The Empathy Machine
When you think about Sherlock Holmes, chances are it's not his big, warm heart and his generous nature that come to mind. In fact, you might think of him as a cold fish. Yet in 'Silver Blaze', Arthur Conan Doyle's story of the gallant racehorse who disappeared, Holmes takes an imaginative leap, not only into another human mind, but into the mind of an animal. This perspective-taking, being able to... posted on Mar 15 2013, 7,547 reads

Letters From Strangers Save Teen's Life
"Words have power. They can tear a person down, or build someone back up -- as we found on the road in Columbia, Maryland "There are a lot of kids out there that suffer depression and anxiety," said seventh-grader Noah Brocklebank. And not many are willing to talk about it on national television. "Not many are willing to talk about it, period," said Noah." When Noah posted a note on Facebook about... posted on Mar 14 2013, 7,345 reads

Insights From The Science of Meaningful Life
"'The science of a meaningful life'-- has exploded over the past 10 years, with many more studies published each year on gratitude, mindfulness, and our other core themes than we saw a decade ago. 2012 was no exception. In fact, in the year just past, new findings added nuance, depth, and even some caveats to our understanding of the science of a meaningful life. Here are 10 of the scientific insi... posted on Mar 13 2013, 19,388 reads

Jane Goodall: On the Future of Plants & Chimps
"Over the course of 45 years studying the chimpanzees of Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania, Jane Goodall revolutionized our understanding of our closest primate relatives. A champion of animal conservation and the author of 26 books, she turns her attention for the first time to plants with her upcoming book Seeds of Hope: Wisdom and Wonder from the World of Plants." In this interview the ren... posted on Mar 12 2013, 4,465 reads

The Library Cat Who Touched The World
"Vicki Myron, the former director of the Spencer, Iowa, public library, tells the true story of the tiny, frozen kitten she found pushed through the book-return slot one bitter-cold January morning in 1988. She and her staff revived him -- and decided to keep him. They named him Dewey (naturally) and he lived the rest of his 19-plus years in Spencer's library. Dewey greeted patrons when they arriv... posted on Mar 11 2013, 7,753 reads

Until I Say Goodbye
"Susan Spencer-Wendel knows how to spend a year. She left her job as an award-winning criminal courts reporter and went to the Yukon to see the northern lights. Then to Cyprus, to meet family that she never knew. She and her husband, John, took their children on trips on which her daughter got to try on wedding dresses and Susan got kissed by a dolphin.She also got a new dog, put a splendid hut in... posted on Mar 10 2013, 12,821 reads

Mr. Wright's Law of Love
No one falls asleep in Jeffrey Wright's high school physics class. Exploding pumpkins, hovercrafts and an experiment involving a bed of nails, a cinder block and a sledgehammer, are some of the crazy stunts that keep the students enthralled. But it is a simple lecture - one without props or fireballs - that makes the greatest impression on his students each year. The talk is about Mr. Wright's exp... posted on Mar 09 2013, 7,533 reads

Could Boredom Be Curable?
"Philosophers and scientists alike have found ways to describe boredom as an experience, from the ochlos of ancient Greeks to the unresolved conflicts of modern psychodynamic theory. But when it comes to what actually triggers boredom, an answer has remained elusive. Boredom can occur in a perplexingly broad range of situations and seems to involve both our external environment and our inner resou... posted on Mar 08 2013, 6,967 reads

Happiness the Hard Way
People prior to the late 17th century thought happiness was a matter of luck or virtue or divine favor. Today we think of happiness as a right and a skill that can be developed. This has been liberating, in some respects, because it asks us to strive to improve our lots in life, individually and collectively. But there have been downsides as well. It seems that when we want to be happy all of the ... posted on Mar 07 2013, 13,434 reads

The Repair Cafe
"In 2010 in the Netherlands, disgust with Europe's throw-away culture led former journalist and new mom Martine Postma to stage the first Repair Cafe, an event where members of the community could drop by with defunct items they would otherwise have thrown away, and have them repaired free of charge by volunteer fix-it experts. Since then, Postma's concept has thrived. Almost 40 groups across the ... posted on Mar 06 2013, 8,394 reads