Mind & Brain
Lessons from Sherlock Holmes: The Importance of Perspective-Taking
I often find myself walking into the kitchen (or the living room or bedroom or wherever), unable to recall why I was going there in the first place.
Guest Blog
Commentary invited by editors of Scientific American
Mind & Brain
Learning the Look of Love: That Sly "Come Hither" Stare
Series IntroWhile it might not be witchcraft, the formula for ‘love at first sight’ remains a mystery. However, if you pop the following ingredients into a kettle: large pupils, long glances, and a lovely, attentive smile, you may not have concocted a bona fide love potion but your witch’s brew could contain some insight into the laws of attraction.Being an optometrist and all around eye aficionado, I have a deep interest in the connection between the eyes and love...
Mind & Brain
Is High Ability Necessary for Greatness?
As soon as I saw the headline “Research sheds light on origins of greatness” , my interest was piqued. The article is referring to a new paper in Current Directions in Psychological Science , so I immediately downloaded that paper and left the press release open to the side...
Environment
Too Good to Be True: Sea Mammals, Plastic Pollution and a Modern Chimera
73.1% of all facts are made up.I made that up.Which, it seems, puts me in fairly good company. I study marine plastic pollution, it’s my thing. I’ve been at it for a year and a half now...
Evolution
Creating Ankylosaur Attack: An interview with author Daniel Loxton
Daniel Loxton’s new book Ankylosaur Attack brings children into the world of a young ankylosaur, where they encounter towering vegetation, passing pterosaurs and scary tyrannosaurs looking for a meal...
Evolution
Having a great science conversation with a kid
What makes a great science book for kids? Scientific accuracy is certainly important but on its own it isn’t enough. Great books are also fun to read, but they are more than that too.
Mind & Brain
Lessons from Sherlock Holmes: Don't Judge a Man by His Face
How do we perceive someone we've only just met? How do we judge him, assign him to some sort of category in our mind, explain to ourselves what he is and what he is likely to be?In “The Adventure of the Norwood Builder,” Dr...
Evolution
Monarchs flood New York City
New Yorkers can catch a fleeting glimpse of Nature’s royalty if they hurry. On Saturday I observed dozens of migrating monarch butterflies – glorious kings of the insect world – quivering atop goldenrods on the coast lining Dead Horse Bay in Brooklyn...
The Sciences
Big Rocks, Big Science
Video Credit: NASA/Spacecraft Films/ALSJApril 23, 1972 – Plum Crater, The Moon:Charlie Duke (lunar module pilot): (Pointing) This one right here?
Health
Prostate Cancer Screening: The Pros and Cons
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is about to recommend that healthy men forgo being screened for prostate cancer with the familiar PSA (prostate-specific antigen) blood test.
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