On the Curious Science of Christmas Shopping

It struck me yesterday, while battling my way around a jam-packed shopping centre in Essex, that anthropologists must really like Christmas. Don’t get me wrong, I usually enjoy Christmas too. But for those scientists who get their kicks out of the study of humanity, the prospect of the annual festival of spending must be truly mouth-watering. Because what I experienced yesterday – I find it quite traumatic to talk about – was nothing less than mass hysteria, brought about by... Read more