Loneliness and isolation aren't the same thing

Governments around the world are struggling to measure loneliness

Funding for policy resources often hinges on measuring the scale of a problem and then being able to measure the effectiveness of interventions, requiring data. Yet defining and measuring loneliness at a country-scale remains challenging. Typically, the University of California Los Angeles Loneliness Scale is sometimes used worldwide or adapted to measure loneliness.

Volunteering can alleviate the feeling of loneliness

The Freakonomics team explored loneliness in this 2020 podcast episode and discussed how volunteering can be a powerful way to make lonely individuals feel needed, like they have a purpose, and combat feelings of isolation.

Loneliness is more dangerous to your health than smoking

The US surgeon general proclaimed in 2023 that loneliness is a health risk on par with smoking up to 15 cigarettes daily. In an 81-page report, the then-surgeon general noted that loneliness increases the risk of premature death by 26%.

Perceived isolation ages you

Mounting evidence suggests that socialization is a vital component of maintaining good health. Research published in 2024 from Mayo Clinic researchers analyzed the social lives of more than 280,000 adults and concluded that individuals that weren't likely to participate in extracurricular social activities and get-togethers were more likely to have a biological age older than their actual age—meaning that you may be 60 but health indicators would suggest you're older.

How do astronauts battle loneliness and depression?

You’re stranded hundreds of miles away from your friends and family, constantly surrounded by coworkers who also are your roommates, and you’re only allowed the shortest of walks outside. There’s also no takeout, and gravity has essentially broken up with you. You might need a little help adjusting mentally. That’s where space psychologists and psychiatrists step in, according to this article.

Nostalgia is a psychological coping mechanism that can help combat loneliness—but it's created from bias

Researchers have observed that though nostalgia can help counteract feelings of loneliness, our memories of the past are somewhat rose colored. Negative emotions seem to fade faster than positive ones, a phenomenon that they suggest may be a psychological coping mechanism so that memories don't hurt every time they're recalled. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

How do anxiety and stress differ?

This article explains that though “stress” and “anxiety” are often used interchangeably, there are distinct differences between the two. Stress is defined as the body's response to an external trigger and can be classified as acute or chronic. Anxiety, however, tends to be triggered internally by excessive thoughts and judgement. Whereas stress disappears when the trigger is gone, anxiety tends to stick around. If left unchecked, both can escalate into more severe mental health conditions.

As an experiment, the first B2 mission highlighted the challenges of isolated systems

Some argue that isolation from the outside world was compromised—making the experiment a failure—when a crew member was taken from Biosphere 2 for surgery and returned hours later. This position was strengthened when it was revealed that oxygen had been pumped into the facility.

Why Henry David Thoreau was not a hermit

When many people think of "Walden," they think of a man who intentionally exiled himself from society. But that's inaccurate. Thoreau regularly welcomed guests and explained that he kept three chairs in his modest cabin: "one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society."

Group therapy is not the same thing as a support group

Group therapy, facilitated by a licensed therapist, is typically covered by insurance or involves a fee. Support groups are often peer-led and usually come with no cost.

Disinflation, a decrease in the rate of inflation, is different from deflation

Disinflation happens when prices are still going up, just at a slower rate. Prolonged disinflation is also often accompanied by a recession, making it painful for consumers.

Anhedonia, which means 'without pleasure' in Greek, is typical in major depressive disorder

This common symptom—a flat affect—results in previously enjoyable hobbies no longer bringing pleasure. People with anhedonia may also avoid social situations because they anticipate they'll bring no joy, not because of anxiety or fear.

'The opposite of addiction isn't sobriety—it's human connection'

This thought-provoking TED talk from journalist Johann Hari challenges conventional wisdom about addiction, with a special focus on his global research investigating its root causes. Through personal stories and scientific evidence, Hari debunks some of the most common myths around addiction.

The difference between solstice and equinox, explained

A solstice marks the extremes in the amount of day or night, while the equinoxes come on days with a balance between the two. Learn why with this brief video.

Clinical insomnia is defined as trouble sleeping for three nights per week for at least one month

The term "insomnia" is often used in popular culture to refer to general difficulty sleeping or staying asleep. In the US, insomnia transitions to a clinical disorder when symptoms—dissatisfying, nonrestful, and life-disrupting sleep—occur at least three nights per week for at least one month and cause "clinically significant" distress in important areas of life.

Lactose intolerance is not the same as a dairy allergy

Lactose intolerance can develop in adulthood and can be influenced by genetic factors, culture, and dietary practices. Times of famine may have favored those who could digest dairy, naturally selecting them more, resulting in lactase persistence.

Some art critics believe that Liminalism, a form of art exploring the uncanny yet familiar, defines our present moment

While analyzing images of abandoned malls or empty hallways, art historians and critics argue that this style captures the feelings of this moment in time. Liminalism, they propose, expresses prominent themes in our age like anonymity, alienation, and anxiety.

'The fact is always obvious much too late, but the most singular difference between happiness and joy is that happiness is a solid and joy a liquid.'

-Writer J.D. Salinger (1919-2010)

Objects moving relative to one another will not agree on the simultaneity of events

Space and time shift when switching from a nonmoving to a moving perspective, causing events that seem to occur simultaneously for one person not to appear that way for someone else. This also means one person's present could be another's future, ensuring all of time already exists.

What is a singularity?

It's hard to imagine a singularity, which are described as an infinitely tiny point, created by gravity, until it has zero volume. The definition feels impossible, though perhaps not at the center of a black hole or at the beginning of the universe. Even then, singularities may be something else entirely. Singularities are a mathematical quandary that challenge us to better understand physics and the universe.

Influencers try to make money off posts—but that's not always the case for creators

The words “influencer” and “creator” are used interchangeably to describe someone who posts consistent content to a significant number of followers on at least one social media platform. But the difference between the two is important. Especially to marketers seeking to tap social media stars to promote products and services.

Tigers emerged much earlier as a species than lions

Both lions and tigers are iconic big cats known for their size and power, but they remain distinct species. Beyond just looking different, they can exhibit very different behaviors. For example, tigers are significantly less social than lions, who live in social matriarchal groups. Tigers and lions are unlikely to ever interact in the wild, but humans have artificially bred them in captivity, creating a "liger."

Existentialist writer Jean-Paul Sartre coined the famous phrase 'Hell is—other people' in his play 'No Exit'

Read about the pros and cons of working from home

While proponents argue that it's cheaper for both employers and employees to work from home (rather than spending money commuting to an office with an expensive lease), others point out that working remotely can make some workers feel isolated. These are just a few of the many common critiques and perks mentioned in the remote work debate.

The music theory behind a lonesome country classic

Townes Van Zandt's "I'll Be Here in the Morning" might read like a clever inversion of a standard country music trope. But Cush, a musician in his own right, walks through the song's structure to show how its story is far more complicated than its lyrics suggest.

When is someone actually dead?

Death is a process, not a sudden flip of a switch. Technology can now interrupt this process at various stages, begging the question of when exactly death happens in the dying process. This 33-minute podcast episode explores this question and the...

Some researchers have labeled nomophobia, the fear of being without your phone, as 'the phobia of the 21st century.'

Corals are themselves not coral reefs—the term refers to the tiny marine invertebrates that build the rigid reef.

Most of the observable universe's volume consists of voids and supervoids—enormous regions of space with little to no galaxies, stars, or light.

Explore what it's like inside a patient isolation unit, used in situations such as treating a patient or suspected patient with Ebola.

Explore an interactive map built from more than 100,000 survey responses on where people find joy in their lives

Crows are believed to have intelligence on par with a seven-year-old child and demonstrate complex behaviors, from problem-solving with tools to recognizing human faces.

How fusion—which releases energy when two lighter atoms combine to form a heavier atom—differs from fission

Recent research found that the brain doesn't seem to massively rewire following amputation—upending earlier beliefs about the cause of phantom limb pain.

Pure water does not conduct electricity because this flow of energy requires the movement of charged particles, and water is a neutral molecule.

In 2018, 26-year-old missionary John Allen Chau was killed by tribesmen after attempting to reach and evangelize on India's isolated North Sentinel Island

Netflix profits when you're not watching, and its movies are designed that way—read a detail-rich critical essay exposing lesser-known Netflix takes

Famed poet TS Eliot rejected the manuscript for George Orwell's political fable 'Animal Farm,' writing that its criticism of authoritarianism was not 'the right point of view.'

Indefinite cloning of some endangered species may not sustain their longevity because cloning success rates decrease as genetic mutations accumulate.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

For centuries, it was common to sleep in two shifts: a few hours at the beginning of the night, and a longer period beginning around midnight

A researcher recently discovered an interview from 1967 between groundbreaking journalist Joan Didion and the Grateful Dead, years before the band became an institution.

The identity of the Tank Man in the iconic photo from the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests remains unknown and was possibly killed.

Some coin denominations have ridges etched on their sides, partly to prevent counterfeiting, in a practice called 'reeding.'

'Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone,' a work by American painter Thomas Moran, inspired Congress to establish Yellowstone National Park.

A pickleball's loud 'pop' sound can reach 120 decibels, which is equivalent to a hammer hitting a nail

Frank Lloyd Wright's houses are historically hard to sell because they're old, subject to local landmark commissions, and often unfashionable

The price of gas is a composite made up of several different factors, with the federal gas tax making up less than 20% of what drivers pay at the pump.

The United States has had a tumultuous relationship with Cuba since its 1959 revolution, highlighted by a nuclear crisis and a decades-long trade embargo.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is the largest ground war in Europe since World War II in terms of casualties, forces mobilized, and displacement of civilians.