The Tangled Wing

Anthropology, Biology, and Human Nature
by Mel Konner, M.D., Ph.D.

Crybaby Boomers

My generation has officially entered the older phase of life, and our whining threatens everybody else with a Boomer Bust. We need to get over it.

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Teen Suicide: Can It Always Be Stopped?

We should do all we can to prevent it, but we will not always succeed, and when we fail we should learn the facts before we start to blame grieving survivors, who are often also victims. Read More

Triumph of the (Teenage) Human Spirit

A boy, in flames, is running, screaming, across the parking lot of his school on an otherwise ordinary morning. The image evokes Vietnam or Bosnia, but it is Charleston, South Carolina, Wednesday, December 8. The school happens to be the number-one ranked Academic Magnet High School in the United States, and it shares a campus with a highly regarded School of the Arts. Read More

The Pendulum Swings Back

Depressed or anxious about the election results and the upcoming change of government? Over the long haul they mean much less than you think.  Read More

Psychological States as Ancient Adaptations

Can psychological symptoms once have offered adaptive protection? Can they now? And are positive moods also an ancient legacy? Read More

The Happiness Summit: The Good Life According to Four Religious Leaders

If you think that happiness is a good mood or a rush of pleasure, a bishop, an Islamic scholar, a rabbi, and the Dalai Lama beg to differ. Read More

The Social Network, 10,000 BP

Facebook and Twitter may seem new, but they reflect basic human needs that have been with us in other forms since the beginning. Read More

Male Circumcision, the Wisdom of Whores, and The Girl Effect

Behavioral science is, and should be, at the heart of global health and the fight against disease, and one key behavioral weapon is to educate and empower girls. Read More

Is ADHD a Disease of Civilization?

Like many other chronic health problems, attention deficit and hyperactivity were not much of a problem for our ancestors. Read More

Wife-Wooing*

Seducing your wife is not a game and it's not therapy. Remember why you married her? It's love. Read More

Epidemic Obesity: Adaptation Gone Wild

We evolved to stay active and store fat whenever possible. But how do we handle it now, when it's always possible? Read More

Human Nature in High Places

Human nature is real and in many ways unchanging, and leaders in high places act on their own ideas about it. Psychologists and social scientists should try to describe and understand it, not pretend it doesn't exist. Read More

Sex Differences in...Sex

Darwin's theory predicts a big divergence between men and women in every aspect of sexuality. But what do the data say? Read More

Mel Konner

Melvin Konner's books include The Tangled Wing and The Evolution of Childhood. He has written for The New York Times, Newsweek, Nature, Science and The New England Journal of Medicine.

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Books by Mel Konner, MD, PhD

Image of The Evolution of Childhood: Relationships, Emotion, Mind
The Evolution of Childhood: Relationships, Emotion, Mind
Image of The Jewish Body (Jewish Encounters)
The Jewish Body (Jewish Encounters)
Image of The Tangled Wing: Biological Constraints on the Human Spirit
The Tangled Wing: Biological Constraints on the Human Spirit
Image of Becoming a Doctor: A Journey of Initiation in Medical School
Becoming a Doctor: A Journey of Initiation in Medical School
Image of Medicine at the Crossroads
Medicine at the Crossroads
Image of Unsettled: An Anthropology of the Jews
Unsettled: An Anthropology of the Jews
Why the Reckless Survive...and other secrets of human nature