A brief introduction to the wacky world of gender bending plants and animals.

A self-fulfilling prophecy is a prediction that, through just being predicted, causes itself to be true. The term was first used by Robert K Merton in 1948 – he defined it as to describe ‘a false definition of the situation, evoking a behaviour which makes the originally false conception true’. This means that our psychological responses to fears about the future actually have the power to make a false reality become true.

Conformity is defined as an individual changing attitudes to align with a social group or network. Conformity towards groups can be observed frequently in everyday life, from the way our behaviour adjusts appropriately to different social groups, to our beliefs and judgments. But why do we conform? Are we always aware that we are conforming? And to what extent are we influenced by the people around us that it changes the way we view ourselves?

The obvious answer to this question is further developments in AI. The creation of an AI that is almost indistinguishable from humanity, a thinking, feeling robot. Such a development would revolutionize the world, raise philosophical questions about what it means to be human and start a radical change in the definition of human rights.

In our everyday life, hugs are a frequent form of greeting, comfort, and expression of connection. But why do we actually hug people, and what are the physiological benefits of hugging?