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A Psychic and a Skeptic Walk Into a Vortex
On a trip to Sedona, Ariz., a writer tries to understand her mystically inclined mother’s beliefs with the help of crystals, meditation and visits to the area’s supposed celestial portals. … In his 2023 book
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The Surprising Benefits of Gossip
Scientists have studied gossip for decades. That’s not surprising given the activity’s near universality in any social group, big or small. It’s estimated that more than 90 percent of people in workplaces in the U.S.
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Your Cynicism Isn’t Helping Anybody
When I describe “cynics,” you might conjure up a certain type of person: the toxic, smirking misanthrope, oozing contempt. But they are not a fixed category, like New Zealanders or anesthesiologists. Cynicism is a spectrum.
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What Makes a Friendship Last Forever?
There are many flavors of friendship. Most U.S. adults say they have pals who fit into specific niches in their lives, like gym friends or work friends. These relationships may come and go as life circumstances change
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What Superfans Know That the Rest of Us Should Learn
… After all, so many of us lack community. Data from Cigna finds 58% of Americans are lonely. Religion is fading. Work doesn’t love us back. Maybe letting ourselves be obsessed with that highly specific and possibly weird thing we love
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Empathy is on the Rise in Young People
It doesn’t often feel as if we’re living in empathetic times. … That increase in empathy can be undermined by our cynicism toward each other, according to Jamil Zaki, a professor of psychology at Stanford