Ever since we published our very first issue 123 years ago—yes, we’re old—Popular Mechanics has endeavored to help you understand all kinds of technological marvels, from the tools in your shed, to ...

Physicists and Buddhist contemplatives often seek to solve the same puzzles, from different angles: What is consciousness? How is reality shaped by observation? What does it mean for something to ...

Have you ever lain awake at 3 AM, staring at the ceiling, wrestling with a thought so profound it makes your brain hurt? These aren't just ordinary ...

Consciousness is fundamental; only thereafter do time, space and matter arise. This is the starting point for a new theoretical model of the nature of reality, presented by Maria Strømme, Professor of ...

Anil Seth's Being You is an outstanding book. It explores one of the most difficult and perplexing topics, consciousness, in an accessible way without sacrificing scientific rigor. Amazingly, each ...

This conundrum, known as the hard problem of consciousness, has baffled many scientists and philosophers. Hoffman believes the way forward is to assume that consciousness precedes brains and is ...

What if you could learn how to play an instrument, practice for a job interview, or battle your biggest fear, all while you were asleep? That’s the incredible promise of lucid dreaming, a skill that ...

This tedious inquiry from Miskovic and Lynn (50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology), former psychology professors at Binghamton University, explores what spiritualism and religious practices might ...

For millennia, humans have been extracting and using natural psychedelics to alter their moods and perceptions, distorting their sense of reality. From Amazonian Ayahuasca rituals to ancient use of ...