Language learning is often a daunting prospect. Many of us wish we had learned a language to a higher level at school. But even though adults of all ages can do well in acquiring a new language, fear – or the memory of struggling to memorise grammar at school – can hold us back. We […] … learn more→
Five myths about learning a new language – busted
What loving-kindness meditation is and how to practice it in the new year
A popular New Year’s resolution is to take up meditation – specifically mindfulness meditation. This is a healthy choice. Regular mindfulness practice has been linked to many positive health benefits, including reduced stress and anxiety, better sleep and quicker healing after injury and illness. Mindfulness can help us to be present in a distracted world and to feel […] … learn more→
Studying more hours doesn’t always mean learning more: the cognitive load trap
Imagine trying to fill a water bottle with a fire hose at full pressure. Most of the water would spill out, and the bottle would still be half empty. Something very similar happens in our brains when we try to learn by rote memorization, which is why we’ve all found ourselves reading a text over […] … learn more→
Deepfakes leveled up in 2025 – here’s what’s coming next
Over the course of 2025, deepfakes improved dramatically. AI-generated faces, voices and full-body performances that mimic real people increased in quality far beyond what even many experts expected would be the case just a few years ago. They were also increasingly used to deceive people. For many everyday scenarios — especially low-resolution video calls and […] … learn more→
More dialogue, less debate: At an ‘Ethics Bowl,’ students learn to handle tough conversations
As Canadian federal election candidates prepared for their final debate in April 2025, youth across the country were preparing for collaborative conversations around timely and potentially divisive issues for the National Ethics Bowl at the Canadian Museum of Human Rights in Winnipeg. Ethics Bowl Canada is a non-profit organization that hosts competitions where high school and university students […] … learn more→
Young people’s social worlds are ‘thinning’ – here’s how that’s affecting wellbeing
Between 2014 and 2024, the proportion of people aged 16–24 in England experiencing mental health issues rose from 19% to 26%. This means over 1.6 million young people – enough to fill Wembley Stadium 18 times over – are affected by mental ill-health today. Social media is often at the centre of conversations about what’s driving this trend. […] … learn more→
Why do teenagers get into trouble?
“But what were you thinking? How could you not have considered the consequences this would bring?” These are phrases that have probably been uttered more than once in any home where teenagers live. Beyond the ability of the adults (parents, relatives, teachers) who surround us at this stage of life to educate us, when we […] … learn more→
No gym or regular routine? Here’s how to stay fit over the holiday break
The festive season can throw our exercise routines out the window. You might be staying somewhere different, with no access to a gym. Maybe your yoga studio is closed or social sport is on a break. Or you might just be too flat out with social events to find the time. For some people, a […] … learn more→
What the hyperproduction of AI slop is doing to science
Over the past three years, generative artificial intelligence (AI) has had a profound impact on society. AI’s impact on human writing, in particular, has been enormous. The large language models that power AI tools such as ChatGPT are trained on a wide variety of textual data, and they can now produce complex and high-quality texts of […] … learn more→
Is playing chess an asset for academic success?
Chess, which has long suffered from a dusty image in society, is now enjoying a surge in popularity among young people thanks to series like The Queen’s Gambit (2020), the growth of esports , and initiatives by French NBA star Victor Wembanyama. Last July, Wembanyama proposed combining basketball and chess in a single competition, emphasizing: “We need a variety of things to […] … learn more→