In the realm of health care planning, few documents hold as much weight and significance as a living will. This legal document is a type of advance directive that allows you to specify your preferences for medical treatment in the event that you become incapacitated and unable to communicate your

While Summer Olympic sports such as swimming, gymnastics, and football are more popular with worldwide audiences, there are other Olympic games that most people know little about. An event since the 1912 Olympics, the modern pentathlon is often forgotten and has a name that might turn off potential

Defined benefit plans were once a mainstay of many companies’ employee benefit plans, driven largely by the industrialization of the United States in the early 20th century. Known more commonly as pension plans, the programs pay regular income throughout retirement, ensuring retirees never run out

The closest living relatives of the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) are the echidnas (family Tachyglossidae), which comprise four species. Both the platypus and the echidnas (or spiny anteaters) are monotremes belonging to the order Monotremata, an ancient group of mammals that are oviparous

Prenuptial agreements are often associated with the rich and famous, but even if your income is modest, you may benefit from a prenup if you want to ensure that what’s yours remains yours in case “Till death do us part” should devolve into “Spare me the pleasure of your company.” Protecting

The answer is pretty straightforward. A quid pro quo is an exchange of goods or services for, well, other goods or services. (Literally, the Latin phrase means “this for that.”) If you’re wondering why this seemingly benign description of a transaction has such a negative connotation, read on.

Reverse mortgage. If you watch daytime TV, you’ve probably seen the sales pitch. A celebrity spokesperson tells you how a reverse mortgage can put cash in your pocket, help you cover expenses, and let you stay in your home. But like anything that sounds too good to be true, for every advantage,

One of the foundations of healthy finances is a savings habit. Setting aside money regularly can help you reach your financial goals and prepare for emergencies, reducing the likelihood of incurring debt. Choosing where to keep that cash is an important step. A savings account provides a safe place

This article was originally published May 15, 2020, and updated October 15, 2020. When a global outbreak of disease begins to slow, feelings of relief and a sense of moving on ensue. But historically, based on past pandemics involving diseases like the plague, cholera, and influenza, that feeling

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused various scientific terms to become a part of everyday vocabulary, among them the term “superspreader event.” But what exactly is a superspreader event, and how does it affect the spread of infectious disease? In the realm of infectious disease, a superspreader event

Target-date funds, also known as life-cycle funds, are a popular mutual fund type for retirement plans such as 401(k)s and IRAs. But they can also be used to save for a wide array of goals with a specific target date, such as a child’s college tuition. Target-date funds help you take aim at

Imagine two brands of home coffee makers. Both appliances go through similar steps in their production. Yet, according to customer reviews, one makes better coffee than the other. Regardless of their cost—whether one is more expensive than the other or whether both are similar in price—customers

A visa is a supplement to a passport, usually in the form of a stamp, sticker, or insert and sometimes as a separate document. It represents a national government’s official approval of a foreign individual’s presence and specified activity in the country (such as tourism, work, or study), usually

If you or someone you know has a disability, then you may have heard about ABLE, the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act. It was signed into law in 2014 to increase the financial security and tax benefits afforded to people with disabilities. ABLE helps beneficiaries to pay for

Earth is an active place full of storms, fast-moving river and ocean currents, volcanoes, and earthquakes. Continents are slowly but constantly moving, and the stresses that build up in the rocks that stem from pushing, pulling, and twisting forces eventually result in the sudden violent fracturing

With people enjoying increasingly long lifespans, the need for specialized legal assistance in matters related to aging and elder care is growing. Elder law attorneys, sometimes called elder care lawyers, play a crucial role in helping older adults and their families make the best use of their

You went to the doctor for a sinus headache and they kindly sent the bill to your insurance company. Later, you received an EOB in the mail. What is this document and what does it mean to you? An explanation of benefits (EOB) is a summary document intended to help you understand medical bills after

In the United States the president acts as both head of state and head of government. Although the office gives its holder a tremendous amount of power, it does not grant the ability to enact laws. Unlike the prime minister in a parliamentary system, the U.S. president does not need to command a

When you fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), whether as an undergraduate or a graduate student, you’ll need to indicate a dependency status. Your dependency status can impact how much financial aid you receive, as well as the ability to claim some education credits and

In law, an injunction is an order by a court to one or more of the parties in a civil trial to refrain from doing, or less commonly to do, some specified act or acts (the former kind of injunction is called prohibitory or preventive, the latter mandatory). The usual purpose of an injunction is to

An NFT (non-fungible token) is a digital asset that has been authenticated using blockchain technology. Digital assets are intangible objects that live on the Internet, including videos, GIFs, images, and collages. NFTs allow their makers not only to “sign” digital assets but also to make money

What do you get when you combine the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics? No joke here—just a revolutionary concept coined by Nobel Prize winner P.A.M. Dirac after he discovered a strange disparity in an equation. What exactly was Dirac’s equation? Well, in short, it was a vast expansion of

Leo Tolstoy: Fiction after 1880 of Leo Tolstoy: In Chto takoye iskusstvo? (1898; What Is Art?) he argued that true art requires a sensitive appreciation of a particular experience, a highly specific feeling that is communicated to the reader not by propositions but by “infection.” In Tolstoy’s view, most celebrated works of high art derive from no real…

Blockchain may be among the buzziest technologies to disrupt the world of finance, tied to the rise of cryptocurrency, but it’s refashioning perhaps the most archaic of all financial tech: the ledger. Yes, the system that originated from the clay tablets ancient Mesopotamians used thousands of

On June 16, 1904, Irish writer James Joyce had his first date with Nora Barnacle, a woman from western Ireland who worked as a chambermaid in Finn’s Hotel in Dublin. This romantic encounter led to a lifetime together, in which the couple lived a peripatetic life on the European continent and had

Making a big purchase online can feel unmanageable, considering you either have to part with your money all at once, or you have to pay with money you don’t (yet) have. One trend that’s made it easier to buy what you want immediately is buy now, pay later (BNPL). What is buy now, pay later? It’s

Unsettling photographs of wild cottontail rabbits near Fort Collins, Colorado, sporting hornlike or tentacle-like tumors on the face and head surfaced in news reports in August 2025. Although these images caused some shock and confusion, the tumors are the product of a relatively common viral

Adolf von Harnack: …Das Wesen des Christentums (1900; What Is Christianity?), which was the transcript of a course of lectures he had delivered at the University of Berlin.

Accreditation is a formal recognition that a college or university meets specific standards of quality and rigor. The process resulting in accreditation is carried out by independent or governmental agencies that evaluate institutions based on an appropriate set of criteria applied to academic

If you have debt, it’s easy for your obligations to become unmanageable. You may be feeling stressed—that’s relatable!—but you may be able to find some relief through credit counseling. A credit counselor can provide you with crucial support and education throughout your debt repayment journey. If

You’re likely already familiar with gold mining, but what is mining for cryptocurrency? Crypto mining is how some cryptocurrencies—like Bitcoin—process transactions and mint new tokens. Mining for cryptocurrency is, by design, like digitally mining for gold. Let’s explore the depths of this

You may have heard that cryptocurrency has its own unique equivalent to fixed-income assets. Instead of earning interest in the form of dollars, you earn a percentage of a batch of crypto coins you set aside and “stake.” This is what crypto staking is all about. But what’s involved, how does it

You hear about it on Twitter, in news headlines, and at Thanksgiving dinner. But what is cultural appropriation, anyway? It’s not a concept designed to trick you. Taking off in the 1980s, the term cultural appropriation was first used in academic spaces to discuss issues such as colonialism and the

Although dark matter is not well understood, it is clearly a crucial component of the universe. Because it is electromagnetically neutral, dark matter does not interact with light and is thus impossible to see directly. Although it is invisible, we infer its existence from its gravitational effects

evolution: Religious criticism and acceptance: …an American Protestant theologian, published What Is Darwinism?, one of the most articulate assaults on evolutionary theory. Hodge perceived Darwin’s theory as “the most thoroughly naturalistic that can be imagined and far more atheistic than that of his predecessor Lamarck.” He argued that the design of the human eye evinces…

Dollar cost averaging is an investment strategy in which you divide the total amount you’d like to invest into small increments over time, in hopes of lowering the average price, and aim for better returns in the long run. Have you ever decided to fill your gas tank just halfway, hoping to come

In cricket, “DRS” refers to the “Decision Review System,” a set of technologies introduced in 2008 to help umpires and teams review disputed on-field umpire decisions. Players on the field have a limited number of opportunities to challenge an umpiring call, and must do so within a brief time

Before making any big purchase, long-term commitment, or investment, you want to know everything you can about what you’re getting into. Weigh the benefits against the risks. You’ll want to know in detail the strengths and weaknesses of whatever it is you’re purchasing. In a worst-case scenario,

Earth has several velocities. There is the velocity with which it rotates on its axis. A point on Earth’s Equator moves with a velocity of 465.1 meters per second, or 1,674 kilometers per hour. The velocity of a point not at the Equator can be found by multiplying 465.1 meters per second by the

“Gaslighting” is an elaborate and insidious technique of deception and psychological manipulation, usually practiced by a single deceiver, or “gaslighter,” on a single victim over an extended period. Its effect is to gradually undermine the victim’s confidence in his ability to distinguish truth

In the United States, representatives to state assemblies and the U.S. House of Representatives are determined by the voters within voting districts in each state. Unlike the boundaries between individual U.S. states, voting district boundaries are redrawn every 10 years to coincide with the U.S.

Chewing gum is made of a blend ingredients that together impart a desired chewiness and texture, complimented by sweetness and flavor. Its specific composition has changed throughout history, with gum base originally being made from chicle, a natural latex from the sapodilla tree. After World War

Many people know hexavalent chromium as a silent antagonist in the biopic Erin Brockovich (2000), which starred American actress Julia Roberts as a legal assistant taking on a company accused of polluting the water of rural Hinkley, California, which resulted in elevated rates of cancer and death

During Holy Week, Christians recall the events leading up to Jesus’ death by crucifixion and, according to their faith, his Resurrection. The week includes five days of special significance. The first is Palm Sunday, which commemorates Jesus’ humble entry (on a donkey) into Jerusalem to observe

What a year you had! You broke your leg right before your beach vacation (which you had to cancel), your sore tooth needed a crown, and your fender bender necessitated major car repairs. Luckily you had medical, dental, auto, and even trip insurance. The money you received in insurance claims was

When you apply for a life insurance policy, you’re asked to share a lot of personal details about your health, your habits, and even your job. Insurers use that information to evaluate the risk of insuring you and to determine how much you’ll pay, a process called underwriting. The process of life

In the 2010s intersectionality became the rallying cry of many left-wing activists fighting for social justice. The Oxford English Dictionary added the word in 2015, and Merriam-Webster published a definition two years later. The term skyrocketed in popularity, in part due to the philosophy

Investment banking is a business that facilitates capital markets and the larger financial community. Investment bankers connect investors to companies that are raising money by issuing stocks and bonds. Most investment banks also offer broker-dealer services to help customers—often institutional

Jeremy Bentham, the founder of modern utilitarianism, died in London on June 6, 1832, at the age of 84. In the last version of his will, dated May 30, one week before his death, Bentham bequeathed his body to his friend Dr. Thomas Southwood Smith, instructing him and Bentham’s executor to arrange

Contrail is short for “condensation trail.” A condensation trail is a streamer of cloud sometimes observed behind an airplane flying in clear, cold, humid air. Here’s what is known (and not known) about these man-made clouds. Companion, airplane, aircraft, atmosphere, chemical compound, chemical,

Rumors, conjecture, and conspiracy theories swirl around the crash of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17. Companion, MH17, Malaysia Airlines, plane crash, airplanes, Ukraine, Netherlands, Russia, missile,

People have been trying to solve the “mystery” of the Bermuda Triangle for years. Here’s what we know (and don’t know) about the Bermuda Triangle. Companion, Bermuda Triangle, Bermuda, Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Greater Antilles, North America, ship, airplane, aircraft, navigation, disappearance,

Rumors, conjecture, and conspiracy theories swirl around the explosion that happened near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in Siberia, Russia, in 1908. Companion, Tunguska, Siberia, Russia, explosion, astronomy, geology, meteoroid, asteroid, comet,

Leverage is a part of everyday financial existence for consumers. Anyone who’s taken out a mortgage to buy a house or paid for holiday gifts with a credit card has used leverage—borrowed money that enhances your immediate buying power but must be paid back. When applied to trading, leverage works

Life insurance is an important—but often misunderstood—component of an investment and financial plan. Most consumers are familiar with insurance. After all, we insure our cars, we insure our property (rental or homeowner’s), and we insure our health. Today you can’t even buy a small appliance or

Erwin Schrödinger: During this period he wrote What Is Life? (1944), an attempt to show how quantum physics can be used to explain the stability of genetic structure. Although much of what Schrödinger had to say in this book has been modified and amplified by later developments in molecular biology, his book…

literary criticism: Functions: Sartre’s own What Is Literature? (1947) is typical in its wide-ranging attempt to prescribe the literary intellectual’s ideal relation to the development of his society and to literature as a manifestation of human freedom. Similarly, some prominent American critics, including Alfred Kazin, Lionel Trilling, Kenneth Burke, Philip…

Love Island USA is a reality dating show that, when airing, releases new episodes on Peacock, NBC’s streaming service, every day excluding Wednesdays. Peacock describes the show as “a real-time dating competition featuring a group of sexy singles living in a tropical villa who must try to win the

Machine learning is a process that enables computers to learn autonomously by identifying patterns and making data-based decisions. This approach is particularly useful in situations where it is impractical to write detailed instructions for every possible scenario. Many expert systems (programs

You may have noticed that every year at around the same time, word of seasonal market expectations tends to surface on Wall Street. The saying “sell in May and go away” is a popular one. So is the “Santa Claus rally.” Are these expectations just figments of Wall Street folklore, reinforced by

phenomenology: In France: …Heidegger’s Was ist Metaphysik? (1929; What Is Metaphysics?), in fact, are copied literally. The meaning of nothingness, which Heidegger in this lecture made the theme of his investigations, became for Sartre the guiding question. Sartre departs from Heidegger’s analytic of Dasein and introduces the position of consciousness (which Heidegger had…

The term “mid-century modern” is often said to have been coined by author Cara Greenberg for the title of her 1984 book Mid-Century Modern: Furniture of the 1950s. The phrase, however, was used before then—though sporadically—to describe the furniture and architecture of the mid-20th century.

Maya Lin: …apotheosis with the multimedia project What Is Missing? (begun 2009), an exploration of the growing threats to biodiversity that she referred to as her “final memorial.”

Multi-level marketing (MLM) is also known as referral marketing, direct marketing, or network marketing. It’s a business model in which sales are funneled through individuals and their social networks instead of through a retail outlet. This diverts the sales responsibility to individual

News literacy is the ability to determine the credibility of news and other information using the standards of quality journalism. It involves “thinking like a journalist” to determine what information to trust, share, and act on. News literacy teaches people how to think critically about timely

Nikolay Aleksandrovich Dobrolyubov: …best known for his essay “What is Oblomovism” (1859–60). The essay deals with the phenomenon represented by the character Oblomov in Ivan Goncharov’s novel of that name. It established the term Oblomovism as a name for the superfluous man of Russian life and literature.

Plenary authority is the broad and effectively limitless power of a single government or the unrestricted power of government branches, departments, or officials over particular operations. In the United States, government branches, departments, and officials exercise plenary authority over

Lawrence Ferlinghetti: Two years later he published What Is Poetry?, a book of prose poetry, which was followed by the collection How to Paint Sunlight (2001) and Americus: Part I (2004), a history of the United States in verse. In Poetry as Insurgent Art (2007), a volume of prose poems, he exhorted…

Preferred stock is a type of security that can grant special benefits to its holders. Preferred shares also have some restrictions, which are important to understand before taking the leap to own this type of investment. How do preferred stocks differ from common stocks? The short answer is that

When investors look to yield-bearing assets in the alternative debt universe, it’s usually to pursue higher yields compared with traditional debt and fixed-income securities, and to achieve a deeper level of diversification beyond conventional stocks and bonds. One alternative investment that’s

You’ve probably heard that Bitcoin transactions are highly secure and executed with near-perfect accuracy despite lacking a central (or human) entity to verify and oversee the process. It sounds pretty amazing, but how is it possible? Crypto blockchain networks use algorithms to secure, verify, and

Pierre-Joseph Proudhon: Early life and education: …Qu’est-ce que la propriété? (1840; What Is Property?, 1876). This created a sensation, for Proudhon not only declared, “I am an anarchist”; he also stated, “Property is theft!”

Back in 1992, U.S. presidential candidate Ross Perot warned there’d be a “giant sucking sound” of U.S. jobs heading to Mexico due to the then-new North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The fact is, offshoring —that is, U.S. companies sending production overseas—had begun long before and

When it comes to understanding how monetary policy works, many of us understand, and even expect, the simplified version: The Federal Reserve lowers interest rates to rev up the engines of economic growth, and it raises interest rates to slow the economy when prices start overheating. As we

You may have heard the phrase “beware the Ides of March,” but what is an Ides and what’s there to fear? The Ides is actually a day that comes about every month, not just in March—according to the ancient Roman calendar, at least. The Romans tracked time much differently than we do now, with months

Wildfires erupt from a deadly confluence of extreme weather conditions and primed fuel sources. Drought, heat, and wind dry out timber and grasses, making them vulnerable to ignition. Once burning begins, those same environmental factors can increase a fire’s intensity and spread it over vast

The word grain is usually used for the edible seeds of a cereal grass, such as rice, barley, or corn (maize). A cereal grass’s fruits—the fleshy or dry ripened ovaries of a flowering plant that contain seeds—are also often referred to as grains. Technically, most grains are actually a type of fruit

A meteotsunami is a large sea wave, with a wave height of two metres (about 6 feet) or more. Unlike seismic tsunamis, which are larger and produced by earthquakes, landslides, and strikes by meteorites or comets, meteotsunamis are generated by sudden changes in atmospheric pressure, such as during

Proteins and peptides are fundamental components of cells that carry out important biological functions. Proteins give cells their shape, for example, and they respond to signals transmitted from the extracellular environment. Certain types of peptides play key roles in regulating the activities of

The terms typhoon and hurricane are regional names for the same weather phenomenon, the tropical cyclone. Tropical cyclones are intense circular storms that begin over warm tropical oceans, and they are characterized by low atmospheric pressure, high winds, and heavy rain. They draw their energy

The primary difference between a violin and a viola lies in their size, tuning, tone, and role within an ensemble. The viola is slightly larger than the full-size violin, which typically has a body length of about 14 inches (35 cm), whereas standard violas for adults range from 15 to 16.5 inches

The most obvious difference between wolves and coyotes is in their size and build. Most wolves, in particular the gray wolf (Canis lupus), are significantly larger and more robust, typically weighing between 14 and 65 kg (31 and 143 pounds) and possessing a muscular frame with long legs and large

Imagine a person who studies the past. This person travels the world, leads excavations, and carefully unearths and records every clue. Maybe this person takes samples to a laboratory for analysis or works in a museum, preserving the finds and curating them for public display. Is this person an

Comets and asteroids differ primarily in their composition, origin, and orbits within the solar system. Comets are composed largely of volatile ices, such as water, carbon dioxide, and ammonia, mixed with dust particles. When they approach the Sun, these ices sublimate, creating a bright outflowing

Cotton and polyester can both be made into fabrics, but they are otherwise very different. Cotton is a natural fiber harvested from the seed-hair of cotton plants. Polyester, on the other hand, is a synthetic polymer made from a chemical reaction between an organic alcohol and a carboxylic acid,

In the United States, there are two bodies of law whose purpose is to deter or punish serious wrongdoing or to compensate the victims of such wrongdoing. Criminal law deals with behavior that is or can be construed as an offense against the public, society, or the state—even if the immediate victim

The two great indigenous philosophical and religious traditions of China, Daoism and Confucianism, originated about the same time (6th–5th century BCE) in what are now the neighboring eastern Chinese provinces of Henan and Shandong, respectively. Both traditions have permeated Chinese culture for

Democracy and republic, while often used interchangeably, have distinct meanings, origins, and implications. Democracy is a system of government in which laws, policies, leadership, and major undertakings of a state or other polity are directly or indirectly decided by the “people,” a group

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA) are complex molecular structures that control all hereditary characteristics of cells and thus of organisms. DNA is the master blueprint for life and constitutes the genetic material in all free-living organisms. RNA uses DNA to code for the

Energy and power, while closely related, are distinct concepts in science, each with its unique characteristics and applications. Energy is fundamentally the capacity to perform work, whereas power is the time rate of doing work or delivering energy. In the International System of Units (SI),

Hemp and marijuana plants are usually understood to be varieties of the same species: Cannabis sativa. The term marijuana generally refers to the varieties of cannabis that are used medicinally or recreationally as a psychotropic drug, whereas hemp plants are cultivated as a source of hemp fiber

Influenza and the coronavirus disease COVID-19 appear to be very similar. After all, both are respiratory diseases, and they are transmitted via contact with infectious respiratory droplets. Beyond that, however, they differ in important ways. What are some of these differences, and why do they

Iron and steel differ in their composition and properties. Iron (Fe) is a chemical element and the most abundant element in Earth’s core. It is found in various minerals and is extracted through smelting. Steel is an alloy primarily composed of iron and carbon, with the carbon content typically

Mass and density are fundamental but distinct physical quantities used to describe matter. Mass is a quantitative measure of inertia—the resistance that a body of matter offers to a change in its speed or position upon the application of a force. It is an intrinsic property, meaning it remains

Mass and volume are two fundamental properties used to describe matter, but they refer to different physical concepts. Mass measures the amount of matter in an object. It is a measure of inertia—the resistance of an object to a change in motion—and is expressed in units such as kilograms (kg) in

Mass is a fundamental property of an object that quantifies the amount of matter it contains by measuring its inertia. It is measured in units known as kilograms and remains constant regardless of where the object is located in the universe. This constancy is because mass is not influenced by

Ecosystems are not static things. Wetlands and grasslands, patches of forests, and even whole landscapes (which may contain several ecosystems) constantly evolve in response to changing temperatures, moisture levels, light availability, rates of nutrient inflow and outflow, and activities of

The terms silk and satin are often used to describe fabrics, and though the fabrics can be distinct from one another, they can also be related. That is because the terms refer to two different things. Silk fabric is named for the material it is made from—silk, a natural protein fiber produced by

Christopher Columbus thought that he had found a shortcut to Asia when he reached terra firma in the Caribbean in 1492, but 10 years later Amerigo Vespucci realized the lands in question constituted a New World, at least for Europeans. As a result, the bulk of the Western Hemisphere was named in

The either-or fallacy, also called a false dilemma, is a logical error that happens when someone presents only two options or outcomes, ignoring other possibilities. This oversimplifies complex situations and can lead to flawed reasoning. An example would be claiming that you must support a