It’s one thing to disagree about sports teams or favorite foods. It’s another thing entirely to disagree about whether a vaccine is safe, whether an election was stolen, or whether climate change is real. That kind of disagreement often feels deeply personal, even threatening. Why? Our research suggests it’s not simply because other people have different beliefs. It’s because we think those beliefs are wrong. As behavioral scientists who study the role of beliefs in politics and everyday life, we wanted to understand why certain disagreements cut so much deeper than others. The answer, we found, has less to do…

In the labyrinthine lanes of Patna, where the echoes of political rallies and the hum of daily commerce blend into a chaotic symphony, a quiet but catastrophic storm has been brewing for a prominent physician. Dr. V. Sharma, a respected name in the city’s cardiology circles, recently stepped forward to reveal a nightmare that has shattered his professional veneer and plunged his existence into a state of profound anxiety. He has formally lodged a complaint with the Patna police, alleging a brazen extortion attempt demanding a staggering sum of ₹2 crore. The leverage used by his alleged tormentors is not…