There is an elegant economy in the word "mama." It appears across languages so diverse, so geographically and culturally separated, that its persistence feels almost inevitable. Yet there's nothing accidental about it. Mama exists everywhere for a simple reason: it works. The story begins in the mouths of infants. When babies first discover their voices, they babble with open vowels and soft consonants, sounds that require minimal coordination of their still-developing vocal

I was in a social setting. We were talking about some interesting issues regarding evolution and certain observations that are interesting, like how our teeth evolved to become smaller after we have invented fire and started to eat cooked food, and how as a result, wisdom teeth are no longer needed, that’s why they are being phased out, and so on. A lady was on our table, and she was engrossed with what I was saying, and she was looking at me intently, absorbed by the narrati

Sugar Spice Salt The three Ss The trinity of human dissatisfaction. They reveal humanity's defining characteristic: we cannot accept things as nature provides them. Every other species eats food in its natural state, but humans must season, sweeten, and spice up everything. This seems like a minor quirk of human behavior until you realize that our inability to be satisfied with natural flavors is so acute it literally shaped world history. A tomato exists perfectly well as a

Whenever someone dies, there's always that person who announces to anyone within earshot: "I just saw him two days ago."  As if their...

Anyone who uses the word "caveat" in casual conversation is trying too hard to sound intelligent.  It's a perfectly clear signal that...

I hate it when people say "it's going to be OK" because it's not going to be.  Sometimes, most times in fact, things are genuinely not...

Sometimes people who profess a love for solitude are crying for help with pride.

Brute, comes from Bruta, meaning ugly.  So we made this equation a long time ago. When I was young I liked Ellen degeneris program , “Buy...

After every divorce, job termination, or medical diagnosis, you'll hear the same phrase: "Part of me knew this was coming."  It's spoken...

Why do people say this? Why not just say “she knew”, or “deep down, she knew”?  Why go the extra step?  Why the layered metaphor, the...

Miracles are bribes for believers who are looking for a proof for their belief. Miracles are not for the unbelievers.They’re for the ones...

Up to very recently, if you were a talented artist, a painter, you would have been close to kings and queens and popes. Now a brilliantly...

I've always been curious about how quickly and unanimously people recognize a great voice.  You can put someone with exceptional vocal...

"Everything looks normal." These might be the most beautiful words in the English language.  When a doctor says them after looking at...

Walk through any crowded place and you'll start noticing something curious: human faces seem to sort themselves into animal categories. ...

A new restaurant opened recently and it attracted my immediate attention.  Its name was printed modestly on the sign: Soma .  The word...

Sherpas insist on appeasing the mountain because they think that if they don’t it is going to get angry and kill everybody. and if it...

“I’m thinking aloud here,” they begin. And that’s your cue to brace.  Because whatever follows will be completely predictable. It will be...

That one-star rating is the only leverage we have, and it's pathetic how satisfying it feels to click it even when we know it probably...

If you’re looking for the fingerprints of evolution, don’t squint at the fossil record or dig around in mitochondrial DNA. Just listen...