Wonder on the Web

Issue 26: Links to amazing stuff

Why the Way There Feels Longer than the Way Back

Social research often points out phenomena we’re unfamiliar with. But it’s awfully fun when researchers dive into a common experience we’ve never been able to explain. The “return trip effect” seems to come down to our unrealistic expectations.

Home, Sweet Home

How would you like to live inside a soccer ball? A giant sundial? Or a house you can carry on your back? How about a house shaped like a crocodile, airplane, or, um, toilet? Check out these and more in The Atlantic’s gallery of unusual homes from around the world.

Transformer Jellyfish

Jellyfish never cease to amaze us, from the “immortal jellyfish” we previously covered to the various kinds that regenerate themselves by regrowing limbs. Biologist Michael Abrams witnessed a new behavior: rather than growing back severed arms as expected, jellyfish rearranged their limbs to create the balance they need to carry on. Read more about the causes they’ve discovered behind this previously-unseen behavior.

The Awe Factor

What’s the purpose of awe in our collective existence? Recent research covered in The New York Times attempts to answer that question with this finding: experiencing awe makes individuals more altruistic, generous, and others-centered. “We found that awe helps bind us to others, motivating us to act in collaborative ways that enable strong groups and cohesive communities.” Wonderful.

Our Latest

News

Back at Shooting Site, Trump Supporters Pray for His Protection

Still shaken by the tragic attack, Butler, Pennsylvania, welcomed the former president back with cheers of triumph and a memorial for the previous rallyโ€™s victim.

News

JD Vance Says Trump White House Will โ€˜Fight for Israelโ€™

The candidateโ€™s message at an October 7 memorial rally was popular among Christian supporters.

Review

The Internetโ€™s Sins Are Our Sins. But It Shouldnโ€™t Escape All Blame.

A critic of tech panic forgets that our tools shape us just as we shape them.

Heaven Is A Homeplace

Hurricane Helene devastated the land I love. My pain points me toward what’s to come.

Review

We Have Never Been Deplorable

A new book critiques elitesโ€™ incurious accounts of the American right and illuminates their complicity in our social breakdown.

You Are the Light of the Public Square

American Christians can illuminate our countryโ€™s politicsโ€”if we engage with moral imagination, neighborliness, boldness, and humility.

Where Ya From?

From Pain to Empowerment with Orsika Fejer-Baas

Orsika Fejer-Baas shares her story of resilience and overcoming domestic abuse.

The Bulletin

October 7, 2023 Remembrance with Yossi Halevi

The Bulletin remembers the tragic events in Israel on October 7, 2023 and the year of turmoil that has followed.

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