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Sally Davies

Senior Editor, Aeon+Psyche

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.

Edited by Sally Davies

A woman in a black veil stands on a street in front of a building with a colourful sign and closed shops.

Human rights and justice

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The day the Taliban banned women like me from working

With my daughters’ education cancelled, I thought the regime had done its worst. Then a new message came from my office

by Nargis

Double exposure image of a person and a landscape, showing a silhouette overlaid with a scenic view of mountains and a river.

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

A close-up of a vibrant green hummingbird in flight, with wings blurry and a blurred green background.

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

Photo of a lone mountaineer walking in misty snowy terrain with climbing gear and an ice axe, heading towards foggy peaks.

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

Close-up photo of a mushroom in an autumn forest surrounded by fallen leaves and trees in the background.

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

Photo of people waiting on a train platform standing on marked spots as a train speeds past in the background.

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

Photo of a child in a silver suit and snorkelling mask looking out of a window at a grassy landscape.

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

Photo of a person with pink nails covering their face with clasped hands near a window.

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

Photo of a person using facial recognition in a dimly lit hallway with illuminated screens on the walls.

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

Persian painting depicting a seated figure with followers in colourful robes above a river scene with mountains and skeletal figures.

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

Photo of a man walking and a child on a hoverboard near a pink house and a ‘Dead End’ sign on a suburban street.

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

A painting of a distressed, partially nude woman overlooked by two older men in red and black robes who are whispering to each other.

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