Is our cherished and time-honoured understanding of male and female brains still accurate? A close look at how we embraced some of those notions to begin, with may hold the answer to this question. humanjourney.us/blog/conditi...

An article by the late Afghan writer Idries Shah on the original purpose and little-known technical craft of storytelling for awakening human consciousness. bit.ly/3VjPebe

Given the unreliability of economic forecasts, is there a way to make our predictions in economics a little more accurate, or, at the very least, more useful? bit.ly/43kWt5Z

In some cultures, especially those of the Middle East, stories or ‘fairy tales’ have several functions. Beyond providing entertainment, inculcating morals, and passing on culture, they also provide the basis for more advanced instruction later in life. bit.ly/4oRprCH

In OUR DOLLAR, YOUR PROBLEM Kenneth Rogoff, Harvard University professor and former chief economist at the IMF, explains why the primacy of the US dollar has endured for so long, while its future remains highly untenable. bit.ly/3LmLtPf

A meta-story is a special kind of narrative. It conveys overarching insights and a bigger picture beyond the explicit tale presented. The most impactful meta-stories accustom the reader's mind to an alternate consciousness: one that is illogical, incongruous, and timeless. bit.ly/3uEYCvg

New discoveries on the Greek island of Naxos, long thought to be uninhabited until around 7,000 years ago, is rewriting assumptions about human and Neanderthal migration, navigation and life in the Aegean. bit.ly/3W4pyhW

Can we move beyond the common human tendency to think in largely dualistic terms? The wellbeing of our societies, and even their survival, may in part, depend on it. bit.ly/3RZneWK

Although the subject of pronouns are today most associated with that strange identity fixation of the culture wars, for linguists their more normal use hold keys to understanding concealed aspects of our psychology and social relations. bit.ly/46Tmr1h

“Stories are actually a form of technology. They are tools that were designed by our ancestors to alleviate depression, reduce anxiety, kindle creativity, spark courage and meet a variety of other psychological challenges of being human.” bit.ly/3IvGgQo

For much of human history, storytelling was a spoken art. But millennia of dynamic and ever-evolving oral storytelling eventually succumbed, in different times and places, to the new tool of writing. That rendered the spoken storytelling experience as static and fixed in time. bit.ly/49o5QCJ

Intelligence is usually seen as the ability to think and learn. But in a rapidly changing world, there’s another set of cognitive skills that might matter more: the ability to question our assumptions, rethink our beliefs, and change our minds. bit.ly/46K1CFJ

Batteries power the clean energy transition, but current technology is falling short. Breakthroughs in chemistry, design, and policy will decide how quickly better batteries arrive, and how much they reshape our energy future. bit.ly/42eoLyn

For most of human history, stories were spoken or sung, playing a vital role in the transmission of cultural, historical, and mythological knowledge, while providing a primary means of entertainment, education, and preserving the collective memory of the community bit.ly/4bHR6QP

What is it about stories that enables them to work as they do? To understand where stories come from, and why they are crucial to human life, we need to travel back at least 500,000 to long before the birth of our own species. bit.ly/4bHwcS2

The way in which different cultures describe and classify colors reveals differences in how they perceive the world. It also might help us better understand and navigate the increasingly polarized nature of our conversations, globally, into the future. bit.ly/4hwhsXB

In ‘The Teachers of Gurdjieff’, author Rafael Lefort traverses the Middle East and Central Asia in a quest to uncover the legacy of a famous early 20th century mystic. What he finds instead is a lot of commentary about the real meaning, and methodology, of spirituality. bit.ly/4aHMQ2f

Why you can remember a book you read last year but can't remember what you saw on social media yesterday.

In his book ‘The Righteous Mind’ social psychologist Jonathan Haidt shows how the moral judgements that determine our contending politics arise not from reason, but from gut feelings. He also explains why each side is actually right about many of its central concerns. bit.ly/3RdQZUU

Decades after Ornstein and Ehrlich published ‘New World New Mind,’ arguing the need for “conscious evolution”—for humanity to deliberately up its game—are there any indications we are heeding their call? Or is it simply: new world, same mind? humanjourney.us/.../new-worl...

In Fluke, political scientist Brian Klaas explores the phenomenon of random chance and the outsize impact it has on shaping the future. Our latest review by @melraff.bsky.social bit.ly/4eNiKOd

There is consensus that one common parent language spawned all tongues in the Indo-European language group—spoken by over 3 billion people. But that parent language, Proto-Indo-European, is known more through inference than direct evidence. The latest post from our Field Notes blog. bit.ly/407YIIf

Desalination is gaining ground as a potential long-term strategy to address shrinking freshwater reserves. It’s important to examine the capabilities, limitations, and impacts of this high-tech process—and the factors that will shape its viability as a global solution.

David Sobel MD suggests that exploring wider contexts not only alters our perceptions in general, but also reframes more healthily how we regard ourselves in respect to the bigger picture.

As artificial intelligence grows in leaps and bounds, so too does the idea that “the robots are taking over”. But as Ella Jane Mortensen writes, the dangers of AI may lie as much in their impact on our minds and culture. Our latest from the Field Notes. bit.ly/4n0CyRY

When groups demand excessive conformity, they negate some of their greatest assets: dissenting views and a diversity of perspective. Group decisions—and the avoidance of mediocrity—hinge upon collectives drawing on their ‘cognitive diversity.’

The idea of multiple personalities is often associated with severe clinical conditions, but as John Zada writes we are all affected by a smaller version of this phenomenon which pays high dividends to understand and bring under greater control. Our latest from the Human Journey blog. bit.ly/43Z9IZJ

Europe faces escalating climate challenges, from heatwaves to rising sea levels. As the continent strives for a sustainable future, bold actions like green energy investments and climate laws are transforming everyday life. bit.ly/4kj4Zcb

“Today, extreme political positions and polarization are on the rise… Yet, as much as we can see others being manipulated or blindly caught up in the herd, we are often oblivious when it happens to us.” bit.ly/3vdDxES

Economists have long used forecasting and predictions to approach the unknown. But the accuracy of such crystal balling is more often flawed than not—and for a variety of complex and interrelated reasons. Our latest from the Field Notes. bit.ly/3HglSFy

In 'God 4.0', Robert and Sally Ornstein combine ancient teachings with modern science to come up with a new psychology of spiritual experience. This book explores what it means to go beyond our ordinary perception of reality. bit.ly/3UHVzwm

Statistics, whether in the service of advertising or politics, don't just hide the truth—they guide your mind to a version, or interpretation, of it. Our latest from the Field Notes team. bit.ly/4k7Q5EY @ayubkhonazamov.bsky.social

As ice patches and glaciers melt in Norway’s mountains, ancient artefacts that were once lost on the snow are now emerging, having been frozen for millennia. Norway is at the forefront of this emerging field of research, called glacial archaeology. 1/2

#sufism #psychology

Community health workers (CHWs) play a vital role in global healthcare systems, but challenges placed on their work are putting strain on the communities they serve. bit.ly/4lStAWm

Our culture tends to overlook the importance for us to cultivate meaning in our lives. Denise Winn, a psychotherapist and journalist, illustrates how crucial it is to do so: whether as a pathway to survival, mental health, or seeing the bigger picture. bit.ly/3jTvbQi

With few exceptions, ancient humans painted the same 32 geometric signs in caves all over Europe over a 30,000-year timespan. Paleoanthropologist Genevieve von Petzinger asks: What were they trying to say to each other—and to us? youtu.be/hJnEQCMA5Sg

Traditional stories and folklore, through the dynamic movement of its characters and narrative, and by way of its various devices, can convey implicit meaning to a part of ourselves and help give us insight into the metaphysical nature of the world. bit.ly/3FX1Ijr

In our screen and achievement-obsessed culture, the play instincts of children are being smothered, inhibiting their natural creativity and curiosity. Loosening the reins on childhood can help begin to fix that. Our latest post from the Field Notes.

As concern rises about the #H5N1 or “bird flu” virus, will the lessons learned about the COVID-19 pandemic be squandered—especially in the current political environment of the United States? bit.ly/4cnhUqf