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Science / Human Behavior

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Why Time is a Social Construct

Psychologists and anthropologists debate how different cultures answer the question, “What time is it?”

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From the Editor

From the Editor

A replica of Piltdown Man

How to Solve Human Evolution’s Greatest Hoax

The “discovery” turned out to be the biggest hoax in the history of paleoanthropology

IQ scores have significantly risen from one generation to the next.

Are You Smarter Than Your Grandfather? Probably Not.

Senility isn’t the answer; IQ scores are increasing with each generation. In a new book, political scientist James Flynn explains why

Dr. Oliver Sacks dives deep into the brain to find the greatest adventures.

Why Oliver Sacks is One of the Great Modern Adventurers

The neurologist’s latest investigations of the mind explore the mystery of hallucinations – including his own

The enlightened truth of the role of fire in human evolution.

Fire Good. Make Human Inspiration Happen.

New evidence suggests that fire may have influenced the evolution of the human mind

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The History of Boredom

You’ve never been so interested in being bored

Small stone blades from South Africa dating to 71,000 years ago may be the earliest evidence of bow and arrows.

Early Bow and Arrows Offer Insight Into Origins of Human Intellect

Tiny blades discovered in South Africa suggest early humans had advanced intelligence and modern culture 71,000 years ago

Michelangelo's Expulsion from Paradise.

How Does the Brain Process Art?

New imaging techniques are mapping the locations of our aesthetic response

According to a new study, beautiful people are indeed happier but not always for the same reasons.

Ask Smithsonian 2017

How Much is Being Attractive Worth?

For men and women, looking good can mean extra cash in your bank account

According to author Kevin Dutton, psychopaths have a distinct set of personality characteristics. Pictured is Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates in Psycho.

The Pros to Being a Psychopath

In a new book, Oxford research psychologist Kevin Dutton argues that psychopaths are poised to perform well under pressure

According to the hypothesis, grandmothers can help collect food and feed children before they are able to feed themselves, enabling mothers to have more children.

New Evidence That Grandmothers Were Crucial for Human Evolution

A computer simulation supports the idea that grandmothers helped our species evolve social skills and longer lives

A new study debunks the idea that friendships are influenced by shared genes.

Cracking the Code of the Human Genome

Do We Really Pick Our Friends Based On Genetic Similarities?

A new study debunks the idea that friendships are influenced by shared genes

A new study indicates that fraud in the biomedical sciences occurs but is exceedingly rare.

How Often Do Scientists Commit Fraud?

The evidence says scientists are pretty honest. New techniques could make it easier for scientific fabricators to be caught

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Why Power Corrupts

New research digs deeper into the social science behind why power brings out the best in some people and the worst in others

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Who Needs a Boss When You Have Your Co-Workers?

In a new book, Steven Johnson encourages us to lose top-down hierarchies, typical of companies, and instead organize around peer networks

A new study indicates that having a winning sports team may make us more likely to reelect an incumbent politician.

Is Your Vote Affected By Your Home Team’s Wins and Losses?

A new study indicates that having a winning sports team may make us more likely to reelect an incumbent politician

An artist’s reconstruction of Homo antecessor, a hominid species that butchered and ate its own kind. A new study suggests the cannibalism was a form of territorial defense.

Early Cannibalism Tied to Territorial Defense?

Researchers say chimpanzee behavior may help explain why human ancestors ate each other 800,000 years ago

Viewers of this video were asked to count how many times white-shirted players passed the ball. Fifty percent of them didn’t see the woman in the gorilla suit.

But Did You See the Gorilla? The Problem With Inattentional Blindness

The most effective cloaking device is the human mind

In 1921, a miner found Kabwe 1, also called the Broken Hill Skull.

Five Accidental Hominid Fossil Discoveries

Sometimes finding Neanderthals, australopithecines and other human ancestors is a complete accident

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