Mind and Behavior

Mind and Behavior

evolution
Organisms respond in similar ways to similar circumstances.
Mixed messages and competing interests have left college students feeling lost and stressed.
cat people
People who rate themselves as highly knowledgeable about cats are more likely to interact with cats in ways they don't like.
Bloodcurdling war cries, shrieking elephants, and whistling arrows all made soldiers flee in terror.
species-level brain
We will become billions of people who share a single vast intellect.
When you wish upon a star, it probably makes a difference who you are.
Illustration of the top view of a human brain, showing detailed grooves and folds, with a textured, etched style on a dark background—evoking the complexity of mental feedback loops.
Humans tend to hunker down in our own minds and trust what we already believe to be true. This emotion-based way of thought isn't often the best way to think about anything, and often leads to gridlock.
John Templeton Foundation
exercise myths
Exercise culture is crazy. But what you need to do is exceedingly simple.
What are they and, more importantly, how do you get rid of them?
existential physics
In special relativity, the statement that two events happened at the same time is meaningless.
Magnetic monopoles began as a mere theoretical curiosity. They might hold the key to understanding so much more.
Transformative Learning
Understanding Mezirow’s theory of transformative learning can help you become a catalyst of change.
psychogeography
Break into London Zoo? Illegal, but it would improve the London Circle Walk
Social isolation, back pain, and screen fatigue getting you down?
race
A clever neuroscience experiment shows that the "other-race effect" is likely due to a lack of experience and perceptual expertise rather than racism.
plinko
The game of Plinko perfectly illustrates chaos theory. Even with indistinguishable initial conditions, the outcome is always uncertain.
cognitive fatigue
Cognitive fatigue results from thinking too hard and long. Neuroscientists now believe they know why this occurs.
A softly colored illustration of a double rainbow arches over a calm blue sea under a pastel sky, evoking harmony between religion and science.
4mins
Some scientists see religion as a threat to the scientific method that should be resisted. But faith "is really asking a different set of questions," says Collins.
John Templeton Foundation
The phenomenon of “digital dementia” might not be real after all.
When justice isn’t tempered by something such as mercy, forgiveness, or nonviolence, efforts to make society more equitable often backfire.
John Templeton Foundation
A figure with wings kneels and gestures toward a standing, robed figure against a red background, evoking the question: what is hell like? Both appear in a detailed, engraved style.
4mins
What’s hell really like?
John Templeton Foundation
Commodus lived the anti-Stoic life, pursuing lust, narcissism, and self-indulgence.
Reframing life in terms of death reveals some of the biggest philosophical problems with how we think about living systems.
You open an app and start scrolling, then suddenly it's an hour later. Sound familiar?
EV charging stations are the most widespread alternative to gas and diesel pumps. Each alternative has its own hotspots and "deserts."
Blissful ignorance can be a rational choice.
One study estimated that 80% of people include “deviations” from the truth in their online profiles.