The Open Mind

The science behind human relationships.

by Susan Pinker

Hazy, Crazy, Wasted or High: Mental Illness and Public Shootings

After a lone gunman opened fire on US congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and her constituents, one can't be blamed for asking if it could happen in Canada. In fact it has happened. More than once. Read More

How context helps you retain content

We retain and recall information best when we're put to the test in the spot where we learned it. Read More

Constructing the Layers of Learning

Trying to learn new material at one sitting, by repetition, just doesn't work. Read More

The Brain Doesn't Lie

How can you tell if someone will really do what they say they're going to do? Only their neurologist knows for sure! Read More

Reach Out and Touch Someone

Though previously considered taboo, recent research shows how physical contact increases trust between group members, and this mutual trust improves performance of the group. Read More

Women, Computers and Engineering: It's Not All About Bias

A new report says that fewer women choose physics, technology and engineering careers due to hidden biases. But the science tells us something else entirely: most women have different interests and career preferences than men. Read More

When Counseling is Dangerous

Many of us feel compelled to help after a humanitarian disaster such as Haiti's recent devastating earthquake. But all evidence points to psychological debriefing as a risky practice that can exacerbate traumatic symptoms in adults, and is completely untested in children. Read More

Men and Mass Killing

Who is most likely to pull out a gun in the workplace or on campus? Men, particularly extreme, socially isolated men in the prime of life, are more at risk of violence than women are at any age. Read More

Can Children be Shared?

It takes a special kind of open mind to speed-date an infant. This first post on the science of human attachments looks at serial parenting, and asks this provocative question: are human babies meant to be shared? Read More