David Berreby
Author, Us and Them: The Science of Identity
David Berreby is the author of "Us and Them: The Science of Identity." He has written about human behavior and other science topics for The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, Slate, Smithsonian, The New Republic, Nature, Discover, Vogue and many other publications. He has been a Visiting Scholar at the University of Paris, a Science Writing Fellow at the Marine Biological Laboratory, a resident at Yaddo, and in 2006 was awarded the Erving Goffman Award for Outstanding Scholarship for the first edition of "Us and Them." David can be found on Twitter at @davidberreby and reached by email at david [at] davidberreby [dot] com.
Why Are We in Afghanistan?
Matthew Hoh thinks there is no good reason. And his opinion is significant, because he is the U.S. Government’s Senior Civilian Representive in the Afghan province of Zabul — or […]
Happy Arkhipov Day, Everybody
Today is the 47th anniversary of the day a courageous Soviet submarine officer, Vasili Arkhipov, probably saved the world from nuclear armageddon. On October 27, 1962, during the Cuban Missile […]
Biofuels: A Cure Worse Than The Disease?
Biofuel development is going to add a lot more greenhouse gases to the atmosphere than previously estimated, according to a new assessment published today in Science Express. In theory, fuel […]
The Hormone of Competition . . .
After a soccer match, the losers’ testosterone levels will probably be lower than the winners’ (though it may be that this won’t be so if the winners think their victory […]
Monkey See, Monkey Do, Monkey Get Phone Number . . .
What makes a woman appealing to a new male acquaintance? Imitation, according to this study, published in this month’s issue of the journal Social Influence. As described here,Nicolas Gueguen, a […]
A Great Documentary About the Price of Technology
Technological change captures attention in every era, exciting dreams (and nightmares) about the future, filling histories and literature with stories about its powerful effects. The newest and most impressive devices […]
Bill Maher and the Dangers of Scientific Infantilism
Last year Bill Maher released a movie ridiculing religious beliefs, including those of creationists. But he’s now ranting against vaccination (Orac’s blog is all over it), saying the same thing […]
How’s the Water?
Want to help protect your region’s sources of fresh water? Or find out the results of the latest water-quality tests for the stuff you’re drinking? If you live in the […]
Religion and Teen Pregnancy – Perfect Together?
Where in the United States are teen-age girls most likely to become pregnant? According to this study, published last month in the journal Reproductive Health, the answer is: Where Evangelical […]
Of Magic Ethnicities and the World’s End
Great news, fans of continued existence! The world will not end in 2012, despite what you may have heard from a passing lunatic and/or viral marketer for this film. How […]
Of Privilege and Polanski
The human mind is full of contradictory impulses. For instance, I doubt that many of us want the President to do his own laundry. He’s not like us; he has […]
Merchants of False Hope
Francis Collins and J. Craig Venter are the scientists whose names will always be associated with mapping of the human genome — after racing to complete the job, the two […]
Run, Techies, Run!
Batten down the hatches, people who work in tech support from Bangalore to Bangor. Google’s tribute for today celebrates the invention of the bar code. Replacing those playground-friendly letters with […]
Where Thrill-Seekers Are Made, Not Born
What causes people to act as they do — the way they’re made, or the way they make, as they go through life? Often in the mind sciences, stable traits […]
Guns, Crime and Doctors
It’s safer to travel by airplane than by car, but people feel more secure on the road. The likely reason is that we feel less threatened when we have some […]
Why :) in Boston is ^.^ in Tokyo
A lot of hay has been made in recent years out Paul Ekman’s idea that some basic facial expressions are universal — that all people express and recognize emotions like […]
Is Your Cell Phone Killing People in Congo?
Let's Hope Not, But It Could Be, Indirectly
Department of It Ain’t Necessarily So
Did Men and Women Evolve to Have Different Approaches to Sex? Maybe Not . . .
Attack of the Racist Babies, Part 2
Why It's OK to Talk About White Prejudice Rather Than Prejudice in General
“Our Parents Don’t Like Us to Talk About Our Skin”
You Can't Wipe Out Racism by Pretending You Don't See Race
When Responsibilities Are Vested in the Irresponsible
Why politics is getting violent
Why (I Think) Conservatism is Unnatural
Exploring the deep temperamental divide at the heart of the healthcare debate
Shandaloon Versus Scarsdale
Will aliens look like the people next door? I hope not.
The Myth of Prevention
In the raging debate over healthcare here in the U.S., there is one point on which everybody, from Newt Gingrich to Barack Obama, seems to agree: We should be spending […]