People who hold the belief that there are people who are "pure evil" are more willing to support harsher prison sentencing and the death penalty for those individuals.

It’s the oldest, most distant light we’ve ever seen. But where, exactly, is it? “We are told to let our light shine, and if it does, we won’t need to […]

Peter Baumann, musician and founder of a think tank that explores the experience of being human, on "hedonic" and "eudaemonic" pleasure, and how to harness both.

The fate of the world may depend on our ability to teach “global compassion,” empathy for the suffering of people we’ve never met. rn

Cars rule the roads, but how much would we save if we built better infrastructures to support bikes?

New research shows that women prefer someone modeling clothing that looks more like them.

"Mansplaining" and "Manspreading," too, are thriving on the chatterweb. Like "Dadbod," they satirize a world of ridiculous men who have no idea what's going on.

The study opposes the notion that sexual equality is merely a goal of modern society that is mostly free of concerns over resource scarcity. 

Whether right or wrong, eloquent or simple, if your ideas are not phrased in ways that encourage others to listen and learn, they won’t do either. Even Robert Redford, actor, […]

College isn't a time to curl up in a ball when challenging material comes on the table that might unsettle you or puncture your worldview. A higher education can be, and should be, transformative.

Nature invented software billions of years before we did. “The origin of life is really the origin of software,” says Gregory Chaitin (inventor of mathematical metabiology). Life requires what software does. It is fundamentally algorithmic. And its complexity needs better thinking tools.

Tipping is complicated. In some countries, tipping too much is a grave insult. In others, it's a sign of wealth. And in the US, how much you tip depends entirely on your mood at the time.

Peter Scher, executive VP of corporate responsibility at JP Morgan Chase says governments don't have the resources to tackle major issues on their own anymore. But urbanization provides an opportunity for private enterprise to step in.

Whether or not you believe there’s a problem, we’re all part of the solution. “‎Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on […]

GMO opponents hope labels will scare customers away and kill the technology. New evidence suggests that labels are more likely to encourage sales than reduce them.

Everyone's coming-of-age music sounds like a personal revolution, but when did music change for everyone and all at once?

Researchers find that brand loyalty isn't the same as romantic love; the feelings they evoke would be better compared to a good friendship.

Using long-range iris-scanning technology, your identity can be determined from across the room with extremely high accuracy — as high as someone taking your fingerprints. 

Sometimes, it’s the most unexpected ingredients that give rise to the greatest results in the end. “The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.” –Joseph Campbell When you […]

No matter how hard they try, comics never seem to be able to turn the genderist tide. As Jill Lepore points out, “They all look like porn stars.” Why do comics still get women heroes wrong?