Conflict and conflict resolution
idea
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
Thinking and intelligence
idea
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
Compassion and empathy
guide
How to make someone feel seen and heard
Validation skills are not only useful for therapists. Learn them and you’ll improve your personal and work relationships
by Caroline Fleck
Meaning and the good life
idea
Is modern asceticism about conformity or quiet revolution?
From detoxes to slow food, today’s asceticism is often about fitting in. But we can rediscover its transformative power
by Iryna Mykhailova
Thinkers and theories
idea
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
Popular this month
Communication and language
idea
Metaphors open up our minds – but can also shut them down
The best analogies in poetry and science really crackle, but when do they expand our thinking and when do they constrain it?
by Claire O’Callaghan
Parenting and families
idea
The history of family offers a liberating view of custom and love
Chronicling the families of the past shows just how much family values, feelings and decision-making can morph over time
by Katie Barclay
Mental health
idea
How to tell if someone is hoarding – and provide effective help
For many, letting go of possessions is intensely stressful, even when the clutter puts them at risk. Here’s what you can do
by Michael A Tompkins
Memory and nostalgia
idea
Before it was ‘bittersweet’, nostalgia was seen as a parasite
Early modern ideas about nostalgia, infused with the elements of horror, invite us to think more deeply about human longing
by Jac Lewis
Theatre and performance
film
The barbarians are at the gates in this electric Laurie Anderson performance
Video by All Arts
Drugs and psychedelics
idea
Psychedelics are philosophical tools for demolishing assumptions
By shaking up our sense of how things are, substances like LSD or psilocybin have the potential to promote deep learning
by David J Blacker
Trauma and PTSD
idea
Why it matters that trauma affects women and men differently
They are too often ignored, yet sex differences affect the kind of trauma people experience and the effect it has on them
by Klára Hanáková
Virtues and vices
idea
Equanimity is not stillness – it is a mobility of the mind
To grasp the power of this lauded quality, think of it less as a mountain than as a flexible, even playful way of seeing
by Michael Uebel
Habits and routines
film
Mzia the elevator operator leaves her post for the first time in two decades
Directed by Madeline Leary
Neurodiversity
idea
Why we should think of neurodiversity like we do personality
It’s a mistake to frame autistic and ADHD traits as either deficits or mere differences. There’s another way to see them
by Joshua May
Change and self-development
idea
How to find inner peace like Saint Teresa of Ávila
The 16th-century ‘spiritual rock-star’ shows how seeing your soul as a castle can be a source of strength and consolation
by Skye C Cleary
Knowledge and reason
idea
There is knowledge in the land as well as in ourselves
Indigenous Australian knowledge systems understand what Descartes didn’t – the natural world has important things to tell us
by Andrew Kirkpatrick