Article archive
Published news and blog articles, organized by category. Browse older coverage by month or search for a topic. Undated blog guides appear after dated news.
258 articles · Newest first
The Psychology of Color
The psychology of color | N43 N43 ANALYSIS OFF-DUTY · 243 N43 ANALYSIS · PERCEPTION The Psychology of Color Color is constructed in the brain from three cone types, a handful of opponent channels, and a lifetime of cultural context. The…
How Dopamine Drives Motivation
How dopamine drives motivation | N43 N43 ANALYSIS OFF-DUTY · 242 N43 ANALYSIS · NEUROSCIENCE How Dopamine Drives Motivation Dopamine is not the molecule of pleasure. It is the molecule of pursuit — the gap between what you predict and what…
The Science of ASMR
The science of ASMR | N43 N43 ANALYSIS OFF-DUTY · 241 N43 ANALYSIS · PERCEPTION The Science of ASMR A static-like tingling that starts at the scalp and spreads down the neck is now one of the most-watched sensations on the internet. What…
How Optical Illusions Trick the Brain
How optical illusions trick the brain | N43 N43 ANALYSIS OFF-DUTY · 240 N43 ANALYSIS · PERCEPTION How Optical Illusions Trick the Brain The image on your retina is a two-dimensional smear of photons, yet you experience a stable…
The psychology of superstition
The psychology of superstition | N43 N43 ANALYSIS OFF-DUTY · 239 N43 ANALYSIS · OFF-DUTY PSYCHOLOGY The psychology of superstition Why coincidence, uncertainty, memory, and culture can make rituals feel causally powerful even when the odds…
How the placebo effect tricks the brain
How the placebo effect tricks the brain | N43 N43 ANALYSIS OFF-DUTY · 238 N43 ANALYSIS · OFF-DUTY PSYCHOLOGY How the placebo effect tricks the brain Placebos reveal how expectation, learning, care, and prediction can change…
The science of willpower
The science of willpower | N43 N43 ANALYSIS OFF-DUTY · 237 N43 ANALYSIS · OFF-DUTY PSYCHOLOGY The science of willpower Self-control is a flexible system shaped by attention, incentives, fatigue, beliefs, and the architecture of the choices…
How habits form and break
How habits form and break | N43 N43 ANALYSIS OFF-DUTY · 236 N43 ANALYSIS · OFF-DUTY PSYCHOLOGY How habits form and break Habits are learned predictions. Understand the cue, routine, reward, and context—and you can redesign what happens…
The psychology of procrastination
The psychology of procrastination | N43 N43 ANALYSIS OFF-DUTY · 235 N43 ANALYSIS · OFF-DUTY PSYCHOLOGY The psychology of procrastination Why we delay what matters: emotion regulation, temporal discounting, and the small design changes that…
How jet lag disrupts the body
How jet lag disrupts the body | N43 N43 ANALYSIS off-duty · how-jet-lag-disrupts-the-body N43 ANALYSIS · off-duty How jet lag disrupts the body Crossing time zones moves the clock on the wall faster than the clock in the brain, temporarily…
The science of screen time
The science of screen time | N43 N43 ANALYSIS off-duty · the-science-of-screen-time N43 ANALYSIS · off-duty The science of screen time Screen time is not one exposure: content, timing, posture, interactivity, and what the screen displaces…
How social media affects mental health
How social media affects mental health | N43 N43 ANALYSIS off-duty · how-social-media-affects-mental-health N43 ANALYSIS · off-duty How social media affects mental health Social platforms can connect, inform, and support—but also reshape…
The psychology of gaming addiction
The psychology of gaming addiction | N43 N43 ANALYSIS off-duty · psychology-of-gaming-addiction N43 ANALYSIS · off-duty The psychology of gaming addiction Why games can become hard to stop, how reward learning and escape interact, and what…
How tea leaves become tea
How tea leaves become tea | N43 N43 ANALYSIS off-duty · how-tea-leaves-become-tea N43 ANALYSIS · off-duty How tea leaves become tea From a Camellia sinensis leaf to a clear, fragrant cup: the controlled chemistry of withering, oxidation,…
The science of coffee roasting
Coffee roasting uses heat to drive moisture loss, browning, gas formation, and hundreds of aroma-producing reactions in green beans.
How wine is made
Wine is made by steering fruit chemistry from grape selection through crushing, fermentation, maturation, and bottling.
The chemistry of beer brewing
From malt enzymes to yeast metabolism, beer brewing is a sequence of chemical extractions, transformations, and separations.
How fermentation preserves food
Fermentation uses microbial metabolism to acidify, dehydrate, or chemically transform food, making hostile conditions for many spoilage organisms.
The science of cheese making
How milk becomes cheese: the microbiology, chemistry, and controlled transformations behind curds, whey, flavor, and texture.
How Bread Rises and Yeast Works
Yeast turns flour sugars into carbon dioxide, gluten holds the bubbles, and an oven freezes a living foam into bread.
The Chemistry of Cooking
Cooking is a controlled conversation between heat, water, proteins, sugars, fats, and time—one that turns raw ingredients into aroma and texture.
How Spicy Food Burns
Chili heat is not heat: capsaicin tricks pain-sensing nerves into reporting danger, and the body answers with cooling, flushing, and relief.
The Science of Chocolate
From fermented cacao seeds to glossy bars, chocolate is a story of chemistry, heat, fat crystals, aroma, and human expectation.
How Sugar Affects the Brain
Sweetness is a signal, not a verdict: trace how glucose, reward circuits, appetite, and habit interact in the brain.
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