It’s been a hard week for many Americans, as the Boston bombings continue to raise more and more questions. Here is some weekend reading as you await answers.

A poignant ode to the city of Boston, its annual marathon and the victims of the April 15 bombings. [NY Review of Books Blog]

Far, far away in another American city, income inequality varies from block to block. The New Yorker has released an insightful data visualization of city income by subway stop. [New Yorker] Find out more »

Andres Lozano: Parkinson's, depression and the switch that might turn them off
Scientists find a new approach to reversing memory loss, with potential benefits for brain disorders like Alzheimer’s. [Sci Tech Daily] Meanwhile, back at the ranch: Andres Lozano and his team are working on very precise deep brain stimulation to correct dysfunction from similar brain disorders.

Galileo’s public condemnation is often invoked to defend new or unverified science. But as Adam Gopnik writes for the BBC, Galileo taught us a more important lesson: the value of the experimental method, the essence of what science is. [BBC.co.uk]

A plan has been approved to build the world’s largest optical telescope in Hawaii. [NY Times] But will it be any match for the awesomely named European Extremely Large Telescope?

JR: My wish: Use art to turn the world inside out
JR and his team bring the project “Wrinkles of the City” to Berlin, with photographs of the elderly pasted on 15 walls throughout the city. [JR-Art] Watch JR make his 2011 Prize wish »

Would you like to go to Mars? Would you like to go to Mars to be filmed for a reality TV show? Would you like to go to Mars to be filmed for a reality TV show, knowing you probably won’t come back? Your dream has come true »

A deeper look at the feats of Felix Baumgartner, everyone’s favorite record-breaking skydiver. [Vanity Fair]

Ron Mueck’s exhibition opened this week at the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain. Watch a fascinating video of him constructing his work »