The head nod is one of our most commonly used gestural signals, but remarkably few researchers have tried to explain its origins. How did this simple up-and-down movement come to mean ‘yes’?
Read Morehuman universals
A cup of Tibetan tea. Cups of tea and other units of consumption were once widely used as measures of distance. Photo: 麦叶叶 (source).
Using time to measure space
Cups of tea, cigarettes, and coconuts used to serve as measures of distance. These and other consumption-based units attest to a strategy—using time to measure space—that was once pervasive. Arguably, it still is.
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A member of the Blemmyes, a nomadic tribe who—according to myth—were headless but had faces on their chests. Detail from a 1556 map by Guillaume Le Testu (link).
Body parts in unexpected places
When you look across the world’s languages, terms for body parts often involve reference to other body parts. What motivates this peculiar pattern?
Read MoreExtending the body
Anatomical terms are some of the most wide-ranging words of all. They show up in language about shape, space, time, measurement, numbers, emotions, and more.
Read MoreWagering on diversity
An analogy with “Pascal’s wager” makes it clear why researchers interested in human behavior should adopt a diversity stance.
Read MoreOrigins of the shrug
Five explanations for an everyday, enigmatic gesture.
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