David Robson

2 weeks ago | newscientist.com | David Robson

When Gustav Kuhn was 13, a friend pulled an egg out of his ear. Kuhn was astounded – but his wonder didn’t abate, even after he learned that the egg was made of foam and had been easily hidden in his friend’s hand. “I was quite fascinated by those eggs,” he recalls. The trick sparked an obsession with how the brain can be hoodwinked into believing the impossible. “My whole life during my teenage years was centred [on] magic and deception,” he says.

2 weeks ago | houseandgarden.co.uk | David Robson

The pool at Geoffrey Bawa's former country estate, Lunuganga is a recent addition to the gardens by Teardrop Hotels. Tom GriffithsIn 1948, the island of Sri Lanka regained its independence after four centuries of colonial rule.

3 weeks ago | hechoencalifornia1010.com | David Robson

Getty ImagesExploring your curiosity can be incredibly good for your mind, with benefits for learning, creativity and even job enjoyment. On 7 January 1918 at New York’s Hippodrome, the incredible illusionist Harry Houdini unveiled one of his most famous tricks – the vanishing elephant – in front of thousands of spectators. The beast in question, Jennie, reportedly weighed 10,000 pounds (4,536kg).

3 weeks ago | msn.com | David Robson

Microsoft Cares About Your PrivacyMicrosoft and our third-party vendors use cookies to store and access information such as unique IDs to deliver, maintain and improve our services and ads. If you agree, MSN and Microsoft Bing will personalise the content and ads that you see. You can select ‘I Accept’ to consent to these uses or click on ‘Manage preferences’ to review your options and exercise your right to object to Legitimate Interest where used.

3 weeks ago | theguardian.com | David Robson

Adam Kucharski is a professor at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. As a mathematician and epidemiologist, he has advised multiple governments on outbreaks such as Ebola and Covid. In his new book Proof: The Uncertain Science of Certainty, he examines how we can appraise evidence in our search for the truth. What inspired you to investigate the concept of proof? Alice Stewart, an influential epidemiologist, used this nice phrase that “truth is the daughter of time”.