the next.
CommentaryDoes nation-building work?The term "nation-building" smacks of colonialism. But when war has broken a country, nation-building is a moral duty -- and the best way to build is with equal parts outside and inside effort.
CommentaryDoing well by doing goodAltruism in the glue of society, the "social capital" that binds human and financial capital. Communities where people care for one another also have lower unemployment rates and higher quality of life.
CommentaryFowl weather reportThis is not Big Important News -- no economic meltdowns or international showdowns. It's just a note about a new generation of backyard chickens trying to fit in.
CommentaryPrison: civilization's 'dark flower'We jail people when we have despaired of any other way of dealing with their abhorrent behavior. But the vast majority will one day re-enter civilized society. Does prison make it more or less likely they will fit in?
CommentaryRiding the whirlwindThe Monitor's intrepid science writer rode with the storm-chasers who help federal forecasters warn those in twisters' paths.
