Asian Indian and Caucasian Friends Talking in Coffee Shop

There’s No Template for Emotional Intelligence

A templated response to any situation is the antithesis of an emotionally in-tune reaction.
Franz Boas

The Life and Times of Franz Boas

The founder of cultural anthropology, Franz Boas challenged the reigning notions of race and culture.
A climate protest

How to Sell Climate Denial

Climategate began with the leaking of emails sent to and from climate scientists. Climate skeptics quickly seized on just a few of them
A Little White Wedding Chapel, Las Vegas

The Decline of the Vegas Wedding

The Little White Wedding Chapel's changing fortunes are emblematic of the state of matrimony and romance.
Girls in gym class, 1920

The Weird Psychological Theory behind Gym Class

The initial promoters of gym class believed that a child’s mind would “remember” evolutionary phases through the stimulation of muscle tissue.
Tom Cruise is sprayed with water during an interview

The Offensive Joke Trap

The audience for a joke has options. They can “support” a joke—for example by laughing at it—or they can respond with “unlaughter."
full moon

Nobody Really Knows Why We Dream

An extensive literature review reveals a startling lack of consensus around why we dream, though neurologists have made important discoveries.
Sigmund Freud

Sigmund Freud’s The Ego and the Id

Freud died 80 years ago this week. In this "Virtual Roundtable," three scholars debate the legacy of his 1923 text.
A student standing at a crossroads

Why Everyone Doesn’t Value Choice to the Same Degree

Studies show that college-educated white Americans value having choice -- and yet having too much choice can paralyze and lead to dissatisfaction.
A female office worker holding her foot in pain

What Is the #KuToo Movement?

Japanese women are protesting the widespread policy of mandatory high heels at work.