Sociology
130 articles-
Placebo Science Is Rooted in Witch Hunts
How we learned to sort true from false in medicine. -
The Plight of Japan’s Ama Divers
Practiced mostly by women, this fishing tradition is thousands of years old. Can it survive? -
Do Homelessness Prevention Programs Work?
The first evidence from a randomized controlled trial that financial assistance helps prevent homelessness. -
The Physics of Crowds
Why dangerous crowds behave the way they do. -
The Pandemic Your Grandparents Forgot
Sixty years later, will anybody have heard of COVID-19? -
How Can Science Be More Creative?
One question for Ruth Morgan, a professor of crime and forensic sciences at University College London. -
Who Should Make the Rules That Govern AI?
One question for Laura Weidinger and Iason Gabriel, research scientists at Google DeepMind. -
How Can We Discourage Mass Shootings?
One question for Maurizio Porfiri and Rayan Succar, dynamical systems engineers at New York University. -
The Misguided History of Racial Medicine
An evolutionary biologist on the harm still being done by unsubstantiated beliefs. -
Where Are the Black Female Doctors?
Representation of Black women in medicine remains stuck in the 1800s.
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Test Your Trivia Knowledge for Science
Identify these people and help chart how they will be remembered or forgotten in history.
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Is COVID-19 Becoming Less Polarizing?
One question for Sara Constantino, a psychologist and public policy researcher at Northeastern University.
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Why Do Americans Own More Guns Per Capita Than Anyone Else?
One question for Jennifer Carlson, a sociologist at the University of Arizona.
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The Wisdom of Gay Albatrosses
Same-sex couples are everywhere in the animal kingdom. Only humans make a big deal about it.
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Do International Treaties Work?
One question for Mathieu Poirier, an assistant professor of social epidemiology at York University.
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Novak Djokovic and the Healing Water Crystals
The story of the tennis star spotlights the pseudoscience that bedevils science and society. -
The Attack of Zombie Science
They look like scientific papers. But they’re distorting and killing science. -
What Makes Group Decisions Go Wrong. And Right.
Why intellectual laziness doesn’t have to lead to groupthink. -
How to Build a Society for All to Enjoy
To make social structures more equal, we can’t blind ourselves to genetics. -
We Have to Talk About Doubt
How to tell the difference between scientific and conspiratorial skepticism.