Penguins, parrots, bears, and humans
Not to hurt or humble the animals is our first duty to them, but to stop there is not enough. We have a higher mission, to be of service to them whenever they r...
Author: Mary
The epigenome
The epigenome is something like a link between your DNA and your environment. This article from Wired describes it as a part of your genetic makeup that’s...
Brain fitness
Here’s an article from Wired about maintaining your mental fitness as you age. Cognitive fitness is probably as important as physical fitness for quality ...
Art: Bringing minds into contact
Recently I was driving home after running some errands, upset over difficulties in a relationship that’s important to me. As I sat at a stop light, seethi...
Joy, mortality, and music
This evening I went to an excellent performance of Mahler’s Symphony #2, “Resurrection”. It was a red-letter evening: gorgeous, emotionally in...
Tool-using dolphins
Dolphins appear to be the first documented case of a marine mammal using tools. Bottlenose dolphins in Shark Bay, near Australia, apparently use sponges on thei...
Thoughts on gender and science
Here’s some follow-up from the Edge about the Pinker-Spelske debate on how differences in men’s and women’s brains might affect women’s ...
Tempus fugit
One of the reasons you sometimes hear advice about living as if each day were your last is that that approach intensifies your appreciation for life. Here’...
And all the while, the trees were balding
This is an intriguing story from Nature about another location in the brain, this one involved in metaphorical and abstract thinking. When the left angular gyru...
Infinite diversity in infinite combinations
It takes all kinds, my father would say when I was growing up. It took me awhile to realize that this is literally true for living things. Look at the different...