Mind Kids

A Mind That Can’t “See” Mental Images

Yasemin Saplakoglu | Quanta | 1st August 2024

1% to 4% of the general population experience aphantasia — an inability to conjure mental images. Described over 140 years ago, the term was coined in 2015 as a play on “phantasia”, Aristotle’s word for “mind’s eye”. “You might think aphantasia makes for a very impoverished mental life. It’s possible that people with aphantasia are less likely to have mental health problems marked by vivid mental images” (2,800 words)

Why We Should Give Votes To Kids

Molly Kingsley | Critic | 2nd August 2024

Democracies are united in excluding “minors” from voting, on the logic that children are not competent to make good decisions. Yet, they are as much citizens as adults. Politicians are not incentivised enough to prioritise children’s interests in policy-making — as they are with the elderly. “It would be inconceivable to suggest that any other group be excluded from our most fundamental democratic processes” (1,600 words)