Why You Love the Smell of Old Books
Scent carries significant psychological meaning. A recent paper proposed that scent be included in a proposed intangible heritage list recognized by UNESCO.
The Collapse of Meaning in a Post-Truth World
2016 was certainly an unstable time in history. Even the way we use language to convey our collective fears about the state of society seems fractured.
The Strange Life of Punctuation!
Punctuation is often a symbolically loaded. Is there anything else so heavily regulated, codified and coddled as the period, comma, or exclamation point?
Agatha Christie, Pharmacist
If you think “poison” when you think Agatha Christie, you’re dead on. Many of her novels feature poison. But did you know Dame Agatha was also a pharmacist?
Charles Dickens and the Linguistic Art of the Minor Character
Charles Dickens' characters are famous for their elaborate, often hilarious names. Even for bit parts, Dickens' naming conventions were linguistically rich.
Personification Is Your Friend: The Language of Inanimate Objects
Studies have shown that anthropomorphizing not only helps us learn. It also serves a social function, helping us feel connected.
Bilinguals Do It Better
Recent research by Katherine Kinzler adds to the plethora of evidence that bilinguals enjoy mental advantages.
New Typeface for Dyslexic Readers
A 33-year old Dutch designer, Christian Boer, has created the Dyslexie typeface to help dyslexic readers