Magazine

November-December 2006

Current Issue

November-December 2006

Volume: 94 Number: 6

Embarrassment is a nearly universal emotion that spans both cultures and time. It likely evolved to regulate social behavior in ways that benefit the embarrassed, but as Christine R. Harris explains in her article “Embarrassment: A Form of Social Pain,” it can also have negative consequences when people forgo health care or fail to help others in order to avoid potentially embarrassing situations. In this 19th-century painting by Yoshitoshi, a young Japanese girl of the Meiji Era (1868–1912) displays nonverbal gestures common to the embarrassed in most cultures: an averted, downward gaze; hand touching the face; and hints of a suppressed smile. (Image from Asian Art & Archaeology, Inc./Corbis.)

In This Issue

  • Art
  • Astronomy
  • Biology
  • Chemistry
  • Communications
  • Computer
  • Engineering
  • Environment
  • Ethics
  • Evolution
  • Mathematics
  • Physics
  • Policy
  • Psychology
  • Sociology
  • Technology

Gracilization of the Modern Human Skeleton

Christopher B. Ruff

Evolution

Tamper-Indicating Seals

Roger Johnston

Anthropology Sociology

From the earliest civilizations to the present, seals have provided evidence of unauthorized access

Embarrassment: A Form of Social Pain

Christine Harris

Evolution Psychology

This enigmatic emotion likely evolved to smooth social interactions, but it can have less desirable consequences in the modern world

The Sounds of Spacetime

Craig Hogan

Astronomy Physics

In the biggest events in the universe, massive black holes collide with a chirp and a ring. Physicists are finding ways to listen in.

Growing Up with Chernobyl

Robert Chesser, Robert J. Baker

Environment Physics Policy

Working in a radioactive zone, two scientists learn tough lessons about politics, bias and the challenges of doing good science

Scientists' Nightstand

Departments