Even the greatest philosophical minds can’t figure out why music gives us such pleasure, only that music does.
Aeon
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes, Science & Nature
America’s Plastic Legacy
A father and daughter tour landmarks in the early history of modern plastic and assess the toxic legacy of petrochemistry.
Posted inReading List
Our Gardens, Growing: A Reading List
Five stories about plants and gardens and the humans that tend them.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Rules of Ascent
For mountaineers, it’s not enough to get to the top – it must be done a certain way. But why is the harder way better?
Posted inReading List
Adventures in Solitude: A Reading List
Being alone, free of distraction, can be both a writer’s dream and a nightmare.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
I’d Gladly Pay You Tomorrow For a Hamburger Today, If Only My Debit Card Weren’t Frozen
Ubiquitous digital payments: harbinger of a glorious future, or smokescreen for powerful interests that want to control (and undermine) choice and capitalism?
Posted inEditor's Pick
In Praise of Cash
Cash might be grungy, unfashionable and corruptible, but it is still a great public good, important for rich and poor alike.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes, Science & Nature
Learning About Memory from a Woman Who Lost Hers
Lonni Sue Johnson was a successful illustrator, when the herpes simplex virus attacked her brain; she lost almost her entire lifetime of knowledge, along with the ability to form new memories. Michael Lemonick describes how she’s invaluable to neuroscientists working to understand how we make and store memories.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Living In the Now
Lonni Sue can paint, but not name a painting; learn new music without knowing a tune. Scientific American opinion editor Michael Lemonick explore what she’s is teaching us about memory.