We live in a time of information abundance, which far too many of us see as information overload. With the sum total of human knowledge, past and present, at our fingertips, we’re faced with a crisis of attention: which ideas should we engage with, and why? Big Think is an evolving roadmap to the best thinking on the planet — the ideas that can help you think flexibly and act decisively in a multivariate world.
A word about Big Ideas and Themes — The architecture of Big Think
Big ideas are lenses for envisioning the future. Every article and video on bigthink.com and on our learning platforms is based on an emerging “big idea” that is significant, widely relevant, and actionable. We’re sifting the noise for the questions and insights that have the power to change all of our lives, for decades to come. For example, reverse-engineering is a big idea in that the concept is increasingly useful across multiple disciplines, from education to nanotechnology.
Themes are the seven broad umbrellas under which we organize the hundreds of big ideas that populate Big Think. They include New World Order, Earth and Beyond, 21st Century Living, Going Mental, Extreme Biology, Power and Influence, and Inventing the Future.
Browse videos featuring experts across a wide range of disciplines, from personal health to business leadership to neuroscience.
Big Think’s contributors offer expert analysis of the big ideas behind the news.
Big Think’s Edge learning platform for career mentorship and professional development provides engaging and actionable courses delivered by the people who are shaping our future.
Guest posts from thought leaders
It’s an absolute fixture in children’s libraries worldwide and upon its publication in 1963 was awarded the Caldecott Medal, a distinguished award given to the year’s best picture book for children as decided by the Association for Library Service to Children. In the years since, it has inspired ...
Editor's Note: In a recent interview with Big Think, Richard Tafel, founder of the Log Cabin Republicans and The Public Squared gave us his advice for transforming the system: create a super PAC for the people, by the people. Challenge intractable elected officials. Shake things up. Ensure that ...
Francis Tapon has traveled to 80 countries and spent the last three years traveling to 25 Eastern European countries. In 2013, he will begin a three-year trip to all 54 African nations. Today, April 28, is the official launch of his new book, The Hidden Europe: What Eastern Europeans Can Teach Us. ...
Good intentions can lead to bad outcomes in business. This is especially true in organizations that have toxic cultures in which leaders tout worthy values--and then put up roadblocks that prevent employees from living those values. The GSA scandal provides an apt example. With all the rampant ...
Editor's Note: Joanne Barkan is a writer for Dissent who sees serious flaws in the "school reform" movement that went national with the 2001 enactment of the federal No Child Left Behind law. In the following excerpts from her article, "Hired Guns on Astroturf: How to Buy and Sell School Reforms ...
Several weeks ago, you may have read Frozen. Canada’s Anti-Spam Reporting Centre: 5 Reasons Why The Fed’s Latest Flight of Fancy is Dead on Arrival by Claudiu Popa on this site. Popa capably outlines the notion of The Freezer, a repository of ISP & user-reported spam, operated by Industry Canada ...
Editorial Note: This is a guest contribution from Kristen Wolf, author of The Way, which was was recently selected by Oprah for her Reading List. Everyone grows up under the shadow of religion. No matter your race, gender, creed, or lack thereof, every aspect of our lives is touched, if not ...
Editor's Note: This is a guest post by Dr. Larry Rosen, a research psychologist who focuses on the effects of technology on the human mind. What's the Big Idea? It should come as no surprise that we are all hopelessly addicted to our devices, particularly our smartphones. Why shouldn't we be ...
Have a quick read of available coverage and you might be tempted to think “The Freezer”, the Canadian government’s plan for a national Anti-Spam Reporting Centre is a great initiative whose time has come. Headlines already abound with such emphatic language as “crack-down” and “getting tough on ...
Bano, a mother of five who lives in the ancient quarter of Lahore—the cultural center—was without power for days. She wanted to make goat stew, a family favorite and a dish that can take hours to prepare. So that morning, Bano built a makeshift stove with wood and charcoal to cook. “I was ...
Slovenia Donald Reindl, an Assistant Professor of English Translation in Slovenia, told me that one thing that Americans can learn from Slovenians is to give young children more independence. He said, “The independence of Slovenian children at the primary level and the confidence that they gain ...
Editorial note: This is a guest post by Faisal Saeed Al-Mutar, the 20 year old Iraqi founder of the Global Secular Humanist Movement – a forum for the discussion of rational humanism with 42K fans on Facebook. It started when I was a child and has never stopped since then: the desire to ...
By Chris Rivard and Karl Rebay (Partners, Moss Adams) The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is two years old. Is it a success? A failure? Has health care been reformed? Is reform on its way? These are but a few of the questions being asked on the second birthday of this monumental and ...
Editor's Note: This is a guest post from Robert Greenberg -- pianist, music historian, and author of How to Listen to Great Music: A Guide to Its History, Culture, and Heart. He is currently music historian-in-residence with San Francisco Performances and serves as the resident composer and music ...
What's the Big Idea? A door to solving several public-policy challenges opens if health insurance is separated from employment. It’s an approach with features attractive to both major parties- and every American. In the realm of health care reform, the term “decoupling” refers to separating ...