Social life
From the moment you are born, you live in one body. This body grounds your perspective: you see, hear, and feel the world from this single point of view. Yet this also means you are stuck inside it. You can never truly know what it is like to be someone else. Or can you? With a few clever tricks, your brain can be persuaded that you have stepped into another body. This is the body-swap illusion.
“Humans are social animals” is an understatement. In this blog, we dive into why humans are super-social animals and why we need to study the human brain beyond the individual and in the context of the culture that has evolved it.
Were you called a genius, visionary, or brilliant by an LLM (large language model) based on the last idea you discussed with it? But deep down, you know that the idea was half-baked and needed major refinement? The over-the-top ego massage may lead to an egoistic society. Read further to know why and how to stop it.
Love takes on many shapes and forms; it can move mountains, remain unrequited, or last a lifetime. It has the power to make us feel like the happiest person in the world, but also the saddest. Arguably the most powerful emotion of all, love can largely be explained by what happens in our brains. But can it really be reduced to biochemical signals?
Whether it is your sister’s birthday or your parents’ anniversary, the search for the perfect gift begins! But what actually happens in our minds when we give a gift? And is it really true that giving gifts makes us happier than receiving?
Winter’s long nights and short days already challenge our sleep cycles. Add blue light from screens and artificial lighting into the mix, and your circadian rhythm can spiral into chaos. Here’s a quick dive into why blue light disrupts sleep more during winter and what you can do about it.
Stereotypes help us navigate social situations, but they can also mislead us. What happens when our assumptions clash with reality? Using a unique communication game, researchers reveal how feedback reshapes our behavior and how early experiences influence our ability to adapt.
The Internet is packed with content aimed at grabbing your attention, because attention is the internet’s currency. You may have noticed that posts that provoke negative reactions often generate a lot of engagement on social media. I try to figure out why.
The book Surrounded by Idiots tries to explain human behavior by dividing people into four color-coded categories, but completely lacks validity. You are not surrounded by idiots, and let’s now also make sure you are not being the idiot yourself.
What makes a joke funny? What goes on in our brains when we produce or conceive a joke?