Why our flawed, flexible memories come with social benefits
Though relationships are grounded in shared memories, some gaps and inaccuracies can help us live well in a social world
by Gillian Murphy & Ciara Greene
How do transgender people remember their earlier selves?
Research with transgender people sheds light on the memory processes that allow any of us to navigate periods of change
by Caleb Schlaupitz
When memories from fiction become part of who you are
Scenes from books, movies and games sometimes carry as much weight as events from people’s own lives. We’re finding out why
by Osman Görkem Çetin
Ideas
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Guides
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How to handle a mismatch in sexual desire
A difference in sexual appetite is a common source of tension for couples. Don’t ignore it – turn toward it with curiosity
by Ann O’Brien
How to respond to offensive comments in a thoughtful way
When someone insults you or people you care about, this advice can help you figure out whether to speak up and what to say
by Alicia del Prado
Life stories
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Love, shame and 325 bags of trash
In my mother’s hoarding house, I found something I wanted to keep
by Deborah Derrickson Kossmann
Editor’s picks
More radical and practical than Stoicism – discover Shugendō
As they train for their own deaths, Japan’s mountain priests develop a form of acceptance that goes beyond the Stoics
by Tim Bunting
The Quechua idea ‘pacha’ urges us beyond narrow self-concern
The Quechua term ‘pacha’ embodies an Andean worldview that sees everything as related, transcending narrow self-interest
by Jorge Sanchez Perez
Latest videos
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Perhaps the weirdest experience you’ll have sober, what exactly is déjà vu?
A video by BBC Ideas
An Aboriginal painter depicts scenes from her youth in this beautiful short
Small talk is an art, not a triviality. Here’s how you can master it
This sculptor finds deep weirdness – not divinity – in the human form
At 84, Jun lives to shock. His next act? A living funeral no one asked for
A mysterious black orb trails Mo, growing ever harder to ignore
Lonely in London, a filmmaker sets out to make a new friend
Notes to self
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Popular reads
Why do beautiful people also seem smart and likeable?
Psychologists have known about the ‘halo effect’ for ages. New research suggests the power of language can help explain it
by Chris F Westbury & Daniel King
How to respond to offensive comments in a thoughtful way
When someone insults you or people you care about, this advice can help you figure out whether to speak up and what to say
by Alicia del Prado
We can live well, even though we don’t have a higher purpose
The novelist and poet Ursula K Le Guin shows we can reject nihilism and naive optimism by practising our collective freedom
by Alexis Shotwell
When memories from fiction become part of who you are
Scenes from books, movies and games sometimes carry as much weight as events from people’s own lives. We’re finding out why
by Osman Görkem Çetin
I was sceptical about breathwork so I did my own research
Breathwork changed my life, but I heard the sceptics. Several studies later, I’m more convinced than ever of its benefits
by Guy W Fincham
To resist dogma and accept uncertainty, think like a pragmatist
Founded in 19th-century America, the philosophy of pragmatism promises imaginative ways of coping with our circumstances
by Michael Bacon
How to handle a mismatch in sexual desire
A difference in sexual appetite is a common source of tension for couples. Don’t ignore it – turn toward it with curiosity
by Ann O’Brien
These lessons in scepticism could make the world a better place
In our age of certainty and dogma, we would all do well to learn from the philosophy of the ancient Greco-Roman sceptics
by Massimo Pigliucci
