Modern neuroscience has been accused of being a ‘new phrenology‘, but now researchers have conducted a modern evaluation of phrenological claims using neuroscience methods. In an enjoyable new ...

Some thinkers and physicians of the 18th and 19th centuries believed that the shape of a person’s skull could hold clues as to their psychology. In this Curiosities of Medical History feature, we take ...

In the mid-19th century, phrenology was reaching its peak popularity in the U.S. The idea that the shape of the human skull was linked to intelligence and personality traits had a significant ...

The pseudoscience, which involves drawing conclusions about a person from the shape of their head, was contested from its outset and widely discredited within decades. It also has deeply racist ...

In “Empire of Skulls,” Paul Stob explores how a mania took over America. By Jennifer Wright Jennifer Wright is the author, most recently, of “Glitz, Glam, and a Damn Good Time: How Mamie Fish, Queen ...

These creepy miniature heads — 60 in all — are a fascinating relic of a short-lived fad in the 18th century called phrenology. They’re currently housed at the Science Museum in London. Phrenology was ...

AI phrenology might be bad, say Ivy League economics professors in 61-page paper about how AI phrenology is accurate. Reading time 2 minutes Every few months, another highly educated academic asks: ...

Somehow, amid a culture war backlash against Rachel Zegler, the actress starring in Disney‘s forthcoming live-action Snow White remake, the conversation turned to her appearance. That in itself is no ...

In London in 1873, Mark Twain saw an advertisement for the services of a fellow American who had hung out a shingle on Fleet Street. At once inspired and skeptical, Twain made his way to the offices ...

Phrenologists believed the shape of the brain offered a clear-cut explanation for behaviour. Hey Paul Studios/Flickr, CC BY-SA Long before neuroscience, phrenology claimed to have the power to ...

In the mid-19th century, phrenology was reaching its peak popularity in the U.S. The idea that the shape of the human skull was linked to intelligence and personality traits had a significant ...