-
The Surprising Benefits of Talking to Strangers
Imagine you die. You wake up in a world only made up of people you remember. “All your old lovers. Your boss, your grandmothers, and the waitress who served your food each day at lunch…
-
Are You Lying More in the Pandemic? Some Certainly Are
As much of the United States moves toward reopening in phases, some people are enjoying little bites of pre-pandemic life, such as dining in restaurants, exercising in gyms and learning in classrooms. With the gradual
-
How Practical Wisdom Helps Us Cope with Radical Uncertainty
APS Member/Author: Barry Schwartz The stress of uncertain pain outsizes the stress of certain pain. These were the results of a 2016 study, published long before the uncertainty of Pandemic 2020 was running the world show.
-
Inside the Dangerous Mission to Understand What Makes Extremists Tick—and How to Change Their Minds
On a cool winter’s day in early 2014, the American academic Nafees Hamid was invited for tea at the second-story at the Barcelona apartment of a young Moroccan man. It started well enough; they sat
-
All That Performative Environmentalism Adds Up
My newly adopted home state is on fire again: Scorching heat and lightning strikes have sparked dozens of fires across California, burning an area the size of Rhode Island. Iowa is reeling from a deadly
-
Time to Ditch ‘Toxic Positivity,’ Experts Say: ‘It’s Okay Not To be Okay’
In the midst of a raging pandemic and widespread social unrest, these days it can feel as if reassuring platitudes are inescapable. “Everything will be fine.” “It could be worse.” “Look on the bright side.”