Creativity and the arts
Music
idea
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
Dance
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How dance taught me to embrace my deformity
In the raw style of Tanztheater, I found a way to take my poetry into the physical world and express myself authentically
by Billy Gigurtsis
Stories and literature
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Fiction has a special power to give us insight into our flaws
Losing yourself in a book, film or show provides a useful mirror for character – one that is hard to access in real life
by Martina Orlandi
Music
idea
Ancient Greek ideas of attunement can breathe new life into music
In Athenian philosophy, attunement is important not only in music, but also for moods, attitudes and states of mind
by John Bagby
Play
idea
The achievement society is burning us out, we need more play
This is about more than a self-help switch – it will take structural changes to reject capitalism’s productivity obsession
by Alec Stubbs
Transcendent experience
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Our days are both rough and slippery. Hope brings traction
I want to defend and buoy hope – it’s a fragile, quirky thing, but it has the power to help us act in the face of finitude
by John Lysaker
Emerging therapies
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Could that tingle down the spine be a way to rediscover joy?
In new research, scientists have looked into the potential benefits of giving people with depression the aesthetic chills
by Shayla Love
Laughter and comedy
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Absurdist comedy is uniquely brilliant at conveying human pain
On stage as Mr Fruit Salad, I’ve seen how the bizarre and ridiculous can convey deep meaning in a way that resonates
by Joz Norris
Psychoanalysis and the unconscious
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For Jung, architecture was a tool to represent the psyche
Carl Jung’s approach to architecture is a provocation: how are we creating spaces for the forgotten dimensions of our minds?
by David Borkenhagen
Dance
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Bharathanatyam dance is a living exploration of being human
With its origins in 16th-century India, Bharathanatyam remains hugely popular. Here’s a primer to kickstart your enjoyment
by Lakshmi Thiagarajan
Thinking and intelligence
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Innovative three-year-olds expose the limits of AI chatbots
New experiments show that very young children are better at solving creative puzzles than ChatGPT and other AI models
by Shayla Love
Sex and sexuality
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My take on ‘Venus in Furs’ as a modern-day dominatrix
My experiences as a 21st-century femdom echo the gendered themes that feature in Leopold von Sacher-Masoch’s 1870 novel
by Gia Marcos