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To See the World Through a Kaleidoscope of Butterflies

This writer was transformed by her “foolish” quest to chase butterflies in Denmark

Latest Stories

Primates Also Become Germophobes After Living Through a Viral Outbreak

And it could shed light on the evolutionary origins of disgust

Are Our Hearts Strong Enough to Get to Mars?

Prolonged space travel can wreak havoc on the circulatory system


Read Stories from Our Newest Print Issue: The Stupid Issue

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The Elegance of a Stupid Question

Are computers in mathematics rewriting the definitions of stupid and smart?

The Resistance Is Here

They didn’t plan to be activists. But scientists have united to overturn Trump’s drastic cuts to science.

The Return of a Discredited Pseudoscience

Eugenics is rearing its ugly head again in today’s crucible of politics and culture

What Makes Life Beautiful?

The magic of rhyme and the search for a creator

Why Forgive and Forget is Bad Advice

A conversation with MacArthur fellow Felipe de Brigard about how forgiveness reshapes the memory of atrocity

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Could AI Have Consciousness That Isn’t Human-Like?

Philosopher Peter Godfrey-Smith on AI consciousness and existential risk

What a Picture of a Dog Has to Do with Reason and Logic

People who can’t see images in their minds challenge an old philosophical standby

What Makes Humans Stupid

It takes intelligence to get things spectacularly wrong. An essay on our undoing.

The Most Unsettling Books We Know

Scientists and artists tell us about the book that scared them to the core