The Human Beast

Why we do what we do

Nigel Barber Ph.D.

Humans Exaggerate the Positive

“Mankind cannot bear too much reality” as poet W. B. Yeats put it. We see the world through rose-tinted glasses. Without them, we may get into trouble.

Does Activity Matter More Than Diet?

Despite a near obsession with the caloric content of food, and restricting intake, we have grown steadily heavier over the decades.

Social Networks Challenge Government

Technology changes societies. Just as the Industrial Revolution stole power from the landed gentry, online social networks challenge government authority.

The Resurgence of Nationalism

As a rule, when countries become more affluent, their residents get more liberal, more open to other groups. Why is that rule failing now?

When Other Species Are Smarter

What are we to make of evidence that other species sometimes outdo humans in cognitive tests?

The Gender Reassignment Controversy

When people opt for surgery, what are their motives? Are they satisfied with the outcome?

School Shootings as Theater

The intersection between public acts of grisly violence and the mass media was apparent from the beginning of the school shootings phenomenon.

Me Too Movement Confronts an Ancient Problem

More than a third of female workers report being sexually harassed at work. Why is the problem so common?

Children Molded by Parents' Early Experiences

Why do children resemble parents? Since Charles Darwin's time, many of the brightest biologists who wrestled with this problem came away feeling bruised.

Choreography for the Birds

When Darwin was a young man, religious people took to the hills, fields, streams, and moors to pursue enthusiasms for birds, butterflies, and flowers. Here's why.

What Inflates Investment Manias?

Bitcoin and other crypto currencies may belong with the dot-com boom, and much earlier manias such as the South Sea bubble and tulip mania.

Is Enthusiasm Always Bad in Science?

Scientific literature is designed to omit personal feelings and discourage spontaneity and originality. Is that a mistake?

Good Manners in Evolutionary Perspective

Why have the habits of the Upstairs Downstairs world departed? What are they for? Have they always existed?

A Locust Analogy for Urban Life

Urban societies of the past all collapsed. Ecological instability seems inevitable. This resembles locust swarms that devastate their ecology.

Investing More in Young People

Parents invest more in their children than they receive in return, and such paying forward makes adaptive sense.

Smoking in Adaptive Perspective

People continue to smoke at the expense of survival, vigor, and reproductive success. Why?

Roy Moore and Sexual Abuse of Young Women

Conservative politicians seem compelled by a malicious elf to behave in ways that expose their rabid hypocrisies in public.

Sexual Variety

There is an astonishing amount of variation in sexual behavior around the globe and over time. Many of these differences can be explained as adaptive responses to the environment.

Is Psychology Responsible for the Unabomber?

According to the documentary “Manhunt," unethical research by Henry Murray motivated terrorism.

High Self-Esteem: Good or Bad?

Americans have high self-esteem and young people feel particularly good about themselves. Is this beneficial for health and well-being?

Does Cutting Taxes Sap Productivity?

The bigger the government, the more productive the workers.

Anxiety Springs Eternal

Anxiety is the unsolvable problem that gives rise to many others, from addiction and suicide to depression, obesity, and economic failure.

The Sexiest Time of the Year

Like many other mammals, humans are seasonal breeders.

Our Civiliation is Doomed!

If one studies ancient complex civilizations, the prognosis is bleak. All failed, generally quite spectacularly and with remarkable speed. Can ours be any different?

The Shrinking Breast Fashion

Women seeking breast augmentation are opting for smaller sizes than previously. Why the change?

Wealthy Is as Wealthy Feels

How satisfied people are with their lifestyle has almost nothing to do with objective realities and everything to do with where they see themselves in the pecking order.

Can Woodpeckers Save Football?

Woodpeckers hurl their heads at massive trees a hundred times a minute. Yet, they evidently experience no brain damage. How do they do it?

How Awful is Work, Really?

People talk about work as though it were before the Industrial Revolution. In reality work today is much better but our perceptions have not kept track.

Preventing Hangovers

They can have adverse effects on productivity, health, and well being. Is there an effective remedy?

Why Religions Support Elites

Pope Francis acts out the humility preached by Christian ascetics for two millennia. Yet, he owns what is probably the most valuable art collection in the world.

  • Previous
  • Page 1 (current)
  • Next