T. Dan Nelson's Page

Gossip: a simple word that conjures images of hushed voices, furtive glances, and knowing smirks. For something so commonplace, it carries profound consequences. It bonds some people together while isolating others, leaving us to wonder—is gossip an inherent part of human nature? To answer that, we need to dig into its evolutionary roots, its role in our social structures, and the transformative power of empathy.

Gossip likely evolved as a survival tool in early…

Darwin Awards commemorate certain people in a morbidly humorous fashion. According to the rules, winners of a Darwin Award must eliminate themselves from the gene pool—either by killing themselves or by rendering themselves sterile—as a result of exercising their own exceptionally poor judgment. Check out www.darwinawards.com. There, dozens of winners appear along with their stories of award-winning, gene…