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How Culture Drove Human Evolution
Think back to when humans first got the capacity for cumulative cultural evolution—and by this I mean the ability for ideas to accumulate over generations, to get an increasingly complex tool starting...
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How weird are WEIRD people?
In-depth studies of seemingly “exotic” societies are crucial for understanding human behavioural and psychological variation. However most scientific knowledge about human psychology is largely based...
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Encapsulated Universes
Astounding evidence of how language shapes the way we think… and behave Think about it this way. We have 7,000 languages. Each of these languages encompasses a world-view, encompasses the ideas and...
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The Tragic Meaning of Life
Happiness and a meaningful life are important features of a desirable life and they are indeed highly interrelated. Yet, they are not exactly the same. It is perfectly possible to have a highly...
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Hunting Camels in Arizona
Our society is quite aware of the value of ideas. We have developed sophisticated means to help us preserve and spread them. Governments and incumbent power in general are specially aware of the...
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Ziryab’s Heir
“I have never lost the roots in my music, because I would lose myself. What I have tried to do is have a hand holding onto tradition and the other […]
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This is Cool
I learnt the “meaning” of “cool” watching the MTV series “Beavis and Butthead” in the 90′s. This couple of disgusting dudes were watching music videos and making mischief all the time, […]
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A Grunge Moment
On April 8, 1994, Kurt Cobain’s body was discovered at his home in Seattle by an electrician who arrived to install a security system. Kurt had shot himself in the head […]
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Cities as Destiny
This is interesting: The distribution of birth-to-death distances has changed very little during more than eight centuries. The median distance from birth to death has not even doubled between the […]
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Stupid Ideas
Mark Pagel thinks(1) that culture might be the most important event in the history of life. The implications he draws are not what you would probably expect. With the arrival of […]
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How Can Our Old Brains Run 21st Century Complex Culture?
During a recent interview for Nautilus, David Krakauer, the incoming Santa Fe Institute President, talked about intelligence, culture and complexity science. He proposes a provocative thought...
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Only for my children
According to The Guardian, China says no room for ‘western values’ in university education… But many children of the country’s political and business elite prefer to study at institutions in […]
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The World Wide Walt-Disneyization
If this is not cultural homogenization, you just tell me, please! Walt Disney Co. announced on Tuesday that Shanghai Disney Resort will open on June 16. It is a new $5.5 […]
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Debunking the Myth of the Sole Genious
Innovations don’t require heroic geniuses any more than your thoughts hinge on a particular neuron. This is what Michael Muthukrishna and Joseph Henrich defend in a recent paper(1), not what we are...
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The Soul of Cities
A story by Reza, the philanthropist and National Geographic photographer. This video message is in support of the launch of UNESCO’s new Global Report “Culture: Urban Future,” presented in Quito this...
View ArticleHomo Zappiëns is a Myth
Just FYI, the digital native is a myth. The younger generation uses technology in the same ways as older people and is no better at multitasking. In a paper(1) published in the journal Teaching and...
View ArticleA new mindset to fight the Dragon-Tyrant
Here we have a couple of new videos by CGP Grey and Kurzgesagt on why we should look ageing and death in the eye with a more challenging attitude. Because the Reaper comes for all eventually, humans...
View Article#SaudiWomenDriving
I wish Saudi women a brilliant future. Imagery to celebrate #SaudiWomenDriving already are! ____________________ Images: Arab News, The Economist
View ArticleGodzilla, King of Anxiety
Godzilla: King of the Monsters is the 35th film in a series starting back in 1954, easily the longest in world cinema history. This fact has attracted scholarly attention, and what scholars have found...
View ArticleBoard Diversity as a Signal of Firm Preferences
For decades, proponents of gender diversity have pointed to the potential economic gains resulting from more women in top management positions and corporate boards. Increasing the number of female...
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