In his memorial speech for the victims of the assassination attempt on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords yesterday, President Obama urged Americans to use the tragedy to “sharpen our instincts for empathy.” But is human capacity for …
Culture
Is Technology Making Us Lonelier?
Do digital methods of communication connect us the way interaction in the real world does? If we’re chatting online, are we really together? And what does it mean to be alive in the emerging world of artificial intelligence?
Why We Form Societies: It’s Our Big Babies
Newborns may seem tiny to their adoring moms and dads, but most other primate parents would disagree. According to Jeremy DeSilva, an anthropologist at Boston University, human babies weigh about 6% of what their mothers weigh, …
5 New Year’s Resolutions for People Who Hate Resolutions
The trouble with New Year’s resolutions is keeping them. So if you’re one of the many who have preemptively given up on losing weight or exercising or saving money in 2011, here are five eminently more manageable goals that will …
Blue Valentine: The Best Worst Date Movie Ever
Usually movies are based on a pretty simple premise. Boy Meets Girl, for example. Or Enormous Ship Sinks, or We Really Can’t Tell Whether We’re Dreaming Or in Someone Else’s Dream. (O.K., that last one, Inception, was kind of …
Is There Any Biology Behind Our Political Affiliations?
There are aspects of our lives that we like to think are totally under our control — political affiliation is certainly one of them. But a growing field of researchers asserts that there may be some biology underpinning our …
The Value of Face Time: To Work Better, Work Closely
Now that we have Skype and Facebook chat and email and teleconferencing and AOL Instant Messenger, what is the point of actually having a workplace?
5 Ways to Spend Wisely During Holiday Shopping
Black Friday kicks off a season of holiday mega-sales that doesn’t let up until after New Year’s. But while the uptick in shopping may help retailers move into the black, it puts a burden of debt on many consumers: holiday …
The Rich Are Different: More Money, Less Empathy
Looking for empathy and support? You’re more likely to get it from a poor person than you are from a rich one, according to new research published in Psychological Science.
Turning Your Phone Off as a Technological Gesture of Affection
As a senior at Parsons The New School for Design, Ingrid Zweifel was hunting around for a thesis project. She knew she wanted to explore how technology has changed the way people interact.
Can’t Afford to Go to Paris? Send Your Teddy Instead
Some of history’s great thinkers, from Winnie the Pooh to Buzz Lightyear, have proved empirically that people can get very attached to their toys. But a former investment banker in France has taken this affection to a new level: …
Mom Sues TV Host Tyra Banks Over Daughter’s Guest Appearance
It’s possible, with some effort, to believe that Tyra Banks imagines her talk show to be as uplifting and current as a new Victoria’s Secret bra — “Tomorrow on Tyra: Women Who Escaped the Sex Industry!” It’s also possible to …