Why We Think the Past Was Better Why do we think the past is better than the future? Have you ever heard someone say: “People were better behaved when I…
Why Your Choices Get Worse as the Day Goes On Why do we make worse decisions at the end of the day? Imagine this. At 8:00 AM, you carefully choose…
Grandparents frequently love their grandchildren equally—but across large populations, their average investment is not always equal. Studies in several Western societies often find a recurring pattern: maternal grandmothers provide the…
A “Husband” Was Originally a Householder Today, a husband is a married man. But the word originally had nothing specifically to do with marriage. It entered English from the Old…
Why We Notice What We Already Believe Why do we favor our existing beliefs? Imagine you believe a particular stock is going to soar. You search online. One analyst says:…
The First “Villain” Was Just a Farm Worker Today, a villain is an evil character—the person plotting against the hero. But the word originally described someone working on a farm….
Why We Keep Going Even When We Should Stop Why do people support their past ideas, even when presented with evidence that they’re wrong? Imagine you invest $10,000 in a…
“School” Originally Meant Leisure For many students, school feels like the opposite of free time. Yet the word originally meant leisure. It comes from the ancient Greek scholē, meaning free…
How the Mind Protects Itself from Contradictions Why is it so hard to change someone’s beliefs? Imagine someone says: “I care about my health.” But every night, they smoke a…
A baby who wakes repeatedly at night seems interested only in milk and comfort. But one provocative evolutionary hypothesis suggests that night waking may also delay the arrival of a…