I didn’t start doing crossword puzzles because I thought they would provide long-lasting benefits for my brain. They were simply fun to do, especially on the train during my daily commute to work. Completing a puzzle as I rolled into Grand Central Station set a positive tone for me. No matter what happened that day, at least I had one…
If the heart is a pump, the liver is a strainer, and the stomach is a composter, then is it fair to say that the brain is a computer? Neurobiology, wrote Jerry Coyne, a professor of biology at the University of Chicago, tells us that “our brains are simply meat computers that, like real computers, are programmed by our genes…
For thousands of years, people have had strong connections to animals and often believe they had special powers. Ancient Egyptians worshipped cats, while some Native American tribes thought eagles could deliver prayers to God. Such beliefs have been relegated to folklore, but animals have proven their talents and value to humans in many ways. Gorillas and chimpanzees can learn a…
Second Acts is a series of interviews with interesting people who discovered new pathways midway through their lives. Mirabai Starr is professor of comparative religions at the University of New Mexico, Taos. She translated Dark Night of the Soul and The Interior Castle, and then a cascade of other works based upon the teachings of spiritual mystics. Her first book in her…
When I was a child, my entire family watched Perry Mason every Saturday night. At my young age I didn’t recognize the contrivance of how each case ended: The real murderer, who was never the defendant on trial, confessed his or her guilt right in the courtroom. This, of course, rarely happens in real life. But one aspect of these plots does…
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the annual international campaign organized by major breast cancer charities to heighten awareness of the disease and raise funds for research. For me, as for many of you, this is personal, because several friends and family members I love have been affected. The women in my life who have been diagnosed with breast cancer…
When you think of forgiveness, does it seem easy to offer? Or do you withhold forgiveness as a way of punishing someone who hurt you? It can seem like the person who benefits most from forgiveness is the person receiving it. The truth about forgiveness, however, is just the opposite: Forgiveness is for you. Dr. Margaret Nagib, a clinical psychologist…
