culture
Gods and angels have been replaced with hi-tech extraterrestrials.
The key to its success lies not in its understanding of technology, but in its understanding of human nature.
The fear of deep bodies of water may be evolutionarily ingrained.
On the menu: stews, cheese, and fermented drinks.
An insect? A vermin? An unwanted animal? What in the world is Franz Kafka talking about?
Nobody actually knows what will come of AI. But we can console ourselves with the knowledge that nobody has ever really known anything about the future.
For linguists, the uniqueness of the Basque language represents an unsolved mystery. For its native speakers, long oppressed, it is a source of pride.
Centuries ago, the typical British coffeehouse was more like a “school without a master” than a place to grab a quick boost of caffeine.
The Foo Fighters are at the dead center of the map, so all the other bands are happier, sadder, angrier, or hornier.
“In witness whereof, the parties hereunto have set their hands to these presents as a deed on the day month and year hereinbefore mentioned.”
“Uitwaaien” is a popular activity around Amsterdam—one believed to have important psychological benefits.
The meaning of the cryptic text has eluded scholars for centuries. Their latest efforts include computational analyses seeking new insights into the medieval enigma.
A new book by historian and author Paul Strathern argues that the Northern European Renaissance has long been overlooked.
Bram Stoker’s mother survived a terrible cholera outbreak and recounted the ghastly scenes to her son years later.
Plato, Sun Tzu, and Buddha all lived in a “golden age” of philosophy that laid the foundation of modern thought.
From forgotten Hollywood movies to Frank Herbert’s “Dune,” science fiction illustrates some of our deepest fears about technology.
“Groupthink” gets a bad rap. In reality, we need groups to focus our thinking and to build on the ideas of others.
Germans are masters of building cars, cooking brats — and sitting while peeing.
Soviet censorship was thorough yet fallible.
But make sure you bring the fossegrim the proper offering—or else.
Raw food, paleo, gluten-free, detox, and ketogenic: All of these diet fads withered when subjected to scientific scrutiny.
The researchers rebuked writers, scholars, and public figures for lazily perpetuating the notion of widespread gender bias in academic science.
Rather than sending serial killer art to auctions, it should be sent to abnormal psychologists for research.
You can learn a lot about life through literature’s most unrespectable and heinous characters.
Glimpse into the ancient Maya empire through the writing of its own inhabitants.
These composers channeled the horror of the Holocaust and Hiroshima while honoring those who lived through it.
Reading classic books can inform you as much about the present as the past.
The deep-thinking oddballs of West Coast cycle racing valued mid-ride marijuana over sports science.
Nobody knows where the word “penguin” comes from.