Sally Davies
Sally is a writer and editor with interests spanning science, philosophy, feminism and the arts. She was digital editor of FT Weekend and the technology and innovation correspondent for the Financial Times. Sally founded the Libreria bookshop in east London as its director, and was on the original editorial team of Nautilus Magazine. She can be found on Twitter @daviesally.
Edited by Sally Davies
Depression
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Depression is more than low mood – it’s a change of consciousness
Understanding depression as an altered state of consciousness, like a dream or drug trip, could help people awaken from it
by Cecily Whiteley & Jonathan Birch
Nature and the environment
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A vast, thrilling world of nature unfolds outside of human time
Human life might stretch over decades, but the lifespans of many other organisms on this pale blue dot leave us in the dust
by Nicholas P Money
Mindfulness and meditation
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Meditation is like mountaineering: approach it with care
We speak of meditation as exercise, something that’s good for everyone. But, like scaling a mountain, you must use caution
by Nicholas Van Dam
Nature and the environment
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The fungal mind: on the evidence for mushroom intelligence
The evidence for fungal intelligence is in: they can operate as individuals, make decisions, learn, and have short-term memory
by Nicholas P Money
Community
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The behavioural immune system protects us, but at what cost?
The COVID-19 pandemic created an unplanned social experiment on skin hunger and touch aversion. How will our politics suffer?
by Manos Tsakiris
Knowledge and reason
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Imagine you could insert knowledge into your mind: should you?
What does the knowledge insertion thought-experiment tell us about the costs and benefits of the learning experience?
by John Tillson
Personality
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Is improving your personality a moral duty or a category confusion?
The distinction between fixed personality and willed character is murky. Could improving your personality be a moral duty?
by T Ryan Byerly
Technology and media
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Should we be concerned that the decisions of AIs are inscrutable?
Machine learning is a black box – even when the decision is correct, how the algorithm arrived at it can be a mystery
by John Zerilli
The body and physical health
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Magic helped us in pandemics before, and it can again
Magic always booms during pandemics, whether past or present – but that response might not be as irrational as it seems
by Matthew Melvin-Koushki
Technology and media
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To be more tech-savvy, borrow these strategies from the Amish
With their focus on values and intentionality, the Amish offer a lesson in thinking critically about digital technology
by Alex Mayyasi
Artists and art history
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What art history reveals about the rise of anti-feminist women
How can anyone favour a patriarchal system that routinely harms them? On Susanna and the Elders and anti-feminist women
by Paula Keller
Ageing
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The radical impact of seeing Alzheimer’s as a second childhood
Even if the retrogenesis model isn’t strictly true, seeing Alzheimer’s as a second childhood impacts radically on patient care
by Han Yu