There is a category of human behaviour that is universal, immediately recognisable across every culture, entirely involuntary, and without a settled explanation.
Emotional crying belongs in it, alongside blushing and…
Almost every emotional display a person produces can be manufactured. Smiles, frowns, gestures, tone of voice, posture — all of them are under some degree of voluntary control, which is…
There is a particular kind of double-take that everyone has experienced. A washing machine looks startled. A car in a car park appears smug. A pattern in wood grain resolves,…
Try it. Run your fingers along your own ribs, or the sole of your own foot, using exactly the motion that would reduce you to helpless laughter if somebody else…
Ask an adult for their earliest memory and you will usually get something from around the age of three or four: a first day at preschool, the arrival of a…
Rideshare drivers spend hours every day watching a steady stream of strangers approach their car, and after enough trips, most develop a genuinely sharp read on a passenger within seconds…