The Marginalian
The Marginalian

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Ongoingness: Sarah Manguso on Time, Memory, Beginnings and Endings, and the True Measure of Aliveness
Ongoingness: Sarah Manguso on Time, Memory, Beginnings and Endings, and the True Measure of Aliveness

“Perhaps all anxiety might derive from a fixation on moments — an inability to accept life as ongoing.”

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Pioneering Psycholinguist Vera John-Steiner on How Creativity Works
Pioneering Psycholinguist Vera John-Steiner on How Creativity Works

“In the course of creative endeavors, artists and scientists join fragments of knowledge into a new unity of understanding.”

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Chinua Achebe on the Meaning of Life and the Writer’s Responsibility in the World
Chinua Achebe on the Meaning of Life and the Writer’s Responsibility in the World

The difference between blind optimism and the urge to improve the world’s imperfection.

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2013’s Best Books on Writing and Creativity
2013’s Best Books on Writing and Creativity

Timeless wisdom and practical advice on the pleasures and perils of the written word and the creative life.

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On Tenderness: What Genetics Godfather Gregor Mendel Teaches Us about the Heart of Science
On Tenderness: What Genetics Godfather Gregor Mendel Teaches Us about the Heart of Science

“There is tenderness in the chemist measuring and re-measuring salts in the hood; in the mathematician kneading his equations to understand the shape of the cosmos; in the marine biologist learning to talk to dolphins…”

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The Psychology of Cryptomnesia: How We Unconsciously Plagiarize Existing Ideas
The Psychology of Cryptomnesia: How We Unconsciously Plagiarize Existing Ideas

The cognitive machinery of inadvertent copying and why it matters more than ever.

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Jeanette Winterson on Time, Language, Reading, and How Art Creates a Sanctified Space for the Human Spirit
Jeanette Winterson on Time, Language, Reading, and How Art Creates a Sanctified Space for the Human Spirit

“Art can make a difference because it pulls people up short. It says, don’t accept things for their face value; you don’t have to go along with any of this; you can think for yourself.”

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What the Science of “Sleep Paralysis” Reveals About How the Brain Works
What the Science of “Sleep Paralysis” Reveals About How the Brain Works

How a neurological nightmare illuminates the wondrous workings of the brain-body connection.

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The 13 Best Psychology and Philosophy Books of 2013
The 13 Best Psychology and Philosophy Books of 2013

How to think like Sherlock Holmes, make better mistakes, master the pace of productivity, find fulfilling work, stay sane, and more.

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Coleridge, Plagiarist
Coleridge, Plagiarist

How to walk the fine line between unconscious borrowing and deliberate theft.

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