I have a question for America, which I need to answer as well. Why can’t we compromise anymore? At some point in the last two decades we determined that compromise was tantamount to surrender. Our side had to win at all costs. Anything else was bitter defeat. Partly that viewpoint has been driven by gerrymandering in our political districts, which has made compromise unnecessary in the legislature. Many politicians have been defeated by challengers from the extreme elements in their ...

Let’s talk about placebos – fake medical treatments that are used to analyze the efficacy of real treatments. But the interesting thing about placebos is that even though they aren’t real medical treatments, they can have a real effect on patients who receive them. Sometimes the effect is negative, but often it’s positive. For example, people taking a placebo might experience the side effects that generally come with a particular medication. On the other hand, they might begin to feel ...

We are all hypocrites. That should come as no surprise to most of you. We all decry liars even as we all lie. We all demand perfection from others even as we fail to achieve it ourselves. But hypocrisy is inherent in our nature. We are genetically wired for it and we’ll never be able to eliminate it from our society. Why? Because it actually works in most cases to advance our positions, to keep us in power or help ...

I’ve been thinking about music a bit lately, contemplating its effect on the brain, wondering why we often love songs even when we can’t understand the words. What is it about Ode to Joy that makes me happy when I don’t have a clue what the singers are singing? First of all, music changes our brain chemistry, increasing our norepinephrine levels, reducing anxiety, blood pressure and pain. It also improves sleep quality, mood, mental alertness and memory. This assumes that ...