When people emphasise how complicated something is, they often compare it to either one or the other, but which one wins?If someone wants to emphasise the simplicity of a task or process, a common tactic is to compare it to either brain surgery or rocket science. So, it appears that being a brain surgeon or…
The Apprentice is a very popular TV show despite everyone seeming to hate it. There are interesting psychological reasons for why this is the caseI saw The Apprentice once, many years ago. I didn't like it. I felt it was everything that was wrong with modern culture and the media in general. I vowed never…
Young women are using Botox as a 'preventive measure', but facial paralysis inhibits the ability to mirror others' expressionsThe news that younger women than ever are resorting to Botox as a "preventive measure" has got me thinking about the time a few years ago when I went to stay with a friend. The face she…
In 1995, government inspectors spent months on Bodmin moor in Cornwall looking for evidence of a 'beast' roaming wild there. They found nothing. Yet every year there are 2,000 similarly spurious big-cat sightings in Britain. What's going on?The setting was unimprovable. Across the fields, Maiden Castle, a turretted fortress of living rock, clawed at the…
Do webcomics use an 'emergent system'? Maybe not but it's enough for Dean Burnett to shoehorn an interview with the authors/artists/web gurus behind Exterminatus Now in the Guardian science sectionWebcomics are increasingly widespread and popular. It could be argued their proliferation is linked to the decline of print comics, in the same way that free…
A growing number of psychiatrists suspect mental conditions are 'culture-bound syndromes' rather than exclusively biologicalThe latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – DSM 5 – was published over the weekend. Produced by the American Psychiatric Association, it describes the symptoms of a vast range of mental illnesses and is intended…
Polly Morland's study of bravery is executed with energy, curiosity – and courageYou might think an inquiry into the nature of courage a trumped-up excuse for a book but Polly Morland loses no time in persuading you otherwise. She approaches her subject with energy, tenacious curiosity and, however much she may protest that she is…
Cognitive scientist and philosopher Daniel Dennett is one of America's foremost thinkers. In this extract from his new book, he reveals some of the lessons life has taught him1 USE YOUR MISTAKESWe have all heard the forlorn refrain: "Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time!" This phrase has come to stand for…
Benicio Del Toro and Mathieu Amalric get personal, medical and a bit abysmal in Arnaud Desplechin's drama about some real-life post-war mid-west therapy sessions"I could talk about my dreams all day," says Benicio Del Toro's wounded-soul soldier near the end of the Cannes competition's wackiest, crappiest contender yet. It's a line that's meant to show…
What we can learn from Ingrid Loyau-Kennet’s grace under pressure | Anouchka Grose
In Woolwich, a seemingly ordinary woman did something extraordinary. Her humanity may well have saved livesAt the scene of Wednesday's killing in Woolwich, Ingrid Loyau-Kennet got off a bus and spoke to the two killers, seemingly concerned only to keep them calm and stop them hurting anybody else. In photographs taken by other witnesses, we…
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