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History and Society
The toilet “is a portal to a mysterious otherworld.”
If the "self" is not real, then we are slaves to a billiard ball universe, trapped in a nihilistic nightmare in which we cannot change our fate.
John Templeton Foundation
In war zones, aggressors steal art to eradicate the cultural heritage of others. Victims, meanwhile, sell stolen art in order to survive.
From unexplained tracks in a balloon-borne experiment to cosmic rays on Earth, the unstable muon was particle physics' biggest surprise.
You are much more likely to die in a car crash than from terrorism. Yet, philosopher Eran Fish says fearing terrorism more is justified.
The Pan-American Highway began a century ago with a vision of unfettered motor-vehicle access between Alaska and Tierra del Fuego. What happened to the dream?
Traditionally, the long history of Japanese thought has not been viewed as “philosophy” — even by Japanese scholars. It’s time for a rethink.
The Persian Constitutional Revolution made unlikely allies and enemies of missionaries, ayatollahs, the shah, and his Russian ambassadors. Its legacy shaped modern-day Iran.
If you find yourself on one of these roads, it might be a while before you see another fellow traveler.
Dive into five philosophical schools that have faded into obscurity but still whisper through the ages.
In ancient Rome, collective bathing was the norm. In the West today, it’s the exception — and that’s too bad.
Every astrobiologist wants to find an alien. But the public should be skeptical when the "aliens" look like tiny humans.
Artificial general intelligence will not arise in systems that only passively receive data. They need to be able to act back on the world.
Was the terror of Biscayne Bay a man who escaped slavery, an African chieftain, or a marketing ploy that went viral?
The philosophy of sex is going through a recalibration period.
If nature were perfectly deterministic, atoms would almost instantly all collapse. Here's how Heisenberg uncertainty saves the atom.
France’s notorious disregard for washing gradually changed as military authorities and public schools promoted a modern regime of cleanliness.
Rooted in Vedic philosophy, "anupalabdhi" — or "non-apprehension" — can help you exploit gaps in the market.
Science and technology were making early modern Europe a better place to live, but at what cost?
There's nothing like the end of the world to make you a philosopher.
When the UK bans the American Bully XL this year, it won't rely on science to identify them.
Australian soldiers fighting the Japanese recruited native New Guineans to their campaign.
Want to write a time-travel story? Do so at your own risk.
Seventy-five years after the anomaly's discovery, scientists have finally figured out why sea levels are so much lower here.
The stench of death is actually fairly pleasant.
In an attempt to prove Christianity inferior to communism, a Soviet scientist hoped to play God.
In a world without clocks, people used common activities in place of time units. How long it took you to go to the toilet mattered.
In work and life, the rules of success are being redefined.
12mins
There are a few theories as to why we’ve never found other intelligent life in our Universe. Physicist Brian Cox walks us through them.