I was going to start this column with some new productivity figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but I realized that at least half of the readers would quit right there. Productivity is one of those subjects that fascinates economists and bores, or mystifies, almost everyone else. Instead, let's start with a little story. Imagine that it's 1890 and you and a friend have bought a donkey and cart and started a moving company that transports heavy objects, such as sofas and beds. If you work hard, you can manage two deliveries a day, for each of which you charge a price that, if adjusted for inflation, would amount to fifty-five dollars today. Let's say overhead, such as advertising and food for the donkey, comes to ten dollars a day.

China Miéville has long had spiders on the brain. In his breakthrough novel, 2000's "Perdido Street Station," a mysterious, spiderlike being called the Weaver assists a scientist named Isaac who's trying to save the fantastical city of Bas-Lag from a catastrophic infestation. In Miéville's new novella, "The Last Days of New Paris," the streets of Paris in 1950 have gone haywire after the detonation of a reality-altering bomb that brings various Surrealist works to frightening life, including an arachnoid manifestation reminiscent of Odilon Redon's painting "The Smiling Spider." "There's something about the arachnid," Miéville told me recently, on the phone from his home in London. Bataille writes about the spider as an avatar of formlessness, this very, very powerful thing.

Are you better at science than the Donald? These 20 questions will help you find out! This story was originally published by Slate and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Every election cycle, science gets the short end of the stick. So a collective of scientists--56 scientific organizations representing 10 million scientists and engineers and spearheaded by the American Association for the Advancement of Science--tries to engage them in a debate by compiling a list of science-based questions, soliciting answers, and publishing them.

To mark the 47th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon-landing mission, the Smithsonian has revealed a stunning high resolution 3D model of the command module'Columbia,' the spacecraft that carried astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin'Buzz' Aldrin and Michael Collins to the moon. The stunning virtual 3-D model that will allow the public a look inside the car-sized Apollo 11 command module. As one of the most sophisticated scans ever made of a historic artifact, it employed seven different scanning technologies to capture nearly 1 trillion high-resolution measurements producing more than a terabyte of compressed data resulting in a highly detailed master model. To mark the 47th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon-landing mission, the Smithsonian has revealed a stunning high resolution 3D model of the command module'Columbia,' the spacecraft that carried astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin'Buzz' Aldrin and Michael Collins to the moon. As one of the most sophisticated scans ever made of a historic artifact, researchers at the Smithsonian employed seven different scanning technologies to capture nearly 1 trillion high-resolution measurements, producing more than a terabyte of compressed data.

It is a terrifying vision of the future of battle. Called RoBattle, this heavy duty combat and support robot is strapped with a'robotic kit' consisting of vehicle control, navigation, RT mapping and autonomy, sensors and mission payloads. In addition to ambushing and attacking on command, this combat ready platform, developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), can raise its body four feet in the air to tackle obstacles or crouch down 23 inches to hide from enemies. It may be focused on the sky, but Israel Aerospace Industries has stepped down on land to develop the newest member of its unmanned ground robotic systems family. RoBattle is a combat and support robot equipped with a'robotic kit' of vehicle control, navigation, RT mapping and autonomy, sensors and mission payloads RoBattle, is an semi-autonomous combat and support robot designed to assist ground soldiers in the field.

There was a primitive ocean on Mars that held more water than our Artic Sea and alien hunters believe to have spotted signs that life once inhabited the ancient sea. Nestled in the dust of the Gusev crater, appears to be a round broken sea shell that could be'evidence of Mars having an ocean with living creatures'. This is the second sighting of a sea shell this week and, combined with the fossilized fish seen in the dust, conspiracy theorists believe this is proof life did in face exist on the red planet. Nestled in the Gusev crater appears to be a round broken shell that could be'evidence of Mars having an ocean with living creatures' seen in images from the Nasa Curiosity Rover. Pareidolia is the psychological response to seeing faces and other significant and everyday items in random stimulus.

He is better known for wrestling with the mysterious forces that shape our universe and the existential threat posed by technology. But physicist Stephen Hawking now fears greed could be the undoing of the human race. The University of Cambridge professor has warned that the unequal divide of wealth between individuals and countries is one of the most divisive issues of our time. He claims envy and isolationism is being bred by the way money is currently shared and this may have contributed to the result of the European Union Brexit referendum result in Britain. Professor Stephen Hawking (pictured) has warned the sense of inequality that drove the Brexit vote was driven by the way wealth is viewed and shared in many parts of the world.

China has allocated 199 million yuan ( 29.76 million) to spend on its weather modification programme as part of efforts to combat drought and reduce the impact of natural disasters. The finance ministry revealed the project earlier this month, as state media reported flooding this year caused at least 237 deaths. The Ministry of Finance said the additional funding had been made available in order to help China's regions respond to the large number of'extreme weather events' this year, including heavy flooding in south and central regions as well as drought in the northwest. The Ministry of Finance said the additional funding had been made available in order to help China's regions respond to the large number of'extreme weather events' this year, including heavy flooding in south and central regions as well as drought in the northwest. Microscopic particles of silver iodide are shot into existing clouds using land based generators or aircraft.

Nasa has announced that it has found evidence of flowing water on Mars. Scientists have long speculated that Recurring Slope Lineae -- or dark patches -- on Mars were made up of briny water but the new findings prove that those patches are caused by liquid water, which it has established by finding hydrated salts. Several hundred camped outside the London store in Covent Garden. The 6s will have new features like a vastly improved camera and a pressure-sensitive "3D Touch" display

Amazon plans to test its delivery drones in Britain, meaning customers in the UK could soon receive their packages from the internet giant by air, rather than post. The move is the result of a deal with the British government and could see customers in the UK trial the new service before those in the US. But experts have expressed fear that dangers drones could be hijacked and cause'disasters' if the proper controls are not put into place. Amazon plans to test its delivery drones in Britain, meaning customers in Britain could soon receive their packages from the internet giant by air, rather than post. One of the company's prototype drones is pictured Colin Bull, a consultant at Software Quality Systems, said despite the obvious benefits of drones, they ' must be embraced and feared in equal measures'.