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Mind and Behavior
We tend to assume our view of the world is objective and accurate rather than subjective and biased — which is what it really is.
"The Soul of a New Machine" provides a rare level of insight into the minds and decisions of humanity's greatest thinkers.
AI systems can carry on convincing conversations, but they have no understanding of what they're saying. Humans are easily fooled.
Does your father say "I love you," or express it in another way?
For 40 years, scientists thought a specific gene was linked to aggression in hamsters. Removing it, however, had violent consequences.
The engineer working on Google's AI, called LaMDA, suffers from what we could call Michelangelo Syndrome. Scientists must beware hubris.
In the age of distraction, don't we all want to read faster and more efficiently?
An elaborate device called the Mechanical Turk defeated Benjamin Franklin and Napoleon Bonaparte at chess. Edgar Allan Poe revealed the hoax.
In "The Secret Life of Secrets", Michael Slepian explores how holding secrets affects our relationships, psychology, and well-being.
Prison is an unreliable method of punishment. Let's do better.
There are almost no standards governing the cannabis industry. Your favorite weed strain may contain unpleasant surprises.
We already know animals feel emotions, and that they can understand humans' emotions. But can they understand each other's emotions?
What if intelligence can thrive without consciousness?
A deep learning AI running on a supercomputer was able to link patterns of brain connectivity to political ideology.
We know sleep is more important than aimlessly scrolling on social media or checking our email for the 50th time. So, why do we do it?
Being more creative doesn’t require a ‘Muse.’ It’s about pairing intelligence and imagination.
Sometimes breaking a rule is the ethical thing to do.
Detective fiction reveals how a particular society or time period looks at crime and criminal justice.
The strangest thing about trying to predict the future is that our only clues lie in the past.
One theory for catatonia is that it is similar to an animal's “death feint.”
Until recently, video games were accused of killing brain cells. Now, researchers are trying to understand how they help players get smarter.
How can the law keep up with new genetic technology?
The spooky world of quantum mechanics might reach out and touch you — by mutating your DNA. Welcome to the weird world of quantum biology.
Before the war, medical experts treated the body as a sum of its parts. Conditions like wound shock and brain damage called for a change in perspective.
Humans who've lived through the same events often remember them differently. Could quantum physics be responsible?
It's time to put on your listening hat.
At least 33 cities are sinking by more than 1 cm a year.
The plant-like sea creatures contain a molecule that improves memory, learning, and even hair quality, according to a new study in mice.
Suppose that fetuses are persons. Since pregnant people are too, how should conflicts between them be settled?