Who knew crows are so much like us? — While chatting with a childhood friend, she told me her dad recently befriended a crow. She visited her parents over the holidays and said she’d often see her dad staring out into the yard. When she asked what he was doing, he’d say, “Oh, just saying hi to my crow…

Those who experience Ticker Tape Synesthesia see subtitles throughout everyday life — We spend most of our lives assuming everyone else’s mind works like ours does. I’m not talking about neurology or even psychology, though. I mean the literal experience of our mind or consciousness. For instance, some people don’t have internal monologues, while others are ‘mind blind,’ and a whole array…

And the increased health risks of repeat infections — I haven’t written much about the pandemic for a few reasons. One of which is because the virus is unlike anything we’ve encountered before, and I wanted to wait until experts knew more about it. The last thing I want is to contribute to the spread of dis or misinformation…

The discovery is an unexpected bonus of a different mission. — Who doesn’t love a happy accident? Especially ones that result in discoveries, like penicillin, silly putty, or brandy. Well, NASA recently announced an unintended benefit of a program they created — identifying the largest methane polluters in the world. Because of methane's lifespan in global warming, decreasing it would likely…

Auditory mental experiences are as unique as we are — I don’t know about you, but I’m a verbal processor, which is probably why I enjoy writing. My mind experience consists of a rich internal monologue with varying intensity levels, but my inner vision, or “mind’s eye,” is weak and fuzzy at best. I used to think everyone’s mind was…

How much do our personalities change throughout life, and how much control do we have? — Some embrace change, and constantly search for ways to grow. While others have no desire to change and are perfectly content with who they are. Some think people can change, while plenty of others are convinced no one ever really changes. So who’s right? Do we, or can we, change…

And they aren’t the first society to claim alien protections — I want to have a little fun this week, so I’m going to talk about aliens — because why not? I know the topic tends to receive some eye-rolls, but I also know it’s a guilty pleasure we enjoy theorizing about. I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but I totally believe…

Despite our capitalist, constant growth mindset, Nature doesn’t always adhere to graphs or projections — The image above is called the Birth Machine and is the creation of Swiss artist H.G. Giger. It shows inside a 9mm gun, with infants as the bullets, outfitted with goggles and rifles. According to the artist’s website, the entire artwork reflects Giger’s “strongly held belief that the greatest threat…

Researchers know some physical reasons to explain sighing but are lost about its relationship to our emotions — So, apparently, I sigh a lot. Over the years, I’m frequently asked by friends, roommates, coworkers, and acquaintances whether I’m okay. They often interpret my sighs as annoyance or frustration, but I always respond, “I’m good, just breathing.” Most of the time, I’m completely oblivious to my sighs until someone…