Why you act the way you do -- Editor’s Picks

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Conflicting logic, emotions, desires, fears, reactions and frustrations all wrapped up in a fragile body ... no wonder humans are a mess. Here are some looks as to how and why.

In Slate: The Sex Difference Evangelists

‘If there’s one question we never tire of, it’s whether men and women speak or feel or think in fundamentally different ways. Do women talk more than men? Are their brains hard-wired for empathy? Can innate differences explain men’s and women’s career choices? This is today’s iteration of Mars and Venus, and it’s everywhere.’

In Psychology Today: Typically Twisted

‘Taboo impulses can be titillating ... but more often they’re a source of concern for those who harbor secret wishes or unusual desires. If you prefer gallows humor to slapstick or kinky to vanilla, take heart: Dark inclinations have their own logic and benefits.’

And in the New Yorker: The Itch: Its mysterious power may be a clue to a new theory about brains and bodies.

Atul Guwande writes:

‘At thirty-six, she entered rehab, dropped the boyfriend, and kicked the drugs. She had two good, quiet years in which she began rebuilding her life. Then she got the itch. ... It crawled along her scalp, and no matter how much she scratched it would not go away. ‘I felt like my inner self, like my brain itself, was itching,’ she says. And it took over her life just as she was starting to get it back.’

-- Tami Dennis