Culture1064 articles archived since 1845

Musical Note Perception Can Depend on Culture

Western ears consider a pitch at double the frequency of a lower pitch to be the same note, an octave higher. The Tsimane’, an indigenous people in the Bolivian Amazon basin, do not...

The Mathematical Language of Nature

Physics historian Graham Farmelo talks about his latest book, The Universe Speaks in Numbers: How Modern Math Reveals Nature's Deepest Secrets.

Pluralism: Beyond the One and Only Truth

Some big questions, such as how matter makes mind and what quantum mechanics means, may not have a single, definitive answer

The History of Opium, Facing Up to Quantum Mechanics and Other New Science Books

Book recommendations from the editors of Scientific American 

Including Indigenous Voices in Genomics

A program at the University of Illinois trains indigenous scientists in genomics—in hopes that future work will be aimed at benefiting those communities. Christine Herman reports. ...

West Point Uniforms Signify Explosive Chemistry

U.S. Military Academy cadets wear the colors black, gray and gold for reasons found in gunpowder’s chemistry.

Jacks-of-All-Trades Make the Grade

Journalist and author David Epstein talks about his new book Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World.

Real Laughs Motivate More Guffaws

Honest, involuntary laughter cued people to laugh more at some really bad jokes than they did when hearing forced laughter.

A Global Profile of Air Pollution, on the Frontlines of the Ebola Epidemic and Other New Science Books

Book recommendations from the editors of Scientific American

Why Two Moonships Were Better Than One

Engineer John Houbolt pushed for a smaller ship to land on the lunar surface while the command module stayed in orbit around the moon.

How Poetry Can Help Communicate Science

It can break down the barriers that separate experts from the rest of us

When the Moon Was a Monster

Some 70 years before the Apollo 11 landing, a malevolent natural satellite first landed on the big screen

Why Baseballs Are Flying in 2019

An analysis of the 2019 edition of the Major League baseball points to reasons why it's leaving ballparks at a record rate.

Her Nobel Research Outshines Her Star Turn

Her Nobel Research Outshines Her Star Turn

Nobel Laureate Frances H. Arnold talks to Scientific American editor-in-chief Mariette DiChristina about her work, which takes advantage of the evolution algorithm to make entirely new enzymes that can perform useful chemistry...

Art Meets Science in These Dazzling Lamps Made of Microbes

Swedish designer Jan Klingler has garnered attention for his stunning lighting featuring bacteria

What Game of Thrones Reveals about Moral Decision-Making

The fantasy series highlights profound questions of philosophy and psychology

A Saturn V LEGO Set, a Moon Images Exhibit and New Science Books

Special Apollo 11–themed recommendations from the editors of Scientific American

Remembering Murray Gell-Mann

Murray Gell-Mann, 1969 Nobel Laureate in Physics who identified the quark, died May 24th.

The Science of Barbecue

It’s a mélange of chemistry, neuroscience and evolutionary biology, flavored with a big dollop of regional pride