An article in Wednesday's New York Times explores how researchers are bridging the gap between the humanities and sciences by exploring the reasons we have evolved into creatures who occupy ourselves with the lives of fictional characters. Armed with M.R.I.'s, researchers are looking into how our brains act differently when we're reading the newspaper and when we're reading Proust. One theory is that reading complex fiction enables us to better understand what others are thinking and that novels equip us with tools in finding the right mate. Once they figure this out, I'll be able to tell my English students that if they don't do their homework, they'll suffer one lonely prom night. That's an even better motivator than autonomy, mastery, and purpose!

On the flip side, the article explores how literature can help explain one of evolution's mysteries: altruism. William Flesch, a professor of English at Brandeis University cites Odysseus, Don Quixote, Hamlet, and Hercule Poirot as altruistic punishers. Flesch argues that nature has endowed us with a "pleasing sense of outrage" when we watch characters cheat, and we are delighted when cheaters are punished. These emotional reactions can provide insight into how we have evolved to play nice.

I'm not sure Hamlet is the best example of an altruistic punisher. Of all the forces that motivate Hamlet to finally avenge his father's murder, altruism ranks pretty low. I would have cited Batman.