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CAM

Cameron Allan McKean

Editor, Aeon+Psyche

Cameron is a writer, editor and underwater anthropologist in Melbourne, Australia. After a decade in Tokyo working as an arts journalist, he began doctoral studies at Deakin University involving fieldwork with scientists and divers at coral reefs in the Pacific Ocean. Cameron is a former books and culture editor for The Japan Times, and a past contributor to CNN, ArtAsiaPacific, Dwell, Apartamento, and art-agenda.

Edited by Cameron Allan McKean

An otter rolling on a moss-covered rock, eyes closed in a relaxed pose with a blurry background.

Animals

idea

You can think like an animal by silencing your chattering brain

The desire is partly whimsical, but a brief shapeshift across the taxonomic gulf could help us better empathise with animals

by Bryony Tolhurst

Photo of a person driving at night with dashboard lights on and a road visible ahead through the car windscreen.

Technology and media

idea

The reason that even hands-free calls are risky for drivers

Cars are filled with ever more communication and entertainment tech, but our minds are stuck with the same limitations

by Robert Rosenberger

Photo of an earthworm on rough grey asphalt surface with visible texture and sunlight casting shadows.

Bioethics

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Why, in a universe of pain, I’m saving stranded earthworms

Any action can seem futile amid so much suffering. I’ve realised the important thing is to stop despairing and do something

by Claire E Schultz

People sitting and walking through a city square on a sunny day, with a red brick building and large advertising posters covering other buildings.

Stories and literature

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Your life is not a story: why narrative thinking holds you back

Our stories help us make sense of a chaotic world, but they can be harmful and restrictive. There’s a liberating alternative

by Karen Simecek

Medieval painting of two figures in a garden, one in a pink robe holding flowers, the other in a red robe beneath a tree.

Music

idea

Why did bloody knights write love songs about spring blossoms?

The masculinity of medieval knighthood was expansive enough for both graphic violence and the joys of a flower meadow

by Jennifer Saltzstein

Bas-relief sculpture depicting the three most important figures of the Eleusianian Mysteries: the goddess of agriculture and abundance Demeter, her daughter Persephone, queen of the Underworld, and the Eleusinian hero Triptolemus, in what appears to be a rite. Triptolemus stands in the centre, the two goddesses stand either side.

Rituals and celebrations

idea

For Plato, rationalists and mystics can walk the same path

Why did such a keen proponent of reason turn to the Eleusinian Mysteries to explain his ideas about knowledge?

by Sam Woodward

Two women wearing bathing suits sit on a rock by a waterfall in nature; one has her arm around the other. Towels are draped over the rock.

Nature and the environment

idea

Rewilding attachment theory by recognising Earth as a caregiver

We are raised by people, but we are also raised by the Earth – here’s what that means for our emotional development

by Vanessa Chakour

Two women painting together at a table. The one in the foreground is older, wears glasses and is focused on her brushstroke.

Brain injury and dementia

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Dementia is not a death. For some, it marks a new beginning

Advocates are reframing the syndrome as a different way of being – one in which potential for growth and connection endures

by Isabel Sutton

Shattered glass fragments scattered on a grey surface with a blurred background. Some pieces are mid-air, capturing the moment of a glass object crashing and breaking. The image portrays motion and impact.

Grief

idea

Grief is not a process with five stages. It is shattered glass

The five stages describe a grief that’s knowable and controlled. An accident in my kitchen helped me find a truer metaphor

by Joshua Thomas

A person walking on a fallen tree trunk in a dense, lush forest with tall trees and abundant greenery.

Transcendent experience

idea

Do you find the 21st century overstimulating? Try ‘longstorming’

As the treadmill of life speeds up, sublime outdoor spaces help us tap into timescales that are longer, slower, planetary

by Vincent Ialenti

Painting depicts a casino scene with people gathered around a green roulette table. The players are engaged, focused on the game. The roulette wheel is visible on the right side, and a green lamp hangs above. The scene is vibrant, with expressive brushstrokes and vivid colours.

Knowledge and reason

idea

What we gain by recognising the role of chance in life

Appreciating the world is random can foster perseverance, gratitude for our own luck and empathy for the plight of others

by Mark R Rank

Three humpback whales viewed underwater

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