OCD is so much more than handwashing or tidying. As a historian with the disorder, here’s what I’ve learned: Elena Abrazhevich/Shutterstock Readers are advised that this article contains explicit discussion of suicide and suicidal and obsessional thoughts. If you are in need of support, contact details are included at the end of the article. At …
Why Israel’s intelligence chiefs failed to listen to October 7 warnings – and the lessons to be learned: Shortly after the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, when an estimated 2,000 Hamas fighters breached the Israel-Gaza border in 29 different places, the Israeli security establishment allowed a narrative to form that it had very …
Developmental amnesia: the rare disorder that causes children to forget things they’ve just learned: Developmental amnesia can affect children throughout their adult lives too. Gorodenkoff/ Shutterstock Even though it came out more than 20 years ago, many people still remember Finding Nemo thanks to one of its beloved main characters: Dory. The blue fish is …
Twenty years after section 28 repeal, lessons still need to be learned from UK’s homophobic law: November 18 2023 marks the 20 year anniversary of the repeal of section 28 in England and Wales. This law silenced any discussion of lesbian and gay matters in schools, and was law for 15 years between 1988 and …
Gaza conflict: the US has learned from its ‘forever wars’ – but Israel has not: After Hamas’s deadly attacks on October 7, a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) appeared inevitable. Benjamin Netanyahu’s government apparently had little choice, given that the attack shocked Israel to its very core. The …
I’ve studied the art of losing a referendum: the Australian government could have learned from other countries on these key points: It has been billed as Australia’s Brexit – a vote that pitted the so-called elites against the masses. The issue in question was the “voice to parliament”, a consultative body that would have given …
How some fish learned to hide behind others to hunt – new research: Griffin Gillespie/Shutterstock Human hunters once used stalking horses as common practice – a domesticated animal (or a wooden replica), which people guided towards their quarry while crouching behind it. People believed the stalking horse would not spook wildfowl, allowing them to approach …
COVID is officially no longer a global health emergency – here’s what that means (and what we’ve learned along the way): Prostock-studio/Shutterstock World Health Organisation (WHO) experts have officially declared that COVID no longer constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC). This coincides with the WHO’s new strategy to transition from an emergency …
I was evacuated from South Sudan in 2013 – here’s what I learned: We all knew that there were political tensions. Yet none of us believed it enough to change our plans or everyday routines. None of us expected fighting to erupt. It was December 15 2013, and I was in South Sudan. Like many …
ChatGPT: lessons learned from Italy’s temporary ban of the AI chatbot: The Italian data protection authority used an emergency procedure to impose the temporary ban. Shutterstock / Diego Thomazini In March 2023, Italy became the first western country to block the advanced chatbot known as ChatGPT. The Italian data protection authority, Garante, cited concerns over …
Prison food: what we learned from organising food-themed art workshops for women prisoners: There are two common misconceptions about food in British prisons: that it is either not fit for human consumption, or too luxurious to be enjoyed by those in prison. The artworks produced by the women prisoners in our project broke down both …
How I learned the hard way to keep my website updated: How I learned the hard way to keep my website updated dboth Wed, 04/05/2023 – 03:00 A few days ago, I received an email from a reader of one of my books. Among other things, he said that he was having trouble getting to …
Five important things you should have learned in sex ed – but probably didn’t: It's important to talk about sex with your partner. SeventyFour/ Shutterstock If you grew up in the 90s and 00s, you may feel that sex education didn’t teach you much of practical value. Most sex education during this time followed a “prevention” …
Driverless cars: what we’ve learned from experiments in San Francisco and Phoenix: Cruise, owned by General Motors, is one of the "robotaxi" companies operating in San Francisco. Shutterstock / paulaah293 Residents of San Francisco and Phoenix have grown used to witnessing something that, a decade ago, would have seemed magical. In some parts of these …
Human challenge studies: what we’ve learned from intentionally infecting people with COVID: neative/Shutterstock When COVID began to spread rapidly in 2020, sending the UK and other countries into lockdowns, many people asked what they could do to help. While millions of people found novel ways to help others in their communities, a large number became …
Drug addiction in South Africa: what was learned from six young men recovering from opioids: A man living living on the streets in Johannesburg holding the nyaope (opiod) drug ready to smoke. Photo by Bongani Siziba/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images The ways we intervene in curbing addiction to substances has shifted from the medical era, …
To reach net zero the world still needs mining. After 26 years, here’s what I’ve learned about this ‘evil’ industry: On the wooded hill above the Stan Terg lead and zinc mine in Kosovo, there is an old concrete diving platform looming over what was once an open-air swimming pool. Before the break-up of Yugoslavia, …
It’s not helpful to talk about children’s ‘learning loss’ during lockdown – they and their parents learned a great deal: Lordn/Shutterstock The term “learning loss” – referring to what pupils are judged to have failed to learn as a result of the pandemic lockdowns – has been used widely in the media as well as …