Sam Woolfe : The Psychology of Initiation Rites
Initiation rites are an integral part of traditional societies. An initiation rite is a ritual or ceremony marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. In modern society, initiation ceremonies usually mark the transition into adulthood, as demarcated by…
Bees can remember human faces — and 7 other surprising facts about these important insects
Most people know bees for two things: their sweetness (in the form of honey) or their stings. But they’re so much more than that. Honeybees, for example, live in highly structured social groups where each bee has a role to…
How to Preserve a Piece of Abolitionist History
Fugitive Slave Law Convention, Cazenovia, New York, 1850, Ezra Greenleaf Weld. Daguerreotype, 2 5/8 × 2 1/8 in. J. Paul Getty Trust, 84.XT.1582.5. Digital image courtesy of Getty’s Open Content Program In late August 1850, Cazenovia, New York—a small town…
6 public art projects that make climate change up close and personal
For some people, climate change can be an abstract concept, especially if they’re living somewhere that hasn’t experienced serious effects yet. Art is one effective way to provide people with a vision of what the future could look like if…
Inside the surprising social networks of fish (yes, fish)
Every day, corporations like Facebook, Amazon and Google learn more and more about human behavior by collecting incredible volumes of data — what’s called Big Data — on our social behavior. They use it to learn things like how our…
The Most Honest Book About Climate Change Yet
By Nathaniel Rich / This article was originally posted on TheAtlantic.com Authors like to flatter themselves by imagining for their work an “ideal reader,” a cherubic presence endowed with bottomless generosity, the sympathy of a parent, and the wisdom of,…