Push beyond our limits, we slid into a world of illusions as our brains struggled to make sense of their surroundings

Splitting up can be a good thing—even for the kids

Extracts from memoirs and diaries

Intellectual arguments can end with both people thinking they won. Sport is different.

Beards have meaning—now as they did in antiquity

Swimming in winter is not for the faint-hearted—but don't let that put you off

The season of goodwill can be stressful—but if you add a stranger to the mix and tune out the consumerist clamour, it can be, well, okay

The Athenian electorate voted to kill all the men in Mytilene. Then they had a second vote and changed their minds

Extracts from memoirs and diaries

What the conservatism of American football and the liberalism of basketball says about America