Science writer Rita Carter tells the story of how modern neuroscience has revealed that reading, something most of us take for granted, unlocks remarkable powers. Carter explains how the classic novel Wuthering Heights allows us to step inside other minds and understand the world from different points of view, and she wonders whether the new […]

Most people believed in Dragons.  Well, today, most people believe in some sort of dragon. Most people fully accept paranormal and pseudoscientific claims without critique as they are promoted by the mass media or by religious authorities. Conspiracy theory in the middle east is prominent and sometimes almost paranormal and ridiculous, but widely accepted.  Also, […]

Adam Rutherford meets a new creature created by American scientists – the spider-goat. It is part goat, part spider, and its milk can be used to create artificial spider’s web. It is part of a new field of research, synthetic biology, with a radical aim: to break down nature into spare parts so that we […]

The Music Instinct: Science and Songprovides a ground-breaking exploration into how and why the human organism and the whole ebb and flow of the cosmos is moved by the undeniable effect of music. This follows visionary researchers and accomplished musicians to the crossroads of science and culture in search of answers to music s deep […]

The Koran is one of the most important works ever written. For almost one billion people worldwide, it is the Holy Scripture, the word of God and his prophet. For others, it is a historical artifact that has left an indelible imprint on the world. Decoding the Past: Secrets of the Koran probes the heart […]

As I heard a CNN debate yesterday about torture in the wake of the death of Osama Ben Laden, and the talk that water boarding of Khaled Sheik Muhammad led to the first tips of this successful mission, I couldn’t help but sense a level of radicalism portrayed by some of the guests defending water […]

Here is the point:  If we are not really in control of our decisions, then certainty is a childish concept … and that leads to tolerance to difference of opinion … so here.. enjoy: Behavioral economist Dan Ariely, the author of Predictably Irrational, uses classic visual illusions and his own counterintuitive (and sometimes shocking) research […]

By leading the Americans in his audience at TEDxPSU step by step through the thought process, sociologist Sam Richards sets an extraordinary challenge: can they understand — not approve of, but understand — the motivations of an Iraqi insurgent? And by extension, can anyone truly understand and empathize with another? Related Articles A radical experiment […]

Lesley Hazleton sat down one day to read the Koran. And what she found — as a non-Muslim, a self-identified “tourist” in the Islamic holy book — wasn’t what she expected. With serious scholarship and warm humor, Hazleton shares the grace, flexibility and mystery she found, in this myth-debunking talk from TEDxRainier.