Aeon Magazine
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Aeon is a magazine of ideas and culture. Visit aeon.co for more.
Assistant professor of political theory Kevin D Pham argues that Vietnamâs potent and storied anticolonialism is founded upon a unique sense of national shame. Read his insightful Aeon Essay to learn more
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At the turn of the 20th century, two Swedish sisters dreamt of an existence free from male oppression and built an all-female co-living residence as a safe haven for single women over 35. Watch how its community endures more than 75 years later in this documentary by director Fanny Rosell
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Can young and old coexist at a feminist co-living residence? | Aeon Videos
This feminist housing collective has endured for 75 years. Now, a new generation is moving in, bringing change â and men
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Today, on Albert Camusâ birthday, we are re-sharing this Aeon original video from the archive. It details the disagreement between Camus and Sartre which became the philosophical feud of the century. How could two such close friends become such unforgiving enemies?
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How did the 20th centuryâs most glamorous intellectual friendship go wrong? | Aeon Videos
How did the 20th centuryâs most glamorous intellectual friendship go wrong?
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2 days ago
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In this archive essay, Mahmood Mamdani reflects on South Africaâs transition to build a nonracial democracy and the lessons it still offers for a world increasingly trapped in identity politics. Read Mamdaniâs timely essay here, published in light of his son Zohran Mamdaniâs recent electoral victory
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The world can learn from South Africaâs ideal of nonracial democracy | Aeon Essays
What the United States and other settler societies can learn from South Africaâs push to create a nonracial democracy
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2 days ago
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For six decades, Bob Dylan has challenged listeners with songs that reward interpretation. He even won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2016. But what more might we discover if, instead of a human scholar, we asked generative AI to sift through every word Dylan ever wrote?
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Can AI tell us anything meaningful about Bob Dylanâs songs? | Aeon Essays
Generative AI sheds new light on the underlying engines of metaphor, mood and reinvention in six decades of songs
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2 days ago
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In this film, journalists speak with four unnamed citizens of Myanmar, providing a glimpse into how culture, daily life and political instability intersect in this isolated nation
@artefr.bsky.social
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A glimpse of daily life for people in isolated, war-torn Myanmar | Aeon Videos
Citizens of Myanmar describe what daily life is like in their isolated, war-torn nation
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3 days ago
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The âAnthropoceneâ has officially been declared dead. But, as this Essay argues, this does not mean we should abandon the term. It still has currency as a prism through which we can examine the multifaceted history of human activities on this planet
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Declared dead last year, the Anthropocene is very much alive | Aeon Essays
As a scientific concept the Anthropocene is dead. But itâs such a helpful idea to think with, should we use it anyway?
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3 days ago
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Discover how virtual reality is reframing and shedding new light on some of philosophyâs most enduring questions about cognition, epistemology and the nature of reality in this instalment of Aeonâs In Sight series with the renowned philosopher and cognitive scientist David Chalmers
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The inspiring short documentary âBetween Moon Tidesâ by Jason Jaacks follows members of the Saltmarsh Sparrow Research Initiative in Rhode Island. Watch as they race against time and extreme tides to protect the species which has become increasingly vulnerable to rising sea levels @theguardian
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Racing rising tides, volunteers work to save a bird on the brink | Aeon Videos
How a dedicated team of volunteers in Rhode Island hack nature to find new ways to protect vulnerable sparrow hatchlings
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4 days ago
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Manjeet S. Pardesi
10 days ago
âThe world without hegemonyâ â A long-form article based on my book with Amitav! Many thanks to Sam Haselby!
@yalepress.bsky.social
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Dr Surekha Davies, Historical Monster Consultant (she/her)
9 days ago
"History shows that there has long been a blurry, moving line between the categories of human being and monster." I wrote a philosophical essay threading together monsters from antiquity to the present for
@aeon.co
: 8/
aeon.co/essays/those...
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Those declared âmonstersâ are ejected from the human family | Aeon Essays
For centuries weâve used the declaration of âmonsterâ to eject individuals and groups from being respected as fully human
https://aeon.co/essays/those-declared-monsters-are-ejected-from-the-human-family
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Dagomar Degroot
5 days ago
I love publishing with
@aeon.co
. In this article, come for the UAPs (!), stay for the Martian canal-builders - and the history of how they changed our ideas about the environment, our future, and our place in the universe.
#EnvHist
#Aliens
#Mars
#History
aeon.co/essays/in-th...
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In the late 1800s alien âengineersâ altered our world forever | Aeon Essays
Images of vast âcanalsâ rippling across the red planet inspired fears of alien âengineersâ and changed science forever
https://aeon.co/essays/in-the-late-1800s-alien-engineers-altered-our-world-forever
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The 19th-century âdiscoveryâ of canal-building aliens on Mars caught the attention of millions and subsequently inspired much 20th-century pop culture on alien civilisations. As this Essay explores, this story reveals how humans might react to evidence about alien life today
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In the late 1800s alien âengineersâ altered our world forever | Aeon Essays
Images of vast âcanalsâ rippling across the red planet inspired fears of alien âengineersâ and changed science forever
https://buff.ly/MUnd0H7
5 days ago
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Since the earliest days of science, dissent and disagreement have driven its progress. Yet not all scientific disagreement is valuable. How do we distinguish between a âvaluable misunderstandingâ or an attack on science itself?
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Science needs disagreement. What makes some disagreement useless? | Aeon Essays
Scientific progress depends on disagreement. So why are vaccine sceptics and other science critics not worth listening to?
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6 days ago
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In this video, the biologist Adrian Smith
@dradriansmith.bsky.social
provides close-ups of a diverse array of caterpillars and shows how they support healthy ecosystems, employ a range of strategies to protect themselves from predators and transform into seemingly entirely different creatures
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Close-ups reveal how caterpillars live long enough to cocoon | Aeon Videos
From poison spikes to fake snake eyes, caterpillars employ many clever strategies to survive to their dazzling adulthoods
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8 days ago
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Since the 1970s, David Cronenberg has been cinemaâs great anatomist, staging dramas of growth, decay and mutation. Amidst current political focus on managing bodies, Cronenberg offers a necessary framework: affirming bodily autonomy without stoking the panic that casts transformed bodies as threats
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Our political moment is ripe for David Cronenbergâs body horror | Aeon Essays
As struggles over the human body escalate, we should return to the work of cinemaâs greatest anatomist: David Cronenberg
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9 days ago
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Congratulations
@birchlse.bsky.social
on winning the 2025 Royal Institute of Philosophy Nayef Al-Rodhan Book Prize! đ
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10 days ago
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In this video by Matthew Wilcock, an overhead view of a motorway becomes a meditative piano and string composition, encouraging us to find beauty in the most mundane rhythms and repetitions of everyday life
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Watch as the rhythms of traffic create a mesmerising score | Aeon Videos
A composer encourages viewers to find beauty in the mundane rhythms and repetitions of everyday traffic patterns
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10 days ago
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Southeast Asian history shows us that there are other pathways to international order and that, contrary to Western modes of thinking, a hegemonic power is not required for stability
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What Southeast Asian history tells us about a multipolar order | Aeon Essays
As Pax Americana ends, a multipolar order is emerging. The history of Southeast Asia holds lessons for whatâs to come
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10 days ago
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âRawls is often treated as an austere theorist of justice, but I wanted to recover the moral and even spiritual warmth at the heart of his liberalism â and Aeon was the perfect place to do thatâ, â
@lefebvrealex.bsky.social
, winner of the Australasian Association of Philosophyâs Media Prize
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John Rawls, liberalism and what it means to live a good life | Aeon Essays
For John Rawls, liberalism was more than a political project: it is the best way to fashion a life that is worthy of happiness
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11 days ago
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In this brief introduction, the art historians Andrew Turner and Lauren Kilroy-Ewbank guide viewers through the oldest Maya book to have survived Spanish colonial destruction, the Códice Maya de México, revealing how ritual and the cosmos shaped life in Maya society
@gettymuseum.bsky.social
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The Americasâ oldest book is an intricate work of Maya astronomy | Aeon Videos
Fig-bark paper, vivid pigments and intricate imagery: the oldest book in the Americas is a complex work of Maya astronomy
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Congratulations to Lois Parshley, winner of the top prize for Science Journalist in the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications. Loisâ writing illustrates the power of science journalism to illuminate systemic challenges shaping our planetâs future
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Why dowsing for water is a test of faith â and of science | Aeon Essays
Devastated by years of drought, California farmers hire dowsers to locate their water, exposing the power of belief
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âAs someone Indigenous to northern New Mexico, when I look at OâKeeffeâs paintings, I can only see what and who she has left out of the picture.â How might we recenter Indigenous voices and engage with Georgia Oâkeeffeâs work anew?
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Some people refer to New Mexico as âOâKeeffe Countryâ. I donât | Aeon Essays
Through her paintings, Georgia OâKeefe laid claim to New Mexicoâs desert landscape. But it was never hers for the taking
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12 days ago
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Congratulations to Aeon author Rebecca Boyle for winning the top prize in the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications. Her luminous storytelling brings new wonder to familiar cosmic subjects, such as why darkness matters â for the planet and for us
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We canât thrive in a world without darkness | Aeon Essays
An eternal electric day is creeping across the globe, but our brains and bodies cannot cope in a world without darkness
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13 days ago
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Have you ever looked at a classical monument and been baffled by what it all means and how to understand its message? This elegant Essay takes a close look at the Altar of Peace, a symbolically rich and highly significant Roman monument to peace after a series of barbaric wars
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How did the Roman Empire view nature and its seasons? | Aeon Essays
The magnificent Altar of Peace celebrates the imperial order of Augustusâ Rome and his place in the fabric of the cosmos
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13 days ago
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Dr Surekha Davies, Historical Monster Consultant (she/her)
16 days ago
âtelling stories about monsters isnât simply a way of describing beings that are nothing like humans. Itâs also how societies define and police who they think counts as fully human.â My words in
@aeon.co
đđ đ§Șđ
#ancient
#medieval
#earlymodern
#histsci
#histmed
#18thCentury
#politics
#psychology
đ§”/n
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Those declared âmonstersâ are ejected from the human family | Aeon Essays
For centuries weâve used the declaration of âmonsterâ to eject individuals and groups from being respected as fully human
https://aeon.co/essays/those-declared-monsters-are-ejected-from-the-human-family
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Alex Lefebvre
14 days ago
Won a couple of awards last week. Woo! One is the Australasian Association of Philosophyâs Media Prize for Rawls the Redeemer in
@aeon.co
:
shorturl.at/vPOxH
The other is a Teaching Leadership Award for my work on the new PPE degree The University of Sydney:
shorturl.at/MAHtd
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John Rawls, liberalism and what it means to live a good life | Aeon Essays
For John Rawls, liberalism was more than a political project: it is the best way to fashion a life that is worthy of happiness
https://shorturl.at/vPOxH
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This short documentary follows the International Youth for Peace and Justice Tour where teenagers from then-conflict zones visited high-school students in Canada. Although the film is now almost 40 years old, amid ongoing conflicts affecting children around the globe it feels as relevant as ever
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A project takes teens from war-torn regions to schools in Canada | Aeon Videos
Conversations with teenagers from unstable or war-torn nations across the world, on a unique tour to Canada 40 years ago
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15 days ago
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Inspired by the Nobel Prize in Economics being won by Aeon author Joel Mokyr, this week weâre featuring more Aeon essays from the archive which dive into diverse perspectives on economic history
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For centuries weâve used the declaration of âmonsterâ to eject individuals and groups from being respected as fully human
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Are the laws of classical physics missing something important about how the Universe works? This short documentary by
@quantamagazine.bsky.social
presents a proposal that could help us better understand why everything seems to grow more complex and orderly over time
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A radical reimagining of physics puts information at its centre | Aeon Videos
Does physics miss something important about how the Universe works? A new law of information could account for complexity
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17 days ago
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Doctors are often taught that they should be authoritative and confident, even when they come up against ambiguous symptoms and unpredictable treatments. But, as this Essay by
@zoecunniffe.bsky.social
shows, the best doctors know that uncertainty can be a strength
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Medicine is uncertain: embracing that makes doctors better | Aeon Essays
From late-night calls to unsolved symptoms, uncertainty is woven into every doctorâs day. They should learn to embrace it
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17 days ago
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Adam Scott
28 days ago
Just finished reading this and it was a very interesting read. I always find it interesting when I find parallels in the past and present.
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Dr Elena Cooper
21 days ago
âThe more fruitful question is not whether Woolf fits a medical category, but whether traits linked with autism shaped the originality of her vision â and what that possibility might illuminate.â âWhy I wonder if Virginia Woolf was Autisticâ, new blog on Aeon đ
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Rahul
19 days ago
Thank you for this opportunity. As someone whose worldview has become much nuanced because of Aeon, it is a privilege to be your author.
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In this short film from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, curators delve into the museumâs tarot collection â from rare hand-painted 15th-century decks to contemporary examples â tracing tarotâs evolution across ages
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Beyond fortune-telling â the enduring beauty and allure of tarot | Aeon Videos
The evolution of tarot cards through the centuries, from a game for the Italian elite to the fortune-tellersâ toolkit
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18 days ago
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Aeon essayist Joel Mokyr has won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Economics âfor having identified the prerequisites for sustained growth through technological progressâ. Weâre pleased to reshare his insightful Essay on these themes which explores Europeâs extraordinary economic growth throughout history
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How did Europe become the richest part of the world? | Aeon Essays
In a time of great powers and empires, just one region of the world experienced extraordinary economic growth. How?
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19 days ago
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New York! Join us tomorrow night as we explore the philosophy of goodness and how we find it with Katja Vogt in conversation with
@skyecleary.bsky.social
and acclaimed jazz pianist Jason Moran. Tickets still available!
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How do we know what it is to be good? â Roulette Intermedium, October 22 | Sophia Club
Since Plato, philosophers have grappled with the nature of goodness and how we come to know it. That aspiration is more urgent than ever
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19 days ago
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This Essay by the journalist Rahul Pandita provides a rare opportunity to hear from a close observer of the guerilla leaders of Indiaâs Maoist movement
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The rise and now fall of the Maoist movement in India | Aeon Essays
Indiaâs Maoist guerillas have just surrendered, after decades of waging war on the government from their forest bases
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19 days ago
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What happens when a child âsuffocates their identity in order to save their bodyâ? This extraordinary story about Jewish children who were hidden as Christians during the Holocaust has much to teach us about the effects of memory and trauma
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Children of the Holocaust buried their identities to survive | Aeon Essays
Jewish children who were âhiddenâ in Christian families during the Holocaust have much to teach us about memory and trauma
https://aeon.co/essays/children-of-the-holocaust-buried-their-identities-to-survive
20 days ago
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âDo No Harmâ tells Rainaâs story of struggle and recovery, which spans the streets of Portland, Seattle and Boston and several recovery programmes â until the unconditional support of one physician gives her the space she needs to heal
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After 17 years of addiction, Raina finds a lifeline in compassion | Aeon Videos
After 17 years of struggling with a heroin addiction, Raina finds a path to recovery through compassion and connection
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22 days ago
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Inspired by this yearâs Nobel Prize in Physiology, weâre revisiting the Aeon archive to take a closer look inward and dive into facts and discoveries about the immune system
23 days ago
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Whether or not Woolf would receive a diagnosis today, her traits and her way of experiencing the world contributed to the stunning uniqueness of her writing. Her stories open a window into a different kind of mind â and offer a glimpse of how an autistic person might perceive the world
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Why I wonder if Virginia Woolf was autistic | Aeon Essays
Could autism explain Virginia Woolfâs unique voice? Her extraordinary eye for detail and connections suggests it might
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23 days ago
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Suppose we could talk to whales â should we? In this video, biologist David Gruber and comparative anatomist Joy S Reidenberg explore the scientific and philosophical challenges of decoding whale song
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What would it mean if we were able to âspeakâ with whales? | Aeon Videos
Suppose we could talk to whales â should we? Experts explore the scientific and philosophical challenges of decoding whale song
https://buff.ly/LGPVvhX
24 days ago
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Choice is a ubiquitous part of many modern societies. But how did we get here? Based on her book âThe Age of Choiceâ â nominated as a finalist for the prestigious Cundill History Prize â Sophia Rosenfeldâs Essay argues that choice is not always the same thing as freedom
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Why an abundance of choice is not the same as freedom | Aeon Essays
Itâs only in recent history that freedom has come to mean having a huge array of choices in life. Did we take a wrong turn?
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24 days ago
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Nigel Warburton
26 days ago
Sleep is very strange
@aeon.co
aeon.co/essays/two-b...
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Two billion humans are doing something bizarre right now: sleeping | Aeon Essays
It is our biggest blind spot, a bizarre experience that befalls us every day, and canât be explained by our need for rest
https://aeon.co/essays/two-billion-humans-are-doing-something-bizarre-right-now-sleeping
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Sadie Witkowski, PhD
25 days ago
Two years ago, my husband & I's lives were radically, permanently altered. I don't know how we would have survived without our community of family, friends, and acquaintances. I wrote about our experience for
@aeon.co
psyche.co/turning-poin...
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When my husband became paralysed, our circle held us together | Psyche Turning points
A bike crash left my husband paralysed. What happened next taught me something profound about community
https://psyche.co/turning-points/when-my-husband-became-paralysed-our-circle-held-us-together
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In this instalment of the series Great Art Explained, curator, gallerist and video essayist James Payne provides a rich and rewarding tour of âThe School of Athensâ (1509-11) and reveals how Raphael turned to the past to capture the progress of his times
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How to read âThe School of Athensâ â a triumph of Renaissance art | Aeon Videos
A close look at âThe School of Athensâ reveals how Raphael turned to the past to capture the progress of his times
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25 days ago
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Despite vast technological advances in recent years and major breakthroughs in biology and medicine, there is still no unified theory of sleep. This Essay takes a step back and seeks a different angle on this bizarre experience that happens to us every day
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Two billion humans are doing something bizarre right now: sleeping | Aeon Essays
It is our biggest blind spot, a bizarre experience that befalls us every day, and canât be explained by our need for rest
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26 days ago
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The training data for generative AI is far from the sum total of human knowledge. As well as oral cultures, many languages are absent, creating significant blindspots in AIâs understanding of human experience
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Generative AI has access to a small slice of human knowledge | Aeon Essays
Huge swathes of human knowledge are missing from the internet. By definition, generative AI is shockingly ignorant too
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27 days ago
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