49 m. ago Can you see circles or rectangles? And does the answer depend on where you grew up? | Anil Seth

We may believe we see the world exactly as it is – but as studies of optical illusions show, it’s far more complex than thatAnil Seth is a professor of cognitive and computational neuroscience at the University of SussexDo people from different cultures and environments see the world differently? Two recent studies have different takes on this decades-long controversy. The answer might be more complicated, and more interesting, than either study suggests.One study, led by Ivan Kroupin at the London School of Economics, asked how people from different cultures perceived a visual illusion known as the Coffer illusion. They discovered that people in the UK and US saw it mainly in one way, as comprising rectangles – while people from rural communities in Namibia typically saw it another way: as containing circles. Continue reading...

Politics

1 hour ago My cultural awakening: a Marina Abramović show helped me to stop hating my abusive father

At an Abramović art takeover I discovered the quiet strength of a political protester from Myanmar. It gave me a new father figure – and unblocked my creativityOn an unseasonably warm day in October 2023, I arrived, ahead of the queues, at London’s Southbank Centre for a conceptual art takeover by the world-famous Marina Abramović Institute.I had recently read Marina’s memoir Walk Through Walls, which had resonated. So, when I’d seen the event advertised – hours-long performances by artists she’d invited, curated and introduced by Marina – I bought a £60 ticket and waited for my time slot to enter the Queen Elizabeth Hall. I hadn’t seen performance art before, and this was due to include her well-known work The Artist Is Present with an artist sitting, static and silent, in a chair all day, as Marina once did for an accumulated 736 hours and 30 minutes at the Museum of Modern Art. I felt certain that it would affect me, I just wasn’t sure how. Continue reading...

Events

4 h. ago Abandoned bungalow in the woods filled with dolls and teddies leaves explorers horrified

Two explorers discovered an abandoned bungalow in the woods packed to the brim with teddy bears and dolls, but were so freaked out, one labelled it 'one of the most uncomfortable places'

Events

4 h. ago 'I visited underrated French city and discovered surprising link to my hometown'

When I was invited on a trip to Cognac in the south of France, I could never have anticipated learning so much about myself and my hometown in the process

Politics

8 h. ago Oasis review – a shameless trip back to the 90s for Britpop’s loudest, greatest songs

Principality Stadium, CardiffPlaylist Oasis is fine in the stand but it looks like an insult in the headBrothers in arms: Noel and Liam reunite on the Oasis reunion tour – in pictures‘Liam hasn’t sounded that good since the 90s’: fans react to the first night of the Oasis reunion tourThe noise from the audience when Oasis arrive onstage for their first reunion gig is deafening. You might have expected a voluble response. This is, after all, a crowd so partisan that, between the support acts, cheer the promotional videos – the tour’s accompanying brand deals seem to involve not just the obviously Oasis-adjacent sportswear brand Adidas, but the more imponderable Land Rover Discovery. Even so, the noise they make as the reconsitituted Oasis launch into Hello takes you slightly aback, and not just because Hello is a fairly ballsy choice of opener: this is, after all, a song that borrows heavily from Hello! Hello! I’m Back Again by Gary Glitter. But no one in Cardiff’s Principality Stadi...

Politics

11 h. ago Rory McKenzie honoured as Kilmarnock win testimonial clash against Ayr United

A crowd of close to 5,500 attended Rugby Park to celebrate the 31-year-old's service to the club

Politics

13 h. ago Loch Ness Monster sightings not based on 'depictions' but 'physical reality'

University researchers have discovered that sightings of the legendary Loch Ness Monster are actually not influenced by traditional souvenir depictions of its appearance

Politics

14 h. ago News | Close to £500 million of London Victoria offices hit market

News | Close to £500 million of London Victoria offices hit market  CoStar

Economics

14 h. ago Police stunned to find unrelated body during murder probe hunt for missing person

While investigating the disappearance of a person near St Austell in Cornwall, police discovered the body of a man in his 40s, and launched an unrelated murder probe

Events

14 h. ago The Guardian view on the public’s dinomania: passion for palaeontology endures through the ages | Editorial

From blockbuster movies like Jurassic World Rebirth to documentary series, the appetite for these ancient creatures appears inexhaustibleOn-screen discussions of DNA and off-screen scientific consultants notwithstanding, no one goes to see a Jurassic Park movie for its realism. Yet one of the less convincing moments in Jurassic World Rebirth, the latest in the franchise, is unrelated to oversized velociraptors. It’s the palaeontologist Dr Henry Loomis complaining of shrinking public interest in his field.This spring, the BBC revived its 1999 hit series Walking With Dinosaurs. Not a week goes by without headlines announcing the discovery of a new species or new theories on how they behaved. Publishers produce an endless stream of dino-related fact and fiction, particularly for children. Palaeontology – at least when focused on the dinosaurs of the Mesozoic, or our hominin forebears – has long exerted an extraordinary hold on the public imagination.Do you have an opinion on the issues...

Politics

15 h. ago Suriname expected to elect first female president amid discovery of oil reserves

Jennifer Geerlings-Simons, 71, will run unopposed as one of the poorest countries in the region eyes billions of dollarsSuriname is expected to elect its first female president this Sunday, the congresswoman and physician Jennifer Geerlings-Simons, 71, who will run unopposed after the ruling party decided not to field a candidate.Geerlings-Simons will succeed current president Chandrikapersad Santokhi, 66, who has been in office since 2020 and was eligible for re-election – but whose party failed to secure the two-thirds parliamentary majority required in the country’s indirect voting system. Continue reading...

Politics

16 h. ago Parking mistake could cost drivers £2,500 and points on their licence

Experts have warned drivers that they could be hit with a hefty fine and points on their licence for making a simple parking mistake - here's everything you need to know

Economics

16 h. ago One dead and woman left in critical condition after fireworks explode and light a whole city block on fire

Over 100 firefighters battled the blazes Thursday night after a fireworks explosion set multiple homes on fire in Pacoima, around 20 miles north of Los Angeles

Events

16 h. ago Tickets for first Oasis comeback gig going for up to £3,500 online

The Gallagher brothers are set to perform live for the first time in almost 16 years tonight

Economics

16 h. ago Council faces £100,000 tax bill as its ban on second home owners makes its new flats in multi

Bosses have been forced to lift the restriction on the flats in Hunstanton which were intended to go on the market - for local people only - in December 2023.

Economics

17 h. ago Oasis in row with photo agencies over pictures from reunion shows

Exclusive: Band’s management tell agencies and publishers they can only use shots of first gig in Cardiff for a yearSongwriters ‘missing millions in royalties from more than 100,000 UK gigs’A row has broken out over restrictions imposed on how newspapers, magazines, TV broadcasters and digital publishers can use pictures taken at Oasis reunion gigs, as the band prepare to play the first night of what is expected to be the most profitable tour in UK history.Photo agencies and publishers have been told they can use shots of the first concert, which takes place in Cardiff on Friday, for one year and then the rights revert back to the band and management. Continue reading...

Culture

17 h. ago 10 best pressure washers for blasting through muck and grime

These machines will quickly clean your patio, deck, garden furniture and more

Events

17 h. ago Holiday warning for Brits as selfie mistake could land you with £100,000 fine

Brits heading on holidays this summer are being warned to check the rules for taking photos in public spaces as some countries have some hefty fines in place if you get it wrong

Events

17 h. ago Boy, eight, who only communicates by barking after he was abandoned and left with dogs by his drug

The child, who has not been named, was discovered at a 'drug-infested' run-down shack in Uttaradit Province during a welfare check.

Events

17 h. ago Shocking truth behind migrants who washed up dead with hands and ankles tied is revealed as details of hellish final moments emerge

There was shock and horror when the five corpses were discovered in the ocean off the Balearics and it was thought they had been murdered and then thrown into the water

Events