Primitive communism

Marx’s idea that societies were naturally egalitarian and communal before farming is widely influential and quite wrong - by Manvir Singh Read at Aeon | Continue reading


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The great malaise

A man scaling a house of cards; a porcupine surrounded by balloons – wry animations on anxiety, aspiration and actuality - by Aeon Video Watch at Aeon | Continue reading


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The lady vanishes

The history of ideas still struggles to remember the names of notable women philosophers. Mary Hesse is a salient example - by Ann-Sophie Barwich Read at Aeon | Continue reading


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Beyond Eurocentrism

If you really want decolonisation, go beyond cultural criticism to the deep structural insights of economist Samir Amin - by Ingrid Harvold Kvangraven Read at Aeon | Continue reading


@aeon.co | 2 years ago

Who decides what art means?

Does the artist’s intention matter, or is it indeed all in the eye of the beholder? The ongoing debate brought to animated life - by Aeon Video Watch at Aeon | Continue reading


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Truth is real

For a century, the idea of truth has been deflated, becoming terrain from which philosophers fled. They must return – urgently - by Crispin Sartwell Read at Aeon | Continue reading


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One grim day (when youth is over) you find that new music gets on your nerves

One grim day (when youth is over) you find that new music gets on your nerves. But why do our musical tastes freeze over? | Continue reading


@aeon.co | 2 years ago

Adem’s island

Time seems to stand still on a small island in Belgrade where a father lives alone, grieving his daughter in quiet solitude - by Aeon Video Watch at Aeon | Continue reading


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Nature does not care

Too many nature writers descend into poetic self-absorption instead of the sharp-eyed realism the natural world deserves - by Richard Smyth Read at Aeon | Continue reading


@aeon.co | 2 years ago

Composite

What would a sketch of your partner, or your twin, or you look like if drawn by an artist working from your words alone? - by Aeon Video Watch at Aeon | Continue reading


@aeon.co | 2 years ago

Scientists are listening to Indigenous peoples about myths of natural disasters

Indigenous peoples around the world tell myths which contain warning signs for natural disasters. Scientists are now listening | Continue reading


@aeon.co | 2 years ago

Why evolution is not a tree of life but a fuzzy network

Classic evolutionary theory holds that species separate over time. But it’s fuzzier than that – now we know they also merge | Continue reading


@aeon.co | 2 years ago

Cowboy progressives

You likely think of the American West as deeply conservative and rural. Yet history shows this politics is very new indeed - by Daniel J Herman Read at Aeon | Continue reading


@aeon.co | 2 years ago

Sometimes surface

A collector of vintage album art on savouring all things kitschy and campy, and his hunt for the record that got away - by Aeon Video Watch at Aeon | Continue reading


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Nil by page

When a writer stares down a blank page, the whole of literature stares back. Why, then, leave the empty page as it is? - by Andrew Gallix Read at Aeon | Continue reading


@aeon.co | 2 years ago

Tengri

A hand-painted animation of the Mongolian wind burial tradition, in which a body gets swept up from the Earthly to infinite - by Aeon Video Watch at Aeon | Continue reading


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The web of life

Classic evolutionary theory holds that species separate over time. But it’s fuzzier than that – now we know they also merge - by Juli Berwald Read at Aeon | Continue reading


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Why virtue signalling is not just a vice, but an evolved tool

Proclaiming one’s own goodness is deeply annoying. Yet signalling theory explains why it’s a peculiarly powerful manoeuvre | Continue reading


@aeon.co | 2 years ago

Last days at Paradise High

When Paradise, California burned, its teens became instant climate refugees. How do they rebuild their lives from the ashes? - by Aeon Video Watch at Aeon | Continue reading


@aeon.co | 2 years ago

Is virtue signalling a vice?

Proclaiming one’s own goodness is deeply annoying. Yet signalling theory explains why it’s a peculiarly powerful manoeuvre - by Tadeg Quillien Read at Aeon | Continue reading


@aeon.co | 2 years ago

Help Brain Overload

As tasks mount up, our brain’s ability to juggle goes down. Neuroergonomic tactics can relieve the cognitive burden | Continue reading


@aeon.co | 2 years ago

Help! Brain overload

As tasks mount up, our brain’s ability to juggle goes down. Neuroergonomic tactics can relieve the cognitive burden - by Emily Willingham Read at Aeon | Continue reading


@aeon.co | 2 years ago

Kafka the Hypochondriac

Franz Kafka believed illness was at the root of his writing yet he embraced wellness fads with hearty vigour | Continue reading


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Corruption Has Shaped History. Why Do We Still Ignore It?

Corruption is a truly global crisis and the wealth addiction that feeds it is hiding in plain sight | Continue reading


@aeon.co | 2 years ago

Phenomena: magnetism

The exquisite eye-candy of magnets meeting ferrofluid reveals an oft-hidden force that is still mysterious to scientists - by Aeon Video Watch at Aeon | Continue reading


@aeon.co | 2 years ago

The Midas Disease

Corruption is a truly global crisis and the wealth addiction that feeds it is hiding in plain sight - by Sarah Chayes Read at Aeon | Continue reading


@aeon.co | 2 years ago

Aiden O’Rourke: there once was a man…

A collaboration over 365 days between a musician and a storyteller results in a poignant reflection on age and memory - by Aeon Video Watch at Aeon | Continue reading


@aeon.co | 2 years ago

Kafka the hypochondriac

Franz Kafka believed illness was at the root of his writing yet he embraced wellness fads with hearty vigour - by Will Rees Read at Aeon | Continue reading


@aeon.co | 2 years ago

Open shutters

‘My life isn’t your porn’: what the spy-cam epidemic in South Korea says about the country’s law enforcement and gender equality - by Aeon Video Watch at Aeon | Continue reading


@aeon.co | 2 years ago

Scepticism as a way of life

The desire for certainty is often foolish and sometimes dangerous. Scepticism undermines it, both in oneself and in others - by Nicholas Tampio Read at Aeon | Continue reading


@aeon.co | 2 years ago

A rare glimpse inside a samurai sword workshop, where ritual meets master

A 1969 documentary goes inside a samurai sword workshop to explore the craft and history behind the iconic Japanese weapon | Continue reading


@aeon.co | 2 years ago

The Japanese sword as the soul of the samurai

A 1969 documentary goes inside a samurai sword workshop to explore the craft and history behind the iconic Japanese weapon - by Aeon Video Watch at Aeon | Continue reading


@aeon.co | 2 years ago

Pyrocene Park

Fire is a planetary feature, not a biotic bug. What can we learn from Yosemite’s experiment to restore natural fire? - by Stephen J Pyne Read at Aeon | Continue reading


@aeon.co | 2 years ago

Being underslept and out-of-sync is a political injustice

Being on-call, out-of-sync and underslept is not just personal but a pervasive political injustice. Bold change is needed | Continue reading


@aeon.co | 2 years ago

The first Tuesday in November

The nail-biting night of the US presidential elections in 2020 from the perspectives of eager onlookers across the country - by Aeon Video Watch at Aeon | Continue reading


@aeon.co | 2 years ago

Poor sleep

Being on-call, out-of-sync and underslept is not just personal but a pervasive political injustice. Bold change is needed - by Jonathan White Read at Aeon | Continue reading


@aeon.co | 2 years ago

A is for autism

Autistic children and adults sketch out the look and feel of their sensory world in an early awareness-raising film - by Aeon Video Watch at Aeon | Continue reading


@aeon.co | 2 years ago

The way of dharma

How do ancient stories of talking elephants and singing birds encourage a life of truth, nonviolence and compassion? - by Keerthik Sasidharan Read at Aeon | Continue reading


@aeon.co | 2 years ago

Evolution ‘hacked’ its way to intelligence from the bottom up

Powerful tricks from computer science and cybernetics show how evolution ‘hacked’ its way to intelligence from the bottom up | Continue reading


@aeon.co | 2 years ago

The problem with ‘han’ 한 恨

Korean culture is characterised by an untranslatably profound sorrow and regret. Or is that just another stereotype? - by Minsoo Kang Read at Aeon | Continue reading


@aeon.co | 2 years ago

Weaving a bamboo house

How the Dorze people in southern Ethiopia build ‘beehive’ houses from bamboo that can last their residents a lifetime - by Aeon Video Watch at Aeon | Continue reading


@aeon.co | 2 years ago

Blackness in antiquity

To truly see black people in ancient art we need to look beyond the historically recent trope of ‘Blackness = inferiority’ - by Sarah Derbew Read at Aeon | Continue reading


@aeon.co | 2 years ago

How the Victorians invented the future for us

Social progress, high-speed transport and electricity everywhere – how the Victorians invented the future | Continue reading


@aeon.co | 2 years ago

Small protests

‘We had to do something’: Rabbit and fellow protesters move from an eco-village to the vacant home of corrupt politicians - by Aeon Video Watch at Aeon | Continue reading


@aeon.co | 2 years ago

Ancestral dreams

We’re not the only beings that dream. What visions might sleep bring to a cell, an insect, a mollusk, an ape? - by Sidarta Ribeiro Read at Aeon | Continue reading


@aeon.co | 2 years ago

How does a quantum computer work?

From ‘chandeliers’ to entangled qubits – an animated explainer of quantum computing and its revolutionary potential - by Aeon Video Watch at Aeon | Continue reading


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Tales of two jackals

Kalila and Dimna’s ancient parables on power delight as much as they instruct. But their moral maxims are ethically murky - by Kevin Blankinship Read at Aeon | Continue reading


@aeon.co | 2 years ago

What Is a Law of Nature?

Laws of nature are impossible to break, and nearly as difficult to define. Just what kind of necessity do they possess? | Continue reading


@aeon.co | 2 years ago