Why We Pick Difficult Partners
Adults SocietyIn theory, we're nowadays allowed to get together with pretty much anyone we like. And yet, at a psychological level, we aren't free to love just any suitable person. We have a type - and strangely and awkwardly, these types are often not those who stand a chance of making us maximally happy.
Ugly history: The 1937 Haitian Massacre - Edward Paulino
Adults SocietyWhen historians talk about the atrocities of the 20th century, we often think of those that took place during and between the two World Wars. But two months before the Rape of Nanking in China, and a year before Kristallnacht in Germany, a horrific ethnic cleansing campaign occurred on an island between the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. Edward Paulino details the 1937 Haitian Massacre.
I Got Popular...And It Changed Me
Adults SocietyIsaiah had never been cool or popular. He was known as strange, the weird kid - the weirdo - and he stuck to himself. The mean girls and popular kids didn't help his shyness, really hurt his self-esteem, and so, after middle school, he was determined to make high school different.
Why Do You Love Your Family?
Adults SocietyWhy do we love people we're related to? Compared to strangers, why do we feel such a deep sense of connection with our family members? Sure, they're nice to us, we take care of each other, and we often live with them, but there has to be a deeper biological reason. That reason, unsurprisingly is evolution. In this video, I explain why taking care of our family, or even dying for them, makes sense in the eyes of evolution.
What Are Diminutives - and Why We Like Them
Adults SocietyA diminutive is something you stick on the end of a word to make the thing it describes sound smaller. ie. Dog goes to Doggy. Every language has them, but some have more than others. Why are we drawn to diminutives? And why is English particularly resistant to them, compared to Spanish, for example?
History vs. Che Guevara - Alex Gendler
Adults SocietyHis face is recognized all over the world - the young medical student who became a revolutionary icon. But was Che Guevara a heroic champion of the poor, or a ruthless warlord who left a legacy of repression? Alex Gendler puts this controversial figure on trial in History vs. Che Guevara.
What is the tragedy of the commons? - Nicholas Amendolare
Adults SocietyIs it possible that overfishing, super germs, and global warming are all caused by the same thing? In 1968, a man named Garrett Hardin sat down to write an essay about overpopulation. Within it, he discovered a pattern of human behavior that explains some of history's biggest problems. Nicholas Amendolare describes the tragedy of the commons.