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question 2: why do we have emotions?

Joy, grief, gnawing anxiety... We have a rich spectrum of emotions which we often see as opposites to our ability to be rational. Why has evolution provided us with these apparently irrational 'disturbances'? What's the point of feelings?  Read more

question 9: why do children play?

Children laugh on average 400 times a day, adults 25 times. Why do we stop laughing? And why do we stop playing – most of us anyway? Is play simply a form of learning, a preparation for the future?  Read more

question 14: when will there be thinking robots?

In the movies, smart robots at our beck and call are a commonplace. So why is it taking so long to get there in reality? When will it be just as natural to have a pet robot as to have a pet animal? And what can we learn about biological life when we design artificial life?  Read more