Commentaries
Cave Art – Earliest Symbolic Communication Our ancestors immigrated to Europe from Africa more than 50,000 years ago. They created some of our species’ earliest symbolic art on the walls of caves throughout the continent. Much of that remarkable art was...
Commentaries
Nothing could be less rational or humane than self-righteously taking the lives of innocent people in the name of unknowable, imaginary gods. But the problem of religious extremism goes much deeper than that. We worry way too much about religious terrorism and way too...
Commentaries
In 2009 we celebrated two extraordinary and intimately connected anniversaries. Charles Darwin was born on February 12, 1809 in Shrewsbury, England. Fifty years later the great naturalist published what many consider to be the most profound book ever written, The...
Commentaries
Attending my first Hornets’ game at the Arena in New Orleans in January, I was shocked that a religious invocation was given before the games. The strange ritual takes place just before the playing of the national anthem. The lights go down, a minister walks to...
Commentaries
If we take a “gene’s eye view” of evolution, the basic principles of “survive and reproduce” should drive human behavior in a predictable direction: we should produce as many children as possible. The instinct to reproduce isn’t...
Commentaries
Imagine what it feels like to straddle the equator—one foot planted in the northern hemisphere, the other foot set firmly in the south. You can do just that by visiting La Mitad del Mundo (The Middle of the World) just outside Quito, Ecuador. Problem is, you’ll have...
Commentaries
Ken Burns’ superb PBS documentary film is titled “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea.” The six-part series traces the political and cultural history of the birth and growth of the unique national park system in the United States. For many reasons, every...
Commentaries
Links to interview with James Lull in the Skandaalin Polttopistesssä
Commentaries
Opinion in SF Gate by James Lull
