Silicon Canals

Psychology says people who become noticeably quieter in their 60s and 70s aren't always unhappy or lonely— sometimes experience has taught them that peace rarel…

Somewhere in the mid-sixties, a lot of people go quiet at the dinner table. They still turn up. They still laugh in the right ...
Silicon Canals

Research suggests adults who were criticized for tiny mistakes as children often struggle to relax even when life is going well — part of them is still subconsciously …

Sunday afternoon, about four. Rent paid. Nobody sick. My dog asleep across one foot, in a patch of sun it took him twenty ...
Silicon Canals

Psychology says adults who don't truly know their worth will often accept far less than they deserve — because asking for more feels difficult when you've spent year…

Someone asks what you charge. There is a pause. Then a number leaves your mouth that is about thirty percent below the one ...
Silicon Canals

Psychology says people who were never celebrated themselves often find it difficult to celebrate others, not because they want you to fail, but because your good news …

A thumbs-up emoji turns up four hours late at the bottom of a group chat that has already moved on. Someone announced a ...
Silicon Canals

Psychology says adults who are regularly disrespected often grew up in homes where other people's feelings came first — teaching them to question their own hurt before ...

A friend came round last month and spent forty minutes explaining why it was perfectly reasonable that her manager had talked over her in three meetings ...
Silicon CanalsOpinion

The European AI Act never once uses the phrase human in the loop, which comes from a 2012 report calling for a ban on killer robots, and whose absence lets a com…

A regulatory phantom haunts Europe's AI safeguards: the human oversight requirement everyone cites but the law never actually ...
Silicon Canals

Psychology says people who fantasize about moving somewhere nobody knows them aren't necessarily running away — sometimes they are wondering who they m…

It usually turns up on a Monday. You are standing over a kettle or stuck on a train, and a whole parallel life assembles ...
Silicon Canals

Psychology says new parents who can't stop posting their kids on social media usually aren't just showing off — they may be trying to make a fleeting stage of life …

Somewhere right now a parent is standing over a cot with a phone raised, taking the fourteenth photo of a sleeping baby who ...
Silicon Canals

Psychology says people who become strangely quiet around certain family members aren't necessarily shy — part of them may still remember how small they once had t…

There’s a specific kind of quiet that only turns up at family gatherings. Someone who runs meetings for a living, who will ...
Silicon Canals

Psychology says people who never make a fuss about their own birthday aren't indifferent to being loved, they've often spent so long making others feel celebrate…

Every group has one. The person who knows your mother's operation is on Thursday. Who turns up with the right cake for the ...
Silicon Canals

Psychology says people who reach midlife and wonder “Is this it?” aren't necessarily having a crisis — they may be realizing that the life they keep meaning to live ...

A friend rang me at two in the morning, Bangkok time, which meant it was a civilised hour wherever he was and a criminal one where I was. He was forty-six. He ...
Silicon Canals

Psychology says people who instinctively resist change aren't always stubborn or fearful — they're often the ones whose early environment taught them that unpredi…

Every workplace has one. A new system gets announced, or a new supplier, or a new seating plan, and one person goes quiet in ...