Aeon | a world of ideas

Petty disputes, pleas for help and requests for gold – explore letters sent to Egyptian pharaohs more than 3,000 years ago - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon

Grief is not only for the dead.

A very modern conception of womanhood: in the Jazz Age paintings of Tamara de Lempicka, women were bold, free and stylish - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon

From Colombia to Syria, I’ve seen that capitalist logic can’t help to rebuild postwar countries but cooperatives can - by Azize Aslan Read on Aeon

Tribologists study friction: what happens when things rub together.

What happened when people in Bhutan, the last country on Earth without television, were allowed to watch it in 1999?

Disconnection is at the heart of today’s crises.

Horrific violence, enduring terror and ceaseless solidarity: four years of war through the eyes of Ukrainian civilians - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon

Just as seeing a tree gives you reason to believe it’s there, sensing that a stranger is creepy gives you reason to walk away - by Marc A Moffett Read on Aeon

For the philosopher Bruno Latour, seeing anything ‘natural’ as good and the ‘artificial’ as bad is perversely human-centric - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon

Renaissance Italians saw the gun as the Devil’s work.

Cicero’s ideal of manly virtue stressed the performance of self-control and bravery, not boastful egotism and domination - by Catharine Edwards Read on Aeon

Why aren’t we all Neanderthals?

What we claim as ‘true’ is not a ceiling we are forever failing to reach but something that changes as we climb toward it - by Alexander V Gheorghiu Read on Aeon

These women once fled ISIS.

We are, moment by moment, doing less sensing, navigating, remembering, walking, choosing, and attending - by Melanie Challenger Read on Aeon

Built from vegetal materials, these majestic tombs housing Buganda kings bridge the realms of living and dead in Uganda - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon

If the question makes no sense to you, try spending some time with the principle of sufficient reason - by Sam Kimpton-Nye Read on Aeon

She was among the first to argue that prosperity, equality and the protection of nature are inseparable planetary goals - by Or Rosenboim Read on Aeon

From Lenape land to sprawling metropolis, this detailed timelapse animation captures the making of Manhattan - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon

Sixteenth-century Venice wanted to expel its Jews but couldn’t do without them.

In the wake of tragedy, an elderly couple must make a choice: should they let their son go to save the lives of others?

Humanity produces a staggering amount of new knowledge every day.

A ball suspended in mid-air meets an athlete’s determination: in the one-foot high kick, competitors must defy gravity - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon

For a decade, I’ve posted episodes of my memoir to Facebook.

A world of violence sustains itself through guns, poverty and other social ills, but also through the minds it creates - by Megan Kang Read on Aeon

In tropical forests ruled by aggressive ants, these species have adopted a ‘fake it till you make it’ survival strategy - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon

If intelligence is merely optimisation then machines will outrun us.

A fool, a genius, or ‘a man who destroys everything’?

A cancer diagnosis carries with it fear and upheaval.

In the mid-1990s, thinkers pushed back against the idea we’re built by language, turning to feeling and the body instead - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon

The notion that fatherhood and creativity are at odds is plain wrong, as both poetry and neuroscience are showing us - by Daniel Swift Read on Aeon

Jürgen Habermas, the great defender of deliberative democracy, lived up to its demands: he never feared changing his mind - by Emilie Prattico Read on Aeon

The remarkable engineering and tragic demise of the vessel that would end Britain’s dream to dominate the skies - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon

Caring for this planet entails decisions that are intimate, about our farms, our homes, our human and our wild neighbours - by Craig Maier Read on Aeon

Be it movie mythos or nostalgia for a ‘simpler’ time, there’s an undeniable allure in stepping into the American West - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon

When I found the mushroom Amanita muscaria being sold in candy wrappers, I uncovered legal loopholes, dangerous dosages and more - by Eric Leas Read on Aeon

As Indonesia builds a new capital city, the race is on to preserve the sounds of the rainforest before they vanish forever - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon

Cicero’s life and thought are a testament to the idea of probabilia: we should be confident in our beliefs, but never certain - by Massimo Pigliucci Read on Aeon

A black hole rings like a struck bell, then settles into silence, forgetting almost everything about its history.

Probing the biology, beauty and mystery of animal eyes, this short poetic documentary explores an alien world - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon

The computist has one dream: to debug the subjectivity out of all of human knowledge, creating a pure, frictionless world - by Liam Spradlin Read on Aeon

From ancient Roman frescoes to modern kitchen benchtops, our desire to recreate marble is about more than cutting costs - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon

Homecomings, fantasies, food and ghosts – how the myth of eternal return keeps the Italian diaspora in a state of longing - by Ben Faccini Read on Aeon

Decades after seeing ‘Platoon’, Kevin recalls how the film stirred generational trauma in his family and racism at school - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon

It’s not just screen time: the problem with children’s media is that it has become relentlessly hectic, loud and bright - by Natalia Kucirkova Read on Aeon

The fathers of Islamic science hold lessons for students: breadth over specialisation, and never let constraints get in the way - by Mariam Sabri Read on Aeon

Can we test for AI consciousness when we don’t understand our own?

Saffron and ostrich liver were prescribed but so were exercise, gardens, animals, socialising, and music - by Katherine Harvey Read on Aeon

Indigenous knowledge and art overwrite colonial cartography to correct the historical record in Central Australia - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon