Between 1692 and 1693, Puritans in the British colony in Salem, Massachusetts, became hysterical believing that they were under attack by people in league with the devil practicing the sinister magic of witchcraft. What began with the strange physical ailments of three young girls quickly grew into a panic amongst the settlers. What kind of irrational fear would condemn 19 people, overwhelmingly women, to be hanged, and one man crushed to death, without the slightest bit of empirical evidence?
Read MoreSeptember is National Suicide Prevention Month, so we wanted to take a few minutes to discuss this important topic. Please take care of yourselves out there, and ask for help if you need it. Here are some resources:
Read MoreIn 1996 the FBI, in conjunction with other law enforcement agencies, caught one of the most elusive and terrifyingly effective domestic terrorists in history. It was then that America got its first look at Theodore Kaczynski, otherwise known as the Unabomber. With an IQ well above genius level and a chance at a brilliant career, Kaczynski chose instead a life of virtual isolation where he toiled at writing his own philosophy and building implements of destruction. Was this a case of a legitimate mental illness or the intersection of genius and fanaticism?
Read MoreMillions of people throughout history and across cultures have described the sensation of leaving their material body behind. Is the out of body experience a profound characterization of disembodied consciousness, or the result of our brain responding to ordinary stimuli?
Read MorePrisons have become an ubiquitous part of our collective culture, with the United States, for better or worse, being a leader in the number of people we incarcerate. What is the nature of the relationship between the captured and the captors? Can there be a spirit of cooperation between corrections officers and the incarcerated, or is it always bound to be tortured?
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