13.7 Cosmos & Culture

browse by date
subscribe

A new study finds that newborns don't imitate others.

Mayte Torres/Getty Images

Do We Learn 'At First' By Imitation?

May 20, 2016 • Commentator Alva Noë considers new work on the age-old topic of nature versus nurture — a new study finding no evidence that babies imitate others in the first 9 weeks of life.

Chateaubriand steak cooked with a thick cut from the tenderloin filet, rare medium served with roasted onions, pepper and herbs.

Diana Miller/Getty Images/Cultura RF

Humans Are 'Meathooked' But Not Designed For Meat-Eating

by Barbara J. King

May 19, 2016 • It's all well and good to cut down on eating animals, but aren't our bodies designed to require meat in our diets? Anthropologist Barbara J. King takes a look at a new book saying the answer is "no."

There are some questions whose answers seem unknowable, leaving us like the fish in the fish bowl, says Marcelo Gleiser.

Hiroshi Watanabe/Getty Images

Fear Of Not Knowing

by Marcelo Gleiser

May 18, 2016 • How can we acquire an outsider's view of a system that we belong to without compromising what we see? As we confront such questions, we are like a fish in a bowl, says astrophysicist Marcelo Gleiser.

YouTube

The Joy Of Seeing Your Gooey Innards

by Adam Frank

May 17, 2016 • We think of ourselves as separate, higher beings with concerns above and beyond this mundane physicality; but a few minutes with an ultrasound offers a different perspective, says Adam Frank.

Jena Ardell/Getty Images

Humans Are Animals, Too

by Tania Lombrozo

May 16, 2016 • The ease with which we shed our identity as animals should, perhaps, give us pause; we're certainly biological creatures, and our fate is entwined with that of other animals, says Tania Lombrozo.

The Apollo 17 crew caught this breathtaking view of our home planet as they were traveling to the moon on Dec. 7, 1972. NASA hide caption

toggle caption NASA

Fear Of Knowing

by Sean Carroll

May 15, 2016 • It's easy, and wrong, to think of scientific truths as fixed and absolute; it's also easy, and just as wrong, to act as if we know nothing and everything is up for grabs, says physicist Sean Carroll.

A new study suggests that the act of walking by first class increases incidents of air rage by economy passengers.

iStockphoto

The Airplane As A Microcosm Of Class Divisions

by Alva Noë

May 13, 2016 • Alva Noë takes a look at a new study concluding that passengers in economy are almost four times as likely to lash out on board when there is a first class section on the flight.

What does it mean to be a "slow professor"?

Peter M. Fisher/Getty Images

Resisting The Corporate University: What It Means To Be A 'Slow Professor'

by Barbara J. King

May 12, 2016 • College teachers are often stressed and demoralized, says anthropologist Barbara J. King, and a new book on the corporate university provides startling answers as to why.

What if alien life ran on the same basic biological laws as ours?

iStockphoto

Of Life's Laws And Unity

by Marcelo Gleiser

May 11, 2016 • Life, for all its remarkable diversity, displays also a remarkable unity; it would be amazing if life as we don't know it is, after all, life as we do know it, says astrophysicist Marcelo Gleiser.

An artist rendering of a sail propelled by a laser. Q. Zhang/Courtesy of UCSB Experimental Cosmology Group hide caption

toggle caption Q. Zhang/Courtesy of UCSB Experimental Cosmology Group

Are We About To Send 'Spacechips' To The Stars?

by Adam Frank

May 10, 2016 • Something radical and truly fascinating has begun — a group is putting in place a "credible" road map to interstellar travel, says astrophysicist Adam Frank.

A taco bowl similar to the one Donald Trump referred to in a tweet.

iStockphoto

The Deeper Reason Trump's Taco Tweet Is Offensive

by Tania Lombrozo

May 9, 2016 • People are sensitive to subtle assumptions embedded in talk about social groups, with negative implications at times lurking behind superficially positive claims, says psychologist Tania Lombrozo.

Sepideh is an Iranian teenage girl who is in love with astronomy and wants to be an astronaut.

Paul Wilson/Radiator Film

Iran Through The Eyes Of A Teenage Amateur Astronomer

by Salman Hameed

May 8, 2016 • Sepideh: Reaching for the Stars is not only a hopeful film, but it is also a telescope that provides us with a view of a culture halfway across the globe from us.

The first issue of Animal Sentience looks at the question of whether fish can feel pain. iStockphoto hide caption

toggle caption iStockphoto

As Thinking On Animal Ethics Shifts, New Journal On Animal Feeling Launches

by Alva Noë

May 6, 2016 • The conviction that the interests of animals need to be taken seriously is now very much the norm, and it's possible Animal Sentience could change the scientific landscape, says Alva Noë.

A red striped New Caledonian bumpy gecko, Rhacodactylus auriculatus.

Mattia D'Antonio/iStockphoto

Should We Really Be Keeping Cats And Dogs — And Geckos — As Pets?

by Barbara J. King

May 5, 2016 • We love our dogs, cats and bunnies, sure. But are we fooling ourselves in thinking that pet-keeping is good for animals? Anthropologist Barbara J. King takes a look at a bioethicist's new book.

This Feb. 8 composite image reveals the complex distribution of phytoplankton in one of Earth's eastern boundary upwelling systems — the California Current.

NASA

After 10 Years, 'An Inconvenient Truth' Is Still Inconvenient

by Marcelo Gleiser

May 4, 2016 • It's clear global warming is gradually changing our planet's climate and landscapes: The pace may not be exactly mirrored by predictions, but to expect that would be unrealistic, says Marcelo Gleiser.

Saturn's rings cut across this view of the planet's largest moon, Titan, in this image taken by the Cassini spacecraft on May 12, 2011. NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute hide caption

toggle caption NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

It's Raining All Over The Universe

by Adam Frank

May 3, 2016 • We are part of something much larger than ourselves — and our ideas about ourselves, says astrophysicist Adam Frank. How can we be sure? Because, without doubt, it is raining all over the universe.

A set of studies shows there might be something to the idea that incorporating song can help science learning.

iStockphoto

Can Songs Help You Learn Scientific Concepts?

by Tania Lombrozo

May 2, 2016 • A new set of studies, though preliminary, points to the promise of novel approaches to formal science instruction, like incorporating music and other media into learning, says Tania Lombrozo.

A new book presents insights into addiction.

iStockphoto

'Unbroken Brain' Offers New Insights On Addiction

by Alva Noë

April 29, 2016 • In her new book, Maia Szalavitz presents the view that addiction is a learning disorder. Commentator Alva Noe says if he understands correctly, learning may also play a role in overcoming addiction.

iStockphoto

What You Need To Know About That 'Cute' Lemur Video

by Barbara J. King

April 27, 2016 • That adorable lemur video going around? Think twice before sharing — or share with an explanation of why it's not-so-cute after all, says anthropologist Barbara J. King.

The Kavli HUMAN Project aims to capture data over 20 years based on the lives of 10,000 people, centered in New York. Ferran Traité Soler/iStockphoto hide caption

toggle caption Ferran Traité Soler/iStockphoto

Can Big Data Resolve The Human Condition?

by Adam Frank

April 26, 2016 • What makes the Kavli HUMAN Project, which will follow 10,000 people over 20 years, so exciting is that it's exactly the kind of approach that can show us if Big Data really works, says Adam Frank.

There are different theories about what makes something humorous.

iStockphoto

Hey! What Are You Laughing At?

by Tania Lombrozo

April 25, 2016 • Humor is a funny thing: We know it when we see it, but identifying why something is humorous is another thing entirely, says psychologist Tania Lombrozo.

Big Fish Petroglyph by Kevin Sudeith was created in October 2013 in Smelt Brook, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia in Canada. "All the fish on this rock are carved at life size, and most originate in the story of a local fisherman," says Sudeith. Kevin Sudeith/Courtesy of Petroglyphist.com hide caption

toggle caption Kevin Sudeith/Courtesy of Petroglyphist.com