Look Again Ideas

This site explores everyday phenomena, overlooked ideas, and familiar concepts from a new angle. These topics don’t require specialized knowledge, just a willingness to think about familiar things a little differently.

Many of the ideas here start with simple questions: Why does something behave the way it does? Why does something seem obvious at first then turn out not to be? Or what do you learn if you follow the idea a little further?

Some of these will look at well-known scientific concepts in a more intuitive way. Others focus on things that don’t quite fit expectations, or that reveal something unexpected.

The goal is to give you a better understanding of how the world around you works, while keeping it interesting.

Start Here

A few articles that give you a feel for the site.

• We Really, Really Want to Be Right
  Confirmation bias and how we misread evidence. (April 2026)
• The Green Dog
  Why aren't mammals green, it seems like the perfect camouflage? (June 2026)
• A Building the Size of a Soccer Field Could Hold Humanity's Accumulated Knowledge
  The amount of information is immense, yet surprisingly small. (June 2026)

Being Human

• You Learned About Your Five Senses. What About 6, 7, 8, and 9?
  Balance, body awareness, and other senses you were never taught. (March 2026)
• The Awwww Factor: Why Things Feel Cute
  An instinctive response that serves a purpose, triggered by specific features. (April 2026)
• We Really, Really Want to Be Right
  Confirmation bias and how we misread evidence. (April 2026)
• We Spend a Third of Our Lives Unconscious. Why?
  Sleep doesn't seem like a great idea. (April 2026)
• Small Words, Big Reaction
  The power of swear words. (May 2026)

Nature and Evolution

• Your Cat Is Your Cousin
  Yes your actual flesh and blood cousin. Why the family tree is far bigger than it seems. (March 2026)
• Local Optima: Survival of the Imperfect
  What do a peacock, a toilet tank, and a diamond have in common? (May 2026)
• The Green Dog
  Why aren't mammals green, it seems like the perfect camouflage? (June 2026)
• The World's Largest R&D Lab
  Nature invents high-tech solutions but it works by different rules than humans do. (June 2026)

Technology and Patterns

• Does Luck Run in Streaks?
  Yes it does, but perhaps not for the reason you think. (April 2026)
• Just When You Think It Can't Get Any Better
  What water teaches us about our relationship with technology. (April 2026)
• The Math Is Right, but Something Doesn't Add Up
  The problem with exponential growth assumptions. (April 2026)
• The Horns of Venus
  What does this ancient saying tell us about naked eye astronomy. (April 2026)
• A Building the Size of a Soccer Field Could Hold Humanity's Accumulated Knowledge
  The amount of information is immense, yet surprisingly small. (June 2026)