The Risky Business of Life
We see our world through a warped lens, shaped by the risks our ancestors faced through human evolution. We're still on the lookout for predators and snakes, but have a hard time dealing with long-term...
View ArticlePredators and Social Security
How we see risks in our lives is the result of millions of years of evolution that shaped our species, making us who we are today. Predators were a major evolutionary force, driving early human...
View ArticleAdapted for a Changing World
When looking for clues about the origin of humanity, the Great Rift Valley in East Africa is the place to go. One view is that humanity was shaped by a changing climate in this ancient region, making...
View ArticleTaking Risks to Attract Women
Men have a reputation for taking more risks than women. One motivation for this might be to attract women.
View ArticleClimate Change: A Psychological Challenge
Climate change is a big problem without quick or easy answers, making denial an attractive solution. Real solutions should avoid the fear, anxiety, and gloom that drive us toward denial and away from...
View ArticleSex and the Single Primate
Men are drawn to take risks in pursuit of women. A photo of a pretty face is all it takes for men to reduce how risky sex seems to them.
View ArticleThe Gift of a Crisis
We can respond to a crisis by seeing ourself as a victim or by rising to overcome it and working for a greater purpose.
View ArticleGetting Honest About Sex and Why We Do It
People are not always open or honest about sex, and don't always fully understand it, but by telling their stories anonymously in The Sex Diaries Project, people reveal the risks they take and why they...
View ArticleThe Meaning of Near Death Experiences in This Life
The explanation for near death experiences is often debated, but whatever their explanation these experiences have a profound impact on those who have them.
View ArticleWhen Experience Is Not the Best Teacher
As Hurricane Sandy nears the East Coast, many are preparing and evacuating but not everyone will head the warnings. It is said that experience is the best teacher, but experience teaches us the wrong...
View ArticleThe Thing We Fear More Than Death
Humans evolved as social animals to defend themselves from predators and other threats. Being rejected from the group was probably as good as death for early humans, left to survive on their own. We...
View ArticleControl Freak or Healthy Sense of Control?
Having control in our lives is a basic human need, and a lack of it leads to depression and anxiety, but pursuing control to relieve anxiety can lead some people to become "control freaks", impinging...
View ArticleThe Allure of Romance
Romance novels are the best-selling genre in fiction because they promise not just love, but the evolutionary need for fit, fertile, and committed mates.
View Article
