LINKS - September 14th, 2022
Welcome to LINKS — my attempt to provide Rhapsody readers with five interesting stories that tell us something about what it means to be human. LINKS is published every Wednesday. Have a link you want to share? Drop it in the comments.
For neuroscience, magic opens a doorway to multiple realities
By Luis M Martínez & Jordi Camí, Psyche
“The neuroscience of magic is, in essence, the study of these encounters. Arts of illusion are often taken for granted, explained away as a series of clever tricks, but in the sharp and magical transition from possible to impossible we find answers to some of the most fundamental questions in philosophy and cognitive science. Answers that reveal the ways we live across multiple assembled realities.”
U.N. Calls for Climate Alert Systems Worldwide in 5 Years
“Only half of all countries have early warning systems, according to a U.N. survey. Those that don’t are mostly poor nations or small island developing states, many of which are highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.”
How mythology could help demystify dog domestication
By Elyse DeFranco, Science News
“That’s where storytelling can help, says historian Julien d’Huy of the College of France in Paris. Our penchant for mythologizing canine companions may be just as ancient as our relationship with them, so d’Huy is turning to these stories in a bid to shed more light on the history of dog domestication.”
Hunter-gatherers kept animals for food before they farmed crops
By Christa Lesté-Lasserre, New Scientist
“Some hunter-gatherers probably kept sheep, or possibly gazelles, outside their huts before they even started farming crops, according to traces of ancient animal dung.”
Finding Mental Health Issues Hidden in the Past
By Paige Ford, Sapiens
“An archaeologist speculates about how to uncover evidence of depression, anxiety, and neurodiversities in ancient humans.”