Journalists Offer Sharply Divergent Views of Brain Implants for Depression
One reporter emphasizes the promise of an experimental treatment, another the peril
Stories by John Horgan
Is Science Hitting a Wall?, Part 2
Analysis of drug research identifies causes of declining returns, like the "better than the Beatles" problem, and a possible solution, "Dead Drugs Officers"
Is Science Hitting a Wall?, Part 1
Economists show increased research efforts are yielding decreasing returns
Dear Trump, Make World Peace Your Mission
The president has the deal-making skills to end war between nations once and for all
Can Meditation Make Us Nicer?
A new study raises questions about meditation’s moral and social benefits.
Cosmic Thinker Worries about the Ends of Science and Humanity
Cosmologist Martin Rees holds forth on multiverses, biothreats, AI, utopia, God and “posthuman” science
My Alarming, Inspiring Encounter with the Late Stephen Hawking
After having a seizure in my arms at a meeting in Sweden, the paralyzed physicist lectured on how we live in a “superspace” with infinite dimensions
Should We Chill Out about Global Warming?
Two “ecomodernists” argue that continued progress in science and other realms will help us overcome environmental problems
The More We Know, the More Mystery There Is
Physicist Marcelo Gleiser muses over the paradoxes of scientific progress
A Modest Proposal for Solving the Solipsism Problem
Philosopher Colin McGinn proposes that “brain splicing” could allow us to experience the consciousness of others
How Technology Can Make Valentine's Day Much, Much Better
Brain implants could eliminate miscommunication between lovers
Who Invented the Mind–Body Problem?
Germans were debating the “body–soul problem” by the mid-19th century, but Socrates pondered the problem first
Is Science Infinite?
Science will never tell us who we really are, and that is why it will last forever
The Infinite Optimism of Physicist David Deutsch
The quantum theorist thinks we’ll solve war, global warming and consciousness—and that will be just the beginning
The Weirdness of Weirdness
Is weirdness only in the eye of the beholder or is it an objective quality of reality?
Do Women Want to Be Oppressed?
Evolutionary theorists propose that female desire for domineering males helped create a patriarchal world
We Have Souls, and So Do Crows
A meditation for the Winter Solstice
Darwin Was Sexist, and So Are Many Modern Scientists
For far too long, Darwinian theory has justified sexist attitudes and behavior
Jellyfish, Sexbots and the Solipsism Problem
As long as we lack a "consciousness meter," we can’t resolve debates about what is or isn’t conscious
Do Fish Suffer?
Speakers at a meeting on animal consciousness dive into a deep ethical debate
