Shut Up and Listen!

Oxytocin

Are We the Stories We Tell?

George Michelsen Foy on September 8, 2019

Can we recreate our lives by changing the narrative?

Can we recreate our lives by changing the narrative?

A strange, low-frequency sound haunts people around the globe. But is it real? And if so, where does it come from?

Addiction

Is America's Obsession With Ease Bringing Us Down?

George Michelsen Foy on March 15, 2019

The culture of ease at any price may be contributing to sickness and discontent.

The culture of ease at any price may be contributing to sickness and discontent.

Creativity

Should We Ban Tintin and Snowy?

George Michelsen Foy on January 11, 2019

Should Tintin—and other heroes with old-fashioned prejudices—be banned?

Should Tintin—and other heroes with old-fashioned prejudices—be banned?

Fear

Fear, the Lizard Brain, and the 2018 Midterm Elections

George Michelsen Foy on November 5, 2018

Fear, the Lizard Brain, and the 2018 elections

Fear, the Lizard Brain, and the 2018 elections

President Donald Trump

Humans Can't Plan Long-Term, and Here's Why

George Michelsen Foy on June 25, 2018

Our short-term brain can't cope with long-term perils.

Our short-term brain can't cope with long-term perils.

Relationships

Is It Wrong to Feel Emotion for Someone You've Never Met?

George Michelsen Foy on May 15, 2018

Loving someone you've never met: A new definition of the afterlife?

Loving someone you've never met: A new definition of the afterlife?

Cognition

How Ignoring Our Physical Senses Can Sink Ships

George Michelsen Foy on March 29, 2018

The US Navy's over-emphasis on electronic systems was a factor in two collisions and the deaths of 17 American sailors.

The US Navy's over-emphasis on electronic systems was a factor in two collisions and the deaths of 17 American sailors.

Stress

How to Find Silence: A Map

George Michelsen Foy on January 24, 2018

Stressed out? Follow this map to find peace

Stressed out? Follow this map to find peace

Fear

Risk, Fear, and the Rise of Demagogues

George Michelsen Foy on October 11, 2017

Politicians have traditionally appealed to our fight-or-flight reflex to save their political bacon. Donald Trump looks set to do the same.

Politicians have traditionally appealed to our fight-or-flight reflex to save their political bacon. Donald Trump looks set to do the same.

Health

Death and the Risk-taker

George Michelsen Foy on August 14, 2017

Philosopher Anne Dufourmantelle, who criticized the safe life, is killed saving children from drowning

Philosopher Anne Dufourmantelle, who criticized the safe life, is killed saving children from drowning

Environment

Thoreau: The Video Game

George Michelsen Foy on March 3, 2017

A video game based on "Walden" offers a virtual walk in the woods, even as it contradicts the spirit of Thoreau's book.

A video game based on "Walden" offers a virtual walk in the woods, even as it contradicts the spirit of Thoreau's book.

Politics

Good News in the Fight Against Ocean Noise

George Michelsen Foy on July 28, 2016

A small victory is scored against the forces that fill the oceans with noise.

A small victory is scored against the forces that fill the oceans with noise.

Cognition

To Commemorate WWI, Silence Is the Best Symbol

George Michelsen Foy on July 4, 2016

On this weekend that commemorates war in different ways, it behooves us to observe a minute of silence to think about waging peace.

On this weekend that commemorates war in different ways, it behooves us to observe a minute of silence to think about waging peace.

Memory

Why Air Crash Victims' Families Still Long to Find the Plane

George Michelsen Foy on June 17, 2016

The spatial basis of memory in our brain explains why humans have always sought to locate their dead, even as the search for the disappeared Malaysian Air Flight 370 winds up

The spatial basis of memory in our brain explains why humans have always sought to locate their dead, even as the search for the disappeared Malaysian Air Flight 370 winds up

Sex

How We (Literally!) Navigate Sex

George Michelsen Foy on May 10, 2016

Feelings of lust, and other emotions, are hooked up to memories, which in our brains are linked to where they happened

Feelings of lust, and other emotions, are hooked up to memories, which in our brains are linked to where they happened

Cognition

Our Maps Are Lies: How the Internet Reshapes Our World View

George Michelsen Foy on May 2, 2016

Thanks to information technology, our mental map of the world has, largely unbeknownst to our conscious selves, mutated into a very different animal

Thanks to information technology, our mental map of the world has, largely unbeknownst to our conscious selves, mutated into a very different animal

Memory

Why Is Navigation Crucial? Because It's the Same as Memory

George Michelsen Foy on April 15, 2016

We are our personality, our personality is what we remember. It follows that the navigation centers of our brain determine who we are

We are our personality, our personality is what we remember. It follows that the navigation centers of our brain determine who we are

Dementia

How Using Your GPS Too Much Could Kill You

George Michelsen Foy on April 1, 2016

Relying exclusively on our smartphone's GPS function not only erodes our personal spatial skills, but could adversely affect our brain. Also, it cuts us off from the real world

Relying exclusively on our smartphone's GPS function not only erodes our personal spatial skills, but could adversely affect our brain. Also, it cuts us off from the real world

Environment

Over-reliance on High Tech May Have Caused a Sea Tragedy

George Michelsen Foy on January 3, 2016

High-tech hubris might lie at the heart of the sinking of a large US cargo ship and 33 crewmembers off the Bahamas last October

High-tech hubris might lie at the heart of the sinking of a large US cargo ship and 33 crewmembers off the Bahamas last October