The Big List of Things I’ve Written
a.k.a. My CV and Portfolio
That’s me!
I created this page because I write a lot of things — articles, essays, news reports; all kinds of tales — and sometimes it’s hard to keep track of them all.
In case you’re here for a bio, photo, etc., here’s my about.me page, where you’ll find all that stuff.
A lot of my pieces are here on Medium, but even more of them are scattered across the Web.
That’s why I gathered up the best of them — my personal favorites, and the pieces that’ve generated the most clicks and comments and arguments — and put them all in one place, grouped by category.
Here they are!
(Fun surprises await those who scroll all the way to the bottom.)
Travel
Go to the Fun Countries
Some countries let you sleep. Others wake you up.
How to Cliff-Dive With a Paralyzing Fear of Heights
The birth, growth, and eventual death of a lifelong phobia
The “Gypsies” Aren’t Who You Think They Are
The story of a very misunderstood people, and my experiences with them
Missing: One Gray Canvas Trenchcoat
When you travel, things can change in ways you don’t expect.
So… What’s Next?
Sometimes life throws a wrench in your adventures.
Cabin Fever in Cotton Country
On being stuck in the great winter snowstorm
Alone in Nairobi
Night can make you feel like a stranger, even when you’re home
No One Hears You Shouting From the Slums of Mombasa
The story of a man, a city, and a piece of truth.
Culture
The Lure of the Abyss
What’s so fascinating about the dark?
There Is No Yesterday
On stepping out of time and meeting people from the past
Time’s Orphans Have Names
People deserve to be heard, no matter when they’re from.
The Fascination of the Abomination
Why the scariest mysteries are the most alluring ones
In Praise of Roleplay
All of us play characters. Some are truer than others.
Do We Have a Right Not to Face Our Triggers?
When does “trigger correctness” become counterproductive?
If You Feel Alone, You’re About to Wake Up
A slap of reality from a cartoon scientist
Some Songs Just Can’t Be Heard
Our minds are choruses — voices singing together in many keys
How Flawed Memories Teach Us What’s True
On the living, beating heart of human memory
9 Books to Read by Age 30
Required reading for anyone who wants to be a good writer
The Revenant Is a Movie About Man
Why mankind is the toughest animal this planet has ever seen
Are You a Vampire Person or a Zombie Person?
And which of the two would you rather date?
3 Things I Hope Will Change on the Internet in 2016
Our social media culture is broken. Here’s how we can fix it.
Be Proud to Be Wrong
On the difference between being right and becoming wiser
What Folding Chairs Taught Me About Skepticism
What is it that separates everyday trust from fanatical faith?
Ancient Mesopotamians: The True Original Gangstas
How gangstas became gods three thousand years ago
Here There Be Dianogas
Even in Star Wars, we need dark places on the map
Shakespeare’s Ghosts and Lovecraft’s Gods
Why I love and hate the horror genre
How to Drive Away Everyone You Love… and How to Fix It
A tale from the school of hard knocks
You’re Not Supposed To Be Here
What a secret message in a video game taught me about facing fear
All the Leaves Are Brown…
Why death is the ultimate affirmation of life
The Big Bang
How the martial art of Muay Thai taught me to embrace universal love
Science
A Disease of Scienceyness
This article sparked a week-long controversy on social media about the state of popular science fandom. Here’s some press coverage from Nature.com about the debate— and here’s an interview with me about it.
From “One Goat” to “The Number One”
How the birth of math changed everything
Seasons Change
That Cambrian explosion was dope — but it’s good to remember our roots
The Man Who Tried to Weigh the Soul
What a mystical Victorian obsession means for us today
Revenge of the Lizard Brain
Why the idea of the “reptile brain” just won’t go away
How Our Brains Process Books
What happens in our brains when we summon fictional characters
Oliver Sacks Shares Tales of Musical Hallucinations
A man who saw visions of musical notation… and more
Meet the Parasites That Control Human Brains
True stories of the worms and microbes that drive people to madness
The More Complex Our Brains, the More Different They Get
How one person’s brain is not like another’s — especially in certain areas
Our Public Dialogue About Mental Health Needs to Change
On the psychological superstitions that prevent patients from getting help
The Search for a Nobel Prize-Winning Synapse Machine
How three friends competed across 30 years — then shared the Nobel Prize
The Limits of Fight-or-Flight Training
How soldiers learn to master their fear — and what happens afterward
What’s So Special about Mirror Neurons?
Can these neurons explain autism — or if not, then what do they do?
Meaning on the Brain: How Your Mind Organizes Reality
How the mind’s maps of connections give our experiences meaning
A Seemingly Insane Idea That Actually Struck Gold
What sound-seeing ferrets mean for the future of communication
What Can Be Done About Glass Ceilings in Science?
How unsonscious biases keep good scientists from getting ahead
Why The Status of Women in STEM Fields Needs to Change
Women are under-represented in the sciences — but that’s changing
The Neuroscience Revolution Will Be Crowdsourced
How a surprisingly simple idea gets us closer to a complete map of the brain
What’s Individuality, and Where Does It Come From?
How our unique experiences mold our individual brains
Why Brain-Mapping Efforts Matter — Even If They Don’t Succeed
We should try to map the human connectome— even if it turns out we can’t
Transmission Received: How to Promote Accuracy
Tips for improving the state of science communication in the press
Creativity
Become a Mad Genius in Two Simple Steps
The simple process that separates madness from brilliance
The Beating Heart of Creativity
Why “trying” to be creative doesn’t work — and what to do instead
How I Learned to Stop Humblebragging and Love the Work
The sweet, delicious taste of a job well done
How to Make Your Practice Pay Off
The one factor that separates meaningful practice from pointless repetition
How to Stop Your Mind From Working Too Hard
Four quick tips for freeing up a boost of creative energy
Business
4 Startup Skills I’ve Learned From Real-Time Strategy Games
Conquering the world can teach you some useful things about business.
3 Rookie Business Mistakes That Scream “Unprofessional!”
How to make yourself easy — or at least easier — to do business with
Get Paid to Write in Ten Steps (ebook on Amazon)
A foolproof ten-step guide to making your living as an online journalist
Fiction
The Excavation
Read aloud on the Pseudopod podcast
The Man With the Myriad Scars
Published in Weird Tales, November-December 2008 issue. Here’s a very nice article that someone wrote about it.
Cormac’s Mirror
Published in the 2008 anthology Bound For Evil
The Menagerie
Published in the 2008 anthology Cthulhu Unbound
While I’m at it, I’ll also mention that I my neuroscience news brand,
The Connectome, has a breaking news website, a SoundCloud podcast, a YouTube channel, and a few thousand fans on Facebook and Twitter and Google Plus. If you want to learn more about the mysteries of your brain (and, I mean, who doesn’t, really) you should check that stuff out.
I spent a year in Turkey, where I made this documentary about the anti-government protests there — and what happened after them.
I’ve given talks at Northeastern University and TEDxAJU. Those were a long time ago. I don’t look like that anymore.
Even longer ago than that, I was the editor-in-chief of a neo-Victorian art and fiction magazine called The Willows — which I created and launched myself, and ran with a very capable team of artists and editors.
And last but very much not least, I curate a Medium publication called
