Stories by John Horgan

Something weird happens to a skeptical science writer during a week of meditation, chanting and skygazing

The visionary physicist, whose ideas remain influential, sought spiritual as well as scientific illumination

Psychedelics have psychological and spiritual benefits, as a new best seller claims, but they’re far from a panacea

A connoisseur of science, math and philosophy takes on the really big questions

Physicist Sabine Hossenfelder claims desire for beauty and other subjective biases have led physicists astray

Americans objecting to U.S. detainment of children at borders should also protest killing of kids overseas

Ulysses doesn’t solve the hard problem, but it conveys with unsurpassed vividness what it feels like to be human.

Quantum theorist John Wheeler’s “it from bit” hypothesis anticipated ongoing speculation that consciousness is fundamental to reality

By renouncing military contracts, Google could catalyze a much-needed discussion about how the U.S. and other nations can move beyond militarism

The philosopher’s great work Tractatus is perhaps “a blank canvas” on which we project what we want to see.

The philosopher's greatest work, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, only makes sense in the light of mysticism

Dyson’s principle of maximum diversity says that without hardship and suffering, life would be too dull

A sleepy philosopher inspires thoughts on how consciousness could endure forever

One reporter emphasizes the promise of an experimental treatment, another the peril

Analysis of drug research identifies causes of declining returns, like the "better than the Beatles" problem, and a possible solution, "Dead Drugs Officers"

Economists show increased research efforts are yielding decreasing returns

The president has the deal-making skills to end war between nations once and for all

A new study raises questions about meditation’s moral and social benefits. 

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

Cosmologist Martin Rees holds forth on multiverses, biothreats, AI, utopia, God and “posthuman” science

Two “ecomodernists” argue that continued progress in science and other realms will help us overcome environmental problems

Physicist Marcelo Gleiser muses over the paradoxes of scientific progress

Philosopher Colin McGinn proposes that “brain splicing” could allow us to experience the consciousness of others

Brain implants could eliminate miscommunication between lovers