Society

A black and white drawing of two women, possibly twins, on a white background.

“The twin boom”: why twinning is on the rise

Since the 1970s, the rate that twins are born has doubled in most developed countries. What caused this and is it going to change soon?

Jonny Thomson

A photo of albert einstein and a photo of his desk.

Psychology

An enormous study links intelligence and personality in surprising ways

A database containing over 1,300 studies from across the world establishes reliable relationships between personality traits and cognitive abilities.

Elizabeth Gilbert

Colorful smiley face stickers for iPhone 11 to capture attention.

Psychology

An ancient technique can improve your attention span

According to neuroscientist Amishi Jha, 12 minutes of mindfulness training a day strengthens your attentional systems.

Kevin Dickinson

A woman working on a laptop during different life stages.

Aging

Life’s stages are changing – we need new terms and new ideas to describe them

The arc of adult development has changed over the past several decades, in ways that our psychological theories are still catching up with.

Jeffrey Arnett

Psychology

What lies beneath our irrational decisions

In new book, an MIT scholar examines how game-theory logic underpins many of our seemingly odd and irrational decisions.

Peter Dizikes | MIT News Office

Death

Almost everyone fears death — but not in the same ways

Fear of death may be the most primal, normal human fear, but it's one we all experience differently.

Ross Pomeroy

A person demonstrating how to tie shoes.

DIY

The mathematically correct way to tie your shoes

One of the great accomplishments of childhood comes when we successfully learn how to tie our own shoes: making a "bow" for the first time.

Ethan Siegel

a small cabin in the woods with a blue roof.

Urban Living

How building more backyard homes, granny flats, and in-law suites can help alleviate the housing crisis

Accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, are sometimes called “granny flats,” “backyard homes,” “in-law suites,” or “backyard cottages.”

Murali Paranandi and Jeff Kruth

Death

Sooner or later we all face death. Will a sense of meaning help us?

An awareness of our mortality can, paradoxically, move us to seek – and, if necessary, create – the meaning that we so desperately crave.

Warren Ward

Neuroscience

Eastern philosophy says there is no “self.” Science agrees

Neuroscience aligns with Eastern philosophies such as Buddhism, that argue the self is an illusion, a byproduct of our thought processes.

Chris Niebauer

Art

Viewing abstract art causes notable cognitive changes

Abstract art causes the viewer to place more psychological distance between themselves and the art than with more typical works.

Scotty Hendricks

Psychology

Generate brilliant ideas by relaxing your cognitive filters

Theoretical physicist Leonard Mlodinow offers three strategies for relaxing your cognitive filters to give your brilliant ideas time to shine.

Kevin Dickinson

Archaeology

Ancient technology that was centuries ahead of its time

These forward-thinking inventions are often called "ahead of their time." They are reflections of the ingenuity of their civilizations.

Tim Brinkhof

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