Scientists use a scale called the pH scale to measure how acidic or basic something is. The scale runs from 0 to 14. Where 0 is the most acidic and 14 is the most basic. Around the middle we have ...

Defining “basic” is anything but. While basicness is commonly understood as a binary, close scrutiny—in the form of a weekend on Long Island—has reminded me that this is far from the case. Like ...