The original snake oil was a Chinese water snake remedy that actually worked. Then an American huckster replaced it with beef fat and turpentine.
History Revisionist DebatesReddit was founded as a free speech platform with almost no rules. Two decades and a £14.47 million fine later, the story of how it got from there to here runs directly through child exploitation.
ExplainersNobody agrees on what consciousness is. After 2,500 years of trying, the definition still assumes only humans have it, and the evidence keeps proving that assumption wrong.
Ethics & Accountability OpinionThe soul has been defined by every civilization and defended by every religion. After three thousand years, nobody agrees on what it is, what it does, or whether it exists. That might be the answer.
Explainers Psychology & BehaviorThree esoteric believers will all say they believe in magic. Separate them and ask for details, and you get three incompatible belief systems held together by undefined terms and the false consensus effect.
Ethics & Accountability OpinionYour brain is wired to see faces everywhere, and it is doing it on purpose. The neuroscience of pareidolia, from fusiform face areas to the Face on Mars.
Explainers Psychology & BehaviorThe conspiracy theory that Brigitte Macron is secretly a man is absurd. But it has buried the real question: what do we call it when a 39-year-old teacher begins a relationship with her 15-year-old student?
Media & Press Criticism OpinionYour AI overlord will not seize power. It will be elected by your subscriptions, your API calls, and your enterprise contracts. The question is whether voters are paying attention.
Artificial Intelligence OpinionIf morality comes from God, and God is a subject, then God-based morality is subjective by definition. The Euthyphro dilemma is only the beginning.
Ethics & Accountability OpinionThe diamond engagement ring is not a timeless tradition. It is the most successful marketing campaign of the twentieth century, built by a monopoly, enforced by social pressure, and still running.
Media & Press Criticism OpinionA self-taught makeup artist from Staten Island built a horror franchise from a short film to a $89 million global phenomenon. The story of Art the Clown is also the story of what mainstream horror left on the table.
Culture Film & TVThe astral plane has been mapped, debated, classified by the CIA, and adopted by Dungeons & Dragons. It started with Plato, was systematized by Theosophists, and neuroscience eventually found the brain region responsible for the whole experience.
Explainers Psychology & Behavior
