The Biological Case for Criminal Justice Reform
“We’ve successfully banished the notion of punishment in that realm,” Sapolsky writes. “It may take centuries, but we can do the same in all our current arenas of punishment.”
Hypothesis
40 articles
What Sadomasochism Can Teach Us About Human Sexuality
Notwithstanding the ever-expanding reach of Darwinism away from sexuality, the exploration of the evolutionary roots of human sexual behavior is not yet complete.
Using Social Media Scientifically
Seeking viewpoint diversity brings us to the final way to use social media scientifically: keeping our information channels open as best we can.
Why Powerful People Fail to Stop Bad Behaviour by Their Underlings
Although the failure to stop an unethical practice is often attributed to character problems such as greed, sexism or the relentless pursuit of self-interest, our explanation is subtler.
Why Growth Most Often Occurs When We Fall Apart
I find this theory to be a very elegant explanation of human potential and the process of growth and change.
How the Fall of the Berlin Wall Created Political Gridlock in the US
From an evolutionary perspective the current domestic political crisis can thus be understood as an aftershock of the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Why Did Humans Evolve Big Penises but Small Testicles?
Somewhere in our evolutionary past how smart and social we are became the major control on our access to sexual partners — not how big or fancy a male’s penis is.
What's the Point of Sex? It's Communication at a Biological Level
The importance of sex in creating the right environment for healthy pregnancy is also observed in clinical studies in IVF and other methods of assisted reproduction.
The Mathematics of Happiness
It is popular wisdom that there are many things in this world that just can’t be quantified. It may be the case, as sociologist William Bruce Cameron suggested, that “not all the counts can be counted”.
Purity and Tolerance: The Contradictory Morality of College Campuses
Moral cultures reflect their social structures, and victimhood culture is no different: It occurs in a context where there is cultural diversity, social equality, and stable authority.
Gossip Is a Social Skill—Not a Character Flaw
Gossip can actually be thought of not as a character flaw, but as a highly evolved social skill.
Original Sin: The Sexual Motivation of Religious Extremists
This misguided reticence is a product of archaic cultural mores that make sex a thing of shame for women, but one of pride for men.