The Strange Persistence of First Languages
“Spurred by my father’s death, I returned to the Czech Republic hoping to reconnect to him. In doing so, I also reconnected with my native tongue, and with parts of my identity that I had long ignored.”
If Aliens Exist, Here’s How We’ll Find Them
“We are near the end of Darwinian evolution, but technological evolution of intelligent beings is just beginning.”
Don’t Fear the Robots
“I invented Roomba and assure you, robots won’t take over the world.”
Why Revolutionaries Love Spicy Food
To early Chinese Communists, if you couldn’t stand spicy food, you weren’t equipped to fight for the revolution. Science suggests this association between strength, risk and Maoists might have to do with the chemical interactions between the chili pepper, culture and certain personality types.
The Rise and Fall of the English Sentence
Writing has made our syntax richer and more complex — and also increasingly distinct from spoken language.
Loyalty Nearly Killed My Beehive
When a queen bee dies on a Brooklyn rooftop, an amateur beekeeper follows (and meddles with) the bumpy succession process.
Reinventing Staten Island
After WWII, New York City started dumping its trash on Staten Island in what became America’s first landfill. Over half a century later, scientists are turning the dump back into grasslands and tidal wetlands in a park three times as large as Central Park. The question isn’t whether ecologists can put nature back “in balance.” The question is how nature will change over time in such a toxic environment.
Shakespeare’s Genius Is Nonsense
Literary critics and cognitive scientists are finding common ground through the study of Shakespeare’s revolutionary use of language.
Why Poverty Is Like a Disease
The emerging science of epigenetics takes the concepts of “meritocracy” and “pulling yourself up by the bootstraps” to task.
Survival of the Friendliest
Evolution isn’t all about nature red in tooth and claw.