Connecting current events with their probable cause is not as easy a task as we commonly believe. In this extensive, well thought out article, the author makes an argument for three events being the seminal source for where the world is now: the Second World War, the information revolution and the rapidly widening inequality between the rich (the “1%”) and the rest of humanity. This is a long article but worth spending some time and effort.

Placebo controls are a gold standard against which new treatments are often measured. If a new treatment consistently proves to be better than a placebo and safe, it can be marketed, sold and prescribed. Otherwise, it can’t – or at least shouldn’t. However, researchers don’t report what placebos contain. Different placebos have different effects, and the choice of what’s in a placebo can lead to mistaken inferences about a new treatment’s benefits or harms.

Living with chronic illness is hard. But there are psychological techniques which make it possible to thrive even when ill.

Everything you assume about the universe, the laws that govern it, and how objective reality works is probably wrong. What goes up doesn’t have to come down, there’s no logical reason why we can’t travel through time, and there’s a pretty good chance that you exist as one of an infinite number of doppelgangers spread across parallel universes. Quantum mechanics is a unified theory that sets out to bridge the differences.

Although we are in the age of auto-correct, linguist and author, Gretchen McCulloch, asked her Twitter followers to share the words that they can’t actually spell without relying on spellcheck. The answers she got will comfort and edify you.

Writing, just like all else, is a muscle that can be flexed and built up into a habitual process that eventually flows. Because at its core, writing is simple: it’s a method of sharing your thoughts.

What most people don’t realize is that it’s often not actually the writing that is difficult. It’s the thinking behind the writing.

Punctuation is perhaps one-tenth rule and nine-tenths art. In that portion that is controlled by art, writers will differ, sometimes radically. The art of punctuation is the art of rhythm, for punctuation’s second function, after its first function of helping to establish clarity, is to set the rhythm of sentences. Rhythm in prose, it turns out, is highly individual, for nearly everyone not only marches but writes to the beat of a different drummer.

Argument is everywhere. From the kitchen table to the boardroom to the highest echelons of power, we all use argument to persuade, investigate new ideas, and make collective decisions.

Unfortunately, we often fail to consider the ethics of arguing. This makes it perilously easy to mistreat others — a critical concern in personal relationships, workplace decision-making and political deliberation.

During the festival of Thaipusam, some Tamil Hindus will take on various physical burdens — or kavadis — as they make a pilgrimage to the temple of Lord Murugan. It’s one of the world’s most extreme rituals, with some male participants mutilating their bodies with hooks, skewers, and other objects. Why would people put themselves through such physical pain? A new study examined peoples’ objective and subjective indicators of health before, during, and after a painful ritual. The results showed that people who underwent the painful ritual reported a greater quality of life and subjective health improvements.

Short-term change is easy, it’s sticking to your new routine over the long-term that’s hard. New research can help. Just by re-imagining meeting your short-term goal as completing a journey, you can significantly increase your chances of sticking with the change for the long haul. How can switching up your metaphors have such an impact? 

The Dutch idea of niksen is to take conscious, considered time and energy to do activities like gazing out of a window or sitting motionless. Generally speaking, our culture does not promote sitting still, and that can have wide-reaching consequences for our mental health, well-being, productivity and other areas of our lives.  Counterintuitively, idleness can be a great productivity tool .