essay
Biology
Life ≠ alive
A cat is alive, a sofa is not: that much we know. But a sofa is also part of life. Information theory tells us why
Michael Lachmann & Sara Walker
essay
Travel
The parlance of pilots
High above London, Tokyo and Cairo, the language of the cockpit is technical, obscure, geeky – and irresistibly romantic
Mark Vanhoenacker
essay
Language and linguistics
English is not normal
No, English isn’t uniquely vibrant or mighty or adaptable. But it really is weirder than pretty much every other language
John McWhorter
essay
Virtues and vices
A handy history
Condemned, celebrated, shunned: masturbation has long been an uncomfortable fact of life. Why?
Barry Reay
idea
Meaning and the good life
The secret of my shameless love for money real and imagined
Peter Jukes
essay
Self-improvement
The pleasure of their pain
Why the punishment and humiliation of reality TV contestants provides such a satisfying and deep pleasure
Batya Ungar-Sargon
essay
Astronomy
Life on Mars
In a white dome on a bare mountain, six of us are road-testing life in a Martian colony. This is what I’ve learned so far
Sheyna Gifford
idea
Bioethics
How statistics are twisted to obscure public understanding
Jonathan R Goodman
essay
Biography and memoir
A conscientious objector
Jacob Bridge is a popular lieutenant in the US Marines who woke up one day with an urgent need to leave the military. Why?
Lyle Jeremy Rubin
essay
Meaning and the good life
Indifference is a power
As legions of warriors and prisoners can attest, Stoicism is not grim resolve but a way to wrest happiness from adversity
Lary Wallace
essay
Information and communication
The new mind control
The internet has spawned subtle forms of influence that can flip elections and manipulate everything we say, think and do
Robert Epstein
essay
Politics and government
An empty passion for war
Colombia’s FARC guerrillas still resist the coming peace. Is it drug money or the romance of revolution that’s to blame?
Tom Feiling
idea
Philosophy of mind
The mind isn’t locked in the brain but extends far beyond it
Keith Frankish
essay
Illness and disease
The cochlear switch
And so I entered a new world where every tap, squeak, clang, whisper and consonant exploded and sizzled inside my head
Josephine Dickinson
essay
History
What Mortimer did
A diplomat in British India blundered a border. The consequences continue to shape world politics
Rafia Zakaria
essay
Childhood and adolescence
The ecology of Pooh
Adults may feel exiled from the intensity and sweetness of childhood places. But perhaps there are surprising ways home
Liam Heneghan
essay
Religion
Against Muslim unity
Even the pilgrimage to Mecca exposes the myth of a united Islam and the formative power of the wider world
Faisal Devji
essay
Gender
Murder she wrought
Female thrill-killers are rare in crime fiction. Why is it hard to imagine a woman who murders for pleasure not revenge?
Melanie McGrath
essay
Evolution
Is there a war instinct?
Many evolutionists believe that humans have a drive for waging war. But they are wrong and the idea is dangerous
David P Barash
idea
Sports and games
Sport is not just about athleticism: beauty matters too
Emily Ryall