books
Safety through technology is no bad thing—Nietzsche himself sought doctors and medicines throughout his life—but it can become pathological.
Fish are surprisingly good in numbers tests — a skill that sometimes makes the difference between life and death.
After mammoth investments and two decades of anti-aging research, what do immortality proponents have to show for it?
“Immodest Acts” tells the story of Benedetta Carlini, a lesbian nun who claimed to be a mystic visionary but failed to convince the leaders of her faith.
How efficiently could quantum engines operate?
Plants are very sensitive to touch, with research showing that touching a plant can change its genome and launch a cascade of plant hormones.
Frank Slater’s book “Practical Portrait Painting” reveals the secrets of masters old and new, from Leonardo da Vinci to Augustus John.
According to Tolkien, fantasy requires a deep imagination known as “sub-creation.” And the genre reflects a fundamental truth of being human.
Successful romantic relationships require desire, but that desire doesn’t have to be sexual.
If we are wreaking havoc on ourselves and the world, it is because we have become mesmerized by a mechanistic, reductionist way of thinking.
To Vladimir Putin, a young KGB colonel at the time, the decision was a colossal mistake.
Many people perceive the struggle to understand our Universe as a battle between science and God. But this is a false dichotomy.
Wander into the deep recesses of the mind and never return the same with these existentialist books.
Revolutionary techniques for understanding brain functions in animals could soon help us understand how emotions guide our lives.
Understanding the factors behind recent growth could help us better approach inequality.
Helplessness isn’t learned — it’s an instinctual response that can be overcome.
Science and the humanities have been antagonistic for too long. Many of the big questions of our time require them to work closer than ever.
We pretend as if economic sanctions are a peaceful way to coerce others into behaving. In reality, they are a potent tool of modern warfare.
Like witchcraft, “racecraft” refers to a kind of magical thinking — one that treats race as if it were scientifically meaningful.
Recent geopolitical turning points, like Brexit and the 2016 U.S. presidential election, were chapters in a story that extends decades back in world history.
“What am I missing?” is a question that journalist Mónica Guzmán thinks more people should start asking.
It took a series of ingenious experiments in the 20th century to uncover some of our biggest cognitive biases.
In theory, history is the sum of everything that ever happened; in practice, it’s a story we tell ourselves to make sense of and justify our actions in the present.
Bite into a miracle berry and you’ll perceive intense sweetness — but only after you eat something acidic, too.
Using the Book of Mormon as a sacred but ambiguous atlas, the Latter-day Saints have been looking for the lost city of Zarahemla for decades.
After it became clear that the world wasn’t 6,000 years old, some proposed that northern peoples had emerged independently from others.
The ten greatest ideas in science form the bedrock of modern biology, chemistry, and physics. Everyone should be familiar with them.
Historically, periods of mass flourishing are underpinned by technological revolutions. Currently, we are undergoing a technological revolution unlike anything the world has ever seen.
Although saying the wrong thing could often get you killed in ancient civilizations, history shows that the ideal of free speech has deep roots.