William Williams

What do Sean Connery, Oprah Winfrey, Yao Ming, and Baby Yoda have in common? Aside from their obvious celebrity, they—along with other sports icons, TV and cinema personalities (whether real or fictional), and political figures—have all featured sometime or another on a series of “READ” posters. Sponsored by the American Library Association, “READ” posters are popular decorations for public libraries across the nation.

Never take light for granted. It is one of the basic needs of life. Even in the ocean depths, untouched by daylight, there are organisms that use light and are equipped to produce “bioluminescence” for a variety of functions. Plants need it. Animals need it. You need it.

Do you play chess? Are you in the ranks of the great masters of the back row, or do you feel far removed from the “royalty” of chess legend—really not much more than a pawn (most of the time) in someone else’s game? Although some consider chess a bit too competitive, and others may think its intricacy and time-consuming nature tedious, there are some parallels between this not-so-simple game and the all-too-real game of life.

Have you heard of the “10 percent myth”—the idea that the average person uses just 10 percent of the brain? Many people today take this for granted. What you may not know is that—from the writings of a nineteenth-century psychologist and philosopher, to the set of the popular “Mythbusters” television show—this well-traveled idea is quite brainless on many levels.

Corn farmers in recent years have seen a growing demand for their crop, for processing into products as varied as ethanol gasoline and soda products. Seeking higher yields, many increasingly use insecticides—poisons—to "protect" their investments. These two trends have long been a source of controversy among nutritionists and ecologists, and now among biologists concerned about their effect on human and animal life and on our food supply.