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A group of people shown through reflective surfaces creating a layered effect, one wears a purple ribbon.

Communication and language

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To have deeper conversations, try being more of an asshole

Conversation is a game with rules about politeness and norms. To move beyond small talk, you need to risk breaking them

by Idil Çakmur

Painting with surreal figures including a fish-headed person and abstract human forms with a dark sky.

Communication and language

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Let me open a treasure chest to explain how metaphor works

Once maligned by philosophers, metaphors are a key communication tool for extending the power of literal speech

by Elek Lane

A classical painting of two women and a man in a lavishly decorated room with ornate furniture and clothing, 19th century style.

Ethics

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The curious paradox in how we address each other today

While honouring people’s preferred pronouns, we’ve begun to neglect forms of formal address. Perhaps we need a rethink

by David Benatar

A kakapo, a flightless parrot, perched on a mossy branch in a forest setting.

Cultural diversity

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Insularity can be a good thing, for creatures and cultures alike

The plight of threatened species can help us understand – and respond to – the endangerment of local ideas and practices

by Antone Martinho-Truswell

A group of people engaged in a heated discussion outdoors with diverse expressions and gestures.

Communication and language

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Why every utterance you make begins with a leap of faith

Time pressure and the limitations of memory compel you and your listener to engage in a fascinating linguistic trade-off

by Julie Sedivy

An ancient Greek clay jug with red stripes and inscriptions against a dark background.

Communication and language

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I am an article about the speaking objects of ancient Greece

Talkative drinking cups and threatening oil flasks tell us how the written word asserted its authority in an oral society

by Teddy Fassberg

Photo of an aeroplane parked at Bologna Airport with the terminal and control tower in the background.

Communication and language

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Speaking a different language can change how you act and feel

For many multilinguals, switching between tongues can lead to shifts in personality, revealing the malleability of the self

by Antonella Gismundi

Photo of a bustling night market with colourful tricycles, a crowded street and illuminated stalls in the background.

Communication and language

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The tentacles of language are always on the move

An evolutionary biologist explains how human language can shift as slowly or rapidly as organisms adapting to life on Earth

by Klaus M Stiefel

Photo of people socialising in a pub, with one person gesturing animatedly while others listen and smile.

Thinking and intelligence

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Expert tips on using gestures to think and talk more effectively

The gesticulations that accompany your speech are so much more than mere hand-waving – they contain and convey meaning

by Susan Goldin-Meadow

Photo of two people sitting on a park bench, one with their arm around the other, surrounded by grass and fallen petals.

Communication and language

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Why that hard conversation will probably go better than you think

If you’ve delayed raising a touchy issue, fearing it will backfire, new research could give you the confidence you need

by Matt Huston

Photo of two people observing a museum display of a Indigenous head with feathers and fur in a glass case.

Communication and language

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This is what a Neanderthal conversation would have sounded like

Neanderthals had language, but it differed from ours in an important way that could help explain our superior art and tech

by Steven Mithen

Photo of three humpback whales swimming underwater in a dark blue ocean, illuminated by sunlight filtering through the water.

Music

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I learned to hear the music of Earth’s underwater musicians

If we consider the sounds of whales and other organisms with an open mind, we find a strange beauty – and can even join in

by David Rothenberg