As an editor, I've read thousands of pieces of writing. Yet some manage to stand out vividly, such as one column, “Ten Thousand Acts of Kindness,” penned almost 20 years ago by the late Harvard University paleontologist and evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould for Natural History magazine. We tend to remember the bad encounters we have had with other people, Gould noted, such as the time a driver rudely cut you off in traffic and then yelled at you on top of it. He believed that such incidents are memorable partly because they are rare. In fact, he pointed out, for each unpleasant moment we probably experience 10,000 acts of kindness—or at least neutral interactions—when we meet up with other people. Social togetherness, empathy and cooperation are hallmarks of humanity.
How puzzling, then, is the criminal mind, the subject of this issue's cover. What complex interplay of social and physical factors could lead to such aberrant behavior? The article “The Violent Brain,” by Daniel Strueber, Monika Lueck and Gerhard Roth, explores the psychobiological roots of brutality in the brain. The story starts on page 20.
If brain chemistry is at least partly at fault for aggression, perhaps the latest imaging technologies can help in pointing out those flaws in accused perpetrators who are facing trial. After all, imaging has taught us a great deal about mental processing in general. Not so fast, argue neuroscientist Michael S. Gazzaniga and his colleagues in “Brain Scans Go Legal.” Turn to page 30 to find out why imaging is not ready for the rigorous challenge of proving guilt in a court of law.
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As Gould explained, most of us do more than merely cooperate with the law. An aspect of those 10,000 everyday acts of kindness is how people fluidly and automatically coordinate their actions with one another on even the most mundane tasks, such as when two partners carry a large box up a flight of stairs. Beginning on page 52, Natalie Sebanz discusses how people's seemingly effortless yet unrehearsed dances of togetherness arise in “It Takes Two to...” Maybe it will inspire you to share Scientific American Mind with a friend.