Google Word Search Shows Rise of Individualism

A few years ago, Google released a database of over 5 million books published between 1500 and 2008. You can now type a search word into the database ...

Isolation can Kill, Says British Study

After studying more than 6500 people, researchers at University College London determined that “loneliness hurts, but social isolation can kill ...

Laughter Shows We're Wired for Community

In his book, The Social Animal, David Brooks explores how humans are designed for community. In one section he describes the difference between our laughing ...

Epileptic Marathoner Finishes with Friend's Help

More than 37,000 runners competed in the 2012 London Marathon. Wilson Kipsang, from Kenya, won the race in an impressive 2:04:44. Simone Clarke took more ...

Warrior Tribe Realizes the Power of Confession

When the Ku Waru warriors of Papua New Guinea were about to launch any risky activity that required close cooperation—like going into battle—they ...

African Boy Experiences the Healing Power of Community

Professor Robert Wicks tells the following story about how one of his African students discovered the healing power of an entire community:

When the student ...

Former Movie Star Lay Dead for Almost a Year

Yvette Vickers, a former [model] and B-movie star, best known for her role in Attack of the 50-Foot Woman, would have been 83 in August 2011, but nobody ...

Professionals Have Taken the Roles Once Filled by Family and Friends

In his book Bad Religion, Ross Douthat argues that as families have weakened and true friendships have waned, we have tried to fill the vacuum by relying ...

Expert Claims Loneliness Seeps into Our Whole Body

John Cacioppo, the director of the Center for Cognitive and Social Neuroscience at the University of Chicago, is the world's leading expert on loneliness. ...

Fire Ants Float by Becoming One Super-organism

For years scientists were baffled by the mystery of floating fire ants. When placed in water, an individual fire ant will flounder, struggle, and then ...