Culture1067 articles archived since 1845

To Boldly Go to the Nearest Star and the Distant Past

Volcanic Eruption May Have Plunged the Maya into a “Dark Age”

A new study of ancient ash links an El Chichón eruption to a time of inexplicable cultural upheaval in Maya history

How an Amnesiac Changed Neuroscience

February book recommendations from Scientific American

Palaeoart Memes and the Unspoken Status Quo in Palaeontological Popularization

Palaeoart memes are important and pervasive—what are they, and what do they mean for the popularization of palaeontology?

What Is Philosophy's Point?, Part 5--A Call for "Negative Philosophy"

Philosophy’s chief value is countering our terrible tendency toward certitude

Did People Actually Bowl at Bowling Green?

Bowling Green has a history that has withstood the test of time

Show of Shipwrecked Treasures Raises Scientists' Ire

Archaeologists worry that a museum exhibition will encourage exploitation of priceless historical sites

What Is Philosophy's Point?, Part 4--Maybe It's Poetry with No Rhyme and Lots of Reason

The line between philosophy and the arts can get awfully blurry

Readers Respond to the October 2016 Issue

Letters to the editor from the October 2016 issue of Scientific American

Can Empirical Entertainment Rescue Science in an Alt-Fact World?

MythBusters and Vsauce stars Adam Savage and Michael Stevens weigh in on the role of their new show in communicating science

The Complexities of Using an Umbrella in New York City

Who yields to whom in the meeting of umbrellas on a city sidewalk?

We're Taking You to Bellevue

Pulitzer Prize–winning N.Y.U. historian David Oshinsky, director of the Division of Medical Humanities at the N.Y.U. Langone Medical Center, talks about his latest book, Bellevue: Three Centuries of Medicine and Mayhem at America’s Most Storied Hospital ...

The Social Benefits of Dinner Parties

Large group meals that are sponsored and produced by specific individuals are a luxury—both in terms of the foods that are served in these settings and the event itself—but they are also ripe with obligation. ...

What Is Philosophy's Point?, Part 2--Maybe It's a Martial Art

Philosophers sometimes seem more concerned with winning than wisdom

New Books about Motivation, Memory, Happiness and More Relaxed Parenting

Scientific American Mind weighs in on recent titles from neuroscience and psychology 

The Mathematics of Evolution: Q&A with Biologist Marcus Feldman

Feldman creates mathematical models that reveal how cultural traditions can affect the evolution of a species...

How to Draw with Math

The regularity of natural patterns can lead artists to use mathematical concepts in works of art

What Is Philosophy's Point?, Part 1 (Hint: It's Not Discovering Truth)

Philosophy can still serve many purposes, even if it can’t compete with science as a method of accumulating knowledge

More Book Recommendations for January

Books and recommendations from Scientific American

Best Science Books of 2016

Barbara Kiser, books and arts editor at Nature, talks about her favorite science books of 2016, especially three works about the little-known history of women mathematicians.