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Philosophy
Predictive power has perverse, anti-democratic consequences. So be a good citizen and lie to election pollsters.
Listening to some songs can cause a powerful physiological response known as "frisson." What is it, and why does it happen?
The first observational evidence showing the Universe is expanding is 100 years old now: in 2023. Here's the story of its 100th anniversary.
Explore how belief shapes destiny, from Oedipus Rex to modern geopolitics.
9mins
Ever wonder what would happen if we got sucked into a black hole? Turns out we could live in it for a while — if it was big enough.
Music is part of the human experience, which is why some philosophers have written about it. Some had wacky ideas.
In Kannauj, perfumers have been making monsoon-infused mitti attar for centuries.
Can targeted interventions save Americans?
4mins
How do “you” emerge from a collection of cells? A biologist explains.
The use of the letter x as an unknown is a relatively modern convention.
We can no longer approach the news as passive consumers.
Ice harvesters once made a living from frozen lakes and ponds, but the work was strenuous and dangerous. Then refrigeration changed everything.
The Schumann resonances are the background hum of the entire planet. But they don't affect humans in any way.
As Marcel Proust said, “The real voyage of discovery... consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”
How we organize all our digital stuff — from work research to side hustles to family photos — is key to our productivity.
6mins
Scientists can't define spirituality. But we can study its healing effects, says this Columbia psychologist.
The visible Universe extends 46.1 billion light-years from us, while we've probed scales down to as small as ~10^-19 meters.
Only Caesar lived to tell the tale.
These landscapes — of geographical differences in head shapes — have vanished from acceptable science (and cartography).
Philosophy can focus on some dull topics. Luckily, some thinkers have spent lots of time on the philosophy of sex
Grief never ends. There is no closure, but there are things we can do to mitigate the feeling of loss.
Meet the masterful con-men who impressed the great and the good despite the astonishing fiction of their very existence.
Metaphors like the Great Chain of Being can lead people to misunderstand evolution and humanity’s place in the web of life.
The patron saint of calling BS, Harry Frankfurt, died watching his philosophy become more urgent than ever.
In polarized times, our shared cellular origin can unite us in solidarity and awe — from the embryonic scale to the grandest cosmic perspective.
Uncovering the ideology of "Karens" and "Kens."
Voyage into the lawless world of experimental literature.
9mins
Spirituality declines, depression rises. Is there a link?
The Te’omim Cave in the Jerusalem Hills is filled with skulls and oil lamps — objects a new study says may have been used in dark rituals.
How the simple act of watching twilight can radically transform our perception of the world and our role within it.
John Templeton Foundation