Would time spent with Anton Chekov, famed for his subtle, flawed characters, make you a better judge of human nature? Hulton Archive/Getty Images hide caption

Many of the special effects in the action-adventure film Gravity were generated by computers — but star Sandra Bullock also had to put in a good deal of work, with choreographed movements simulating weightlessness. Warner Bros. hide caption

Efforts to resolve the government shutdown are at a standstill. Susan Walsh/AP hide caption

Syrian youths line up for food distribution in the Maiber al-Salam refugee camp in northern Syria, near the border with Turkey. The U.S. government has provided more than $1.5 billion in aid to Syrians since the uprising began in 2011. Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

Job seekers line up outside a work support office in London in 2009. New measures proposed by the Conservative-led government will require recipients of unemployment benefits to do unpaid community work, spend workdays at a job center or participate in intensive programs to help solve personal issues that prevent them from working. Oli Scarff/Getty Images hide caption

Andrew Hamblin preaches while holding a snake above his head, LaFollette, Tenn. Ciaran Flannery/NGT hide caption