Bookmarks (107)

Cosmologists understand what happened after the Big Bang. But what was our Universe before then? Enter the quantum multiverse - by Aeon Video Watch at Aeon

The term is ubiquitous and double-edged. It is both a key source of authentic knowledge and a danger to true solidarity - by Patrick J Casey Read at Aeon

For a truly ‘naive melody’, listen as musicians try to mirror a song in realtime, accompanied by a dreamy animation - by Aeon Video Watch at Aeon

The lives of North Africans in France are shaped by a harrowing struggle to belong, marked by postcolonial trauma - by Farah Abdessamad Read at Aeon

Jumping the fire and shaking the house: a joyful beginner’s guide to the ancient Persian celebration of spring renewal - by Aeon Video Watch at Aeon

For Margaret Macdonald, philosophical theories are akin to stories, meant to enlarge certain aspects of human life - by Peter West Read at Aeon

We can split light by a prism, sounds by tones, but surely the world of odour is too complex and personal? Strangely, no - by Jason Castro Read at Aeon

Ever since astronomers have looked to the skies, they’ve filled their knowledge gaps with wild theories of alien life - by Aeon Video Watch at Aeon

How, a century ago, radical freethinkers quietly and persistently subverted Scotland’s Christian establishment - by Felicity Loughlin Read at Aeon

‘God gave me enough power to fight for my rights’ – hear the voices of women across Afghanistan over a year of Taliban rule - by Aeon Video Watch at Aeon

The US today has extraordinary levels of gun ownership. But to see this as a venerable tradition is to misread history - by Megan Kang Read at Aeon

Capturing the daily routines of a chain-smoking Polish couple, this short finds an unlikely poetry in life’s mundane rhythms - by Aeon Video Watch at Aeon

Going to a child psychoanalyst four times a week for three years was bad enough. Reading what she wrote about me was worse - by Michael Bacon Read at Aeon

How to use small doses of psychedelics to lift your mood, enhance your focus, and fire your creativity - by Tunde Aideyan Read at Aeon

‘There is a world of created things … in the least part of matter’: an introduction to the Universe according to Leibniz - by Aeon Video Watch at Aeon

It is time to take seriously the painful consequences of appearance discrimination in the workplace - by Andrew Mason Read at Aeon

After Ed Dwight lost out on becoming the first Black astronaut, he carved out a celebrated later career as a sculptor - by Aeon Video Watch at Aeon

In the American South, an oligarchy of planters enriched itself through slavery. Pervasive underdevelopment is their legacy - by Keri Leigh Merritt Read at Aeon

When the flame of ancient Rome goes out, a Vestal Virgin is accused of unchastity and buried alive in a ceremony of sacrifice Alt: The Vestal Virgins were tasked with keeping fire of ancient Rome alight. Their lives, and the safety of Rome, depended on it - by Aeon Video Watch at Aeon

For Bernard Stiegler, a visionary philosopher of our digital age, technics is the defining feature of human experience - by Bryan Norton Read at Aeon

‘Like colour-changing styrofoam’: a close-up look at electronic paper shows why it’s still a pale imitation of the real thing - by Aeon Video Watch at Aeon

After my marriage failed, I strove to create a new family – one made beautiful by the loving way it’s stitched together - by Lily Dunn Read at Aeon

When Bauhaus came to West Africa – Tropical Modernist architecture as a response to the spirit of its people and its climate - by Aeon Video Watch at Aeon

Scientific narratives project social hierarchies onto nature. That’s why we need better metaphors to describe cellular life - by Charudatta Navare Read at Aeon

Is a bit of shuteye on the job really such a big deal? A Swedish expat examines the Philippines’ sleep-at-work culture - by Aeon Video Watch at Aeon

H P Lovecraft, the master of cosmic horror stories, was a philosopher who believed in the total insignificance of humanity - by Sam Woodward Read at Aeon

AI could lead to new ways for people to abuse animals for financial gain. That’s why we need strong ethical guidelines - by Virginie Simoneau-Gilbert & Jonathan Birch Read at Aeon

Born of two worlds – his native Somalia and his adoptive Netherlands – life is a wild, creative journey for Abdi - by Aeon Video Watch at Aeon

Paul Tillich was a religious socialist and a profoundly subtle theologian who placed doubt at the centre of his thought - by Ted Farris Read at Aeon

We’re not the only animals that can learn complex, problem-solving behaviours from each other – bumblebees can do it too - by Aeon Video Watch at Aeon

How the ancient warrior people of the steppes have found themselves on the cultural frontlines of Russia’s war against Ukraine - by Peter Mumford Read at Aeon

A lone glaciologist performs spiritual and scientific rituals to assess humanity’s impact in Bhutan’s sacred mountains - by Aeon Video Watch at Aeon

In caring for and bearing with human suffering, hospital staff perform extreme emotional labour. Is there a better way? - by Susanna Crossman Read at Aeon

Pioneering sociologist Erving Goffman realised that every action is deeply revealing of the social norms by which we live - by Lucy McDonald Read at Aeon

When scientific pursuits are subject to human shortcomings: the Indian scientist made to wait 50 years for his Nobel Prize - by Aeon Video Watch at Aeon

Victoria Benedictsson assumed a male identity, achieved literary stardom, and took her own life. Then Strindberg stole it - by Elisabeth Åsbrink Read at Aeon

How Rick Lowe transformed the idea of ‘art as an object’ into ‘art as a process’ to build and revitalise his Houston community - by Aeon Video Watch at Aeon

To understand the terrifying futures unleashed by nuclear weapons, we urgently need to return to the deep past - by Maria Stavrinaki Read at Aeon

‘You prefer to dine at some nobody’s house!’ How an ancient Roman responded to the deep sting of being snubbed - by Aeon Video Watch at Aeon

Under the guise of empowerment and freedom, politicians and business are offloading lifethreatening risk to individuals - by Suzanne Schneider Read at Aeon

Niccolò Machiavelli’s profound insights about the violent origins of political societies help us understand the world today - by David Polansky Read at Aeon

Selfishness is an enduring part of the human condition. For Iris Murdoch, the antidote is to decentre oneself from the world - by Aeon Video Watch at Aeon

‘We’re both caught up in the music’: A hunter tries to understand his place in the cycle of living – and dying – things - by Aeon Video Watch at Aeon

Why do hunter-gatherers refuse to be sedentary? New answers are emerging from the depths of the Congolese rainforest - by Cecilia Padilla-Iglesias Read at Aeon

A father seeks to heal his community and find his granddaughter, after his son’s terrorist attack on Paris in November 2015 - by Aeon Video Watch at Aeon

Humans have a strong impulse to see things that are arbitrary or conventional as natural and essential – especially language - by Reuben Cohn-Gordon Read at Aeon

When we discovered that the brain contained a map of the body it revolutionised neuroscience. But it’s time for an update - by Moheb Costandi Read at Aeon

It wasn’t aliens, but the first interstellar object found in our solar system still has much to teach us about the cosmos - by Aeon Video Watch at Aeon

Girls are still in a bad bargain with patriarchy: the price of relationship is keeping their true thoughts to themselves - by Carol Gilligan Read at Aeon

How a playful experiment, motivated by scientists’ curiosity, could have novel applications in the realm of quantum optics - by Aeon Video Watch at Aeon