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Philosophy
2mins
Optimistic people don’t just “feel happier,” they literally process information differently, at a perceptual level. Three experts explain.
Unlikely Collaborators
Contrary to common experience, not everything needs a medium to travel through. Overcoming that assumption removes the need for an aether.
A free and happy bird does not pace the room.
Your to-do list isn't a debt to pay off. It's a menu to choose from.
Behavioral scientist Danny Kenny on the simple power of asking, "What is this actually for?"
These initially sympathetic characters take readers down a dark path.
17mins
Modern life has confused comfort and stimulation for genuine fulfillment. Could the Ancient Greek distinction between hedonia and eudaimonia help pull us out of this trap?
From landscaped gardens to road systems, the Persians were among the first to create many things we still enjoy today.
For decades, theorists have been cooking up "theories of everything" to explain our Universe. Are all of them completely off-track?
"I will not reason and compare: my business is to create."
A growing movement is trying to turn energy directly into food — reviving an old dream of escaping the violence and inefficiency of eating.
George Szpiro explores the philosophical ideas that explain why justice — not freedom or efficiency — may better anchor a fair society.
TikTok gave an old practice a terrible name. Neuroscience explains why it actually works.
25mins
“We can use neuroscience and tools from psychology to learn how to take advantage of anxiety.” From Zen Buddhism to flow state, these 3 experts explain how to hack your brain.
What a fragile flower can teach us about resilience, death, and becoming someone new.
When can a kid play outside alone? Two parents, one stranger, and the state collide.
AI is unlocking unprecedented capabilities — and exposing new vulnerabilities just as quickly.
In a 13.8 billion year old Universe, a few seconds hardly seems like it matters. But these minuscule changes sure do add up over time.
Neuroscientist Christof Koch on why reflective self-consciousness separates us from intelligent machines.
Biblical scholar Bart Ehrman contends that our modern sense of altruism can be traced back to the radical shift in ethical thinking sparked by Jesus' teachings.
The image you're seeing isn't a hole in the Universe, and the cosmic voids that do exist aren't hole-like at all.
While LooksMaxxing often headlines the news, the idea of BrainMaxxing deserves real attention. Growing your mind never goes out of style.
Andy Weir’s novel blends humor, scientific rigor, and human ingenuity to make science fiction feel believable and thrilling.
We have two descriptions of the Universe that work perfectly well: general relativity and quantum physics. Too bad they don't work together.
4mins
Americans believe they can outthink suffering. Historian Kate Bowler explains how our obsession with self-help, optimization, and positivity became a kind of secular religion.
Looking up at the night sky gives us a glimpse of the Universe beyond our terrestrial concerns. Here's the science of what's out there.
No matter what physical system we consider, nature always obeys the same fundamental laws. Must it be this way, and if so, why?
Classic literature reveals how resilience can be both a source of strength in troubled times — and a dangerous ideal.
Nick was always an angry boy, but he was unlucky as well.
Every generation has faced a version of this moment — the question has never been what our tools can do, but what we choose to do with them.