Human Behavior, features and articles | Educational Science

Aug 9, 2022

What is genocide?

Acts of genocide — trying to partially or completely destroy an entire people or group — have been committed countless times in prehistory, and numerous times since. For example, Egyptian hieroglyphs on a memorial stone from the late 13th century B.C. give what may be the earliest-known mention of the...

Oct 14, 2022

Americans Muddled on Obama's Religion

Only about a third of Americans know what religion Barack Obama practices, a new survey finds. In a new poll by Gallup, 34 percent of Americans correctly pegged the president's faith as Christian. Eleven percent said he is Muslim, and 44 percent said they didn't know. (Another 8 percent said...

Nov 2, 2022

What does the devil look like? Historical depictions of Satan

From a fallen angel to a bearded, red-hued man with horns, the Prince of Darkness' has been depicted in many different forms over the years. The satanic figure as understood today is the result of centuries of art, literature and theater. To find out what the devil really looks like,...

Dec 11, 2022

Why is Christmas celebrated on Dec. 25?

Today, many (but not all) Christians celebrate Christmas on Dec. 25. But given that the birth date of Jesus Christ is not known with certainty, why was this day selected? There are two major theories as to why Christmas is celebrated on Dec. 25. One, sometimes called the history of...

Dec 18, 2022

Why is Hanukkah 8 days?

The Jewish festival of Hanukkah — also spelled Chanukah — is a celebration that happens around the middle of winter each year. But why is it eight days long? The most commonly heard explanation is that the eight days commemorate a miracle in which a small amount of oil burned...

Apr 6, 2023

Why does the date of Easter change every year?

Why does Easter change every year, when dates like Christmas are fixed? The early church grappled with how Easter is determined, and the processes for scheduling the holiday weren't fully set in stone until the 16th century. On top of that, the dates of Easter used by most Western Christian...

May 14, 2023

Did Noah's flood really happen?

Noah's flood is one of the most recognized Bible stories. According to the Old Testament, In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of...

Jul 21, 2023

Science 'supersedes' creationism, Einstein tells religious students in newly revealed letter

An old Einstein letter, in which the famous physicist tells a religious studies teacher and her students that science supersedes religious creation and that God can be thought of as analogous to humans, has been put up for sale for $125,000. The typed letter, from April 11,1950, was sent by...

Sep 22, 2016

In Shift, Most Americans Now Say President Should Release All Medical Records

A majority of Americans now say that a U.S. president should release all of his or her medical information. In earlier years, those who held this opinion were in the minority, according to a new poll. The poll, which was conducted by Gallup last week, found that a slim majority...

Sep 29, 2016

Life's Extremes: Democrat vs. Republican

The presidential race is really heating up, and some voters are already casting their ballots for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton or Republican Donald Trump. Given the United States' starkly divided political climate, one might think it obvious that fundamental, built-in differences exist between Democrats and Republicans. Science has suggested that...

Oct 3, 2016

Death Penalty Opposition Hits New Peak

The percentage of Americans who oppose the death penalty is the highest it's been in decades, according to a new poll. The poll, from Pew Research Center, found that 42 percent of Americans said they oppose the death penalty for people convicted of murder, while 49 percent of Americans said...

Oct 7, 2016

Do Interruptions Hurt Presidential Candidates? What the Science Says

With the second presidential debate coming up this Sunday, one particular statistic from the first debate stands out: the number of times Republican candidate Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton interrupted each other. The counts from that Sept. 26 debate varied, depending on how the listener classified interruptions. Vox...

Oct 10, 2016

Locker-Room Talk & Alternate Realities: Scientists Dissect Presidential Debate

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton took the debate stage Sunday evening. We asked three scholars from the Washington University in St. Louis, where the debate was held, to pick a key quote from the evening and tell us why it was important. Rebecca Wanzo This was locker room talk. -...

Oct 13, 2016

Half of Americans Believe in 9/11 Conspiracy Theories

A majority of Americans believe that the government is concealing information about the 9/11 attacks, one new survey suggests. And that's not the only conspiracy theory believed by a wide swath of Americans: Around 40 percent believe the government is hiding information about aliens, the John F. Kennedy assassination and...

Oct 14, 2016

Future of Health Care: Data Can Empower Patients, Obama Says

To really improve health care for Americans in the future, people must be given more power over their own health data, President Barack Obama said Thursday (Oct. 13). Speaking at the White House Frontiers Conference, an event that focuses on how the U.S. can harness science and technology to improve...