After the 1906 earthquake and fire that destroyed a large portion of San Francisco, refugee camps of very small houses were built. They were later moved to different parts of the city and some still exist today.
Author Archives: Anita Hacker
Woman describes what it was like to be the only survivor of a flight obliterated by a thunderstorm
Juliane Koepcke recounts surviving a plane crash and eleven days alone in the Peruvian jungle decades earlier.
The Prison Letters of Nelson Mandela review – one man’s otherworldly patience
To commerate Nelson Mandela’s fight against apartheid in South Africa, a collection of letters written during his imprisonment was recently published. Critic Tim Adams shares what he discovered about the already well-known leader.
This Is Your Brain on Summer
In this opinion piece, education expert Jeff Smink argues that enriching summer school programs will stymie learning loss and help students succeed.
What is peace?
Anthropologist Margaret Paxson writes about her struggle to quantify peace and ultimately argues that peace is knowable.
Caltech Researchers Ask: Is Risk-Taking Behavior Contagious?
Researchers at the Caltech Brain Imaging Center found that participants in a study were more likely to gamble when they saw peers doing so.
A Photographer Follows in Gandhi’s Footsteps
See photos retracing the route of Gandhi’s famous Salt March and learn about the photographer’s experience in this interview.
The Epic Quest to Ride the World’s Biggest Wave
Follow the journey of Garret McNamara as he attempts to surf the dangerously large waves of Portugal.
What the rest of us can learn from the Wild Boars soccer team about the importance of survival, coping skills
Survival experts discuss what the Thai soccer team that was trapped in a cave did right to get through the two weeks before they were rescued.
How Mirages Work
Have you ever been in a car on a hot day and seen water on the road far away, only to find that there’s nothing there? If so, you’ve seen a trick of the light called a mirage. This article explains what causes mirages and the different types you might see.
On Stephen Hawking, Vader, and Being More Machine Than Human
In this article, author and anthropologist Helene Mialet analyzes the relationship between humans and machines as it existed for scientist Stephen Hawking.
Don’t think too positive
In her research, psychology professor Gabriele Oettingen has found that overly-positive thinking actually disincentives people from achieving their goals. She suggests pairing positive thinking with visualizations of obstacles that stand in the way.
Can you die of a broken heart? Science proves ‘broken heart syndrome’ is real.
Doctors looking into the connection between the brain and the heart have found that stressful events can cause a change in hormones that injures the heart.
Manning up: Men may overcompensate when their masculinity is threatened
A study conducted at Stanford University shows that men lie about their height and other traits when they feel their masculinity is threatened.
Does the Justice System Neglect Forgiveness?
Research by New York University neuroscientists Oriel FeldmanHall and Peter Sokol-Hessner shows that broadening options to restore justice, such as reconciliation or compensating the victim rather than punishing the offender, could ease the burden of the U.S. justice system.
Connecting prisons with nature
Watch this video about a program intended to both connect prisoners to nature and to help restore the environment.
The Complexities of Global Protests
The brief found at the top right of the link summarizes this report’s analysis of global protests since the mid-2000s. Click “Annex” for a chart that lists dozens of protest movements from 2010-2015 and their motivations.
Teens’ Penchant For Risk-Taking May Help Them Learn Faster
Most people tend to categorize the risk-taking behaviors of teenagers as a bad thing, but new research from Harvard University shows that brain development at that age can be beneficial for learning.
NASA’s on target to send humans to Mars within the next 2 decades — but here’s why the moon should come first
Former astronaut and NASA administrator Charles Bolden talks about the future of space exploration.
The Next Mass Extinction Might Be About Survival of the Laziest
Because humans have a relatively low metabolism, they might survive longer than other species. This article explains more about the theory.