Author Archives: John Pullen

The question of whether fish feel pain was first asked by the philosopher Rene Descartes back in the seventeenth century. His opinion was that they did not. The reason he gave for this was that he said all animals are not conscious and therefore, could not feel pain. Since then, there have been and stillContinue reading “Do Fish Feel Pain?”

The Earth has a magnetic field and if we didn’t or if it failed, then life on this planet would not have started or would finish very quickly. It is that important. The reason for this is that it protects the surface of the Earth from the solar wind. These deadly particles would reach usContinue reading “Flipping Magnets!”

I will begin this article by saying this is not an easy question to answer. For a start, the idea that the language we use has an influence on what we think sounds a little strange. It can get even weirder if we believe that different languages have a different effect on what we think.Continue reading “Does Language Influence our Thoughts?”

Millions of people have seen the series of Indiana Jones movies starring Harrison Ford. And perhaps, many of them consider the first of the films, “Raiders of the Lost Ark” to be the best. Of course, this is a very subjective thing. But it is this first movie that revolves around an object which weContinue reading “Did Indiana Jones get it Wrong?”

Whatever our faults, I think we can all agree the human race as designated Homo Sapiens, has come a long way since its beginning about 200,000 years ago. From living as nomadic tribes, and existing each day hand to mouth, evolution has steadily given us the ability to build the society we have today. WeContinue reading “The Future of Human Evolution”

This is actually a more complicated question than might first be thought. The answer is not because someone tickled me or I heard a funny story. Both of these examples of course can trigger laughter depending on how ticklish we are and our sense of humour. But there is more to it than that. ToContinue reading “Why do we Laugh?”

Art is everywhere and it has been around for a long time. Some of the first examples are cave paintings made by our distant ancestors. Many appear to depict figures hunting animals for food and clothing. There are also examples of the artist making an image of his or her hand on a cave wall.Continue reading “Why is Art Good for Us?”

Kissing appears to be a natural part of our lives. There are also a number of ways to kiss. Some cultures kiss each other on each cheek as a means of greeting and this can take place between opposite and same sex. A kiss on the forehead is often used by a parent to aContinue reading “Why do we Kiss?”

There have been a variety of human species in the evolution of us as Homo Sapiens. All of them have for one reason or another, died out and are now extinct. Scientists are able to examine the skeletal remains of any of these ancestors and apportion a particular species to them. There may be aContinue reading “The “Hobbit” Species of Human”

Let’s begin by stating I hope you do start yawning as you read this. I will do my best to make it interesting. The question of why we yawn has been asked for many years and a number of theories offered up to explain it. One of the most long-lived is that it helps withContinue reading “Why do we Yawn?”