Art has the power to grip your whole being, to change your perception. While an appreciation of artistic beauty might seem intensely private, researchers are finding that it’s a shared experience. A new study on how our sense of beauty takes shape shows that the brain splits the aesthetic experience in two. The first way the brain processes this experience relates to what an image shows – a landscape, an object, a figure. The second is concerned with how much pleasure it gives us, drawing on the same brain circuits that respond to good food or receiving money. We often think artistic values are impervious to scientific scrutiny. This latest work shows that beauty has a structure – and that structure seems to be common to everyone.
From one shared experience to another: drunk online shopping. So many of us have done it that it has become big business for e-commerce companies. Do companies have an ethical responsibility to anticipate when customers are purchasing under the influence of alcohol?
A good workout is the perfect hangover cure after a bout of tipsy retail therapy. We’ve come up with the best recovery techniques for those post-gym muscle aches: from ice baths and compression garments to massage and supplements.
