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History and Society
8mins
The history of music from bone flutes to Beyoncé.
4mins
From superstition to religion, we are surrounded by supernatural thinking. Is that a bad thing?
John Templeton Foundation
Lasers are all around you. This ubiquitous technology came from our understanding of quantum physics.
A new study shows that political partisans are more likely to remember things that didn't happen — as long as it fits their narrative.
A new bridge joins a divided Croatia, but it cuts Bosnia out of Europe — literally and figuratively. A bridge meant to unite also divides.
A second Enlightenment would have a far bigger task: Saving civilization itself.
7mins
"Supernatural thinking is actually an important part of being a complete human being."
John Templeton Foundation
It’s estimated that one-in-three women and one-in-five men have an episode of major depression by the age of 65.
Using data collected from ancient civilizations across the world, researchers identified the most significant factors in human development. War came out on top.
Ideas often taken for granted in the United States and Europe about what it means to be a person are, quite simply, not shared with other cultures.
4mins
Rituals come as much from religion as they do from the way Earth spins around the Sun.
Even though the leftover glow from the Big Bang creates a bath of radiation at only 2.725 K, some places in the Universe get even colder.
We live in a four-dimensional Universe, where matter and energy curve the fabric of spacetime. But time sure is different from space!
The costs of such an endeavor would be extremely high, while the potential payoffs would be uncertain.
3mins
People in the East and West really do think differently, especially when it comes to self-identity. Depending where you live, either associative or distinctive thinking will shape your sense of self.
John Templeton Foundation
The length of a day oscillates slightly every six years. This was a surprising discovery made last decade. We might now know why.
Livestock now outweighs wild mammals and birds ten-fold.
Deep learning AI has accurately created color images from night vision images.
The psychology of alien contact largely revolves around the concept of "otherness." We need to learn to be comfortable around strange things.
In the philosophy of Star Wars, the Sith are evil because they surrender to passion. But is a life of total rationality a “good” life?
Is "The Garden of Earthly Delights" by Hieronymus Bosch a condemnation of sin or a celebration of hedonism? Art historians still aren’t sure.
Mammals have a history stretching back 325 million years. To study that ancient history is to know our own origins.
"Politics is weird. It’s the only business in the world in which you take a really, really important position, and you give it to someone with no qualifications." —Tony Blair
Like humans, stars die. The James Webb Space Telescope's early images already give us a lot of information about how this happens.
Gradualism rejects the idea of a "bright line" in the abortion debate.
The fictitious 31st-century world portrayed by the series is actually quite a bit like our own in the 21st century.
Astronomy's roots rest in the very origins of humanity. We have always looked to the skies for answers. We are starting to get them.
14mins
“This is much deeper than just ‘let’s figure out how we can get both sides to get along.’”