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.
Technologies that amplify the best of human nature
Neil DeGrasse Tyson, who ought to know, says that the future won't be anything like The Terminator. "I live in the real world, and in the real world that’s simply not the robots we’re making and even if we did, they would just be really good computers of things and they’d give me access to ...
Since April, we've been exploring the intersection of humanity and technology in our Humanizing Technology series, an online expo in partnership with Bing. Without a doubt, the series has had an ethical slant – a focus not only on what's new and cool, but on technologies (or uses of technology ...
On June 30-July 1, Bing and Big Think present For Humankind, a weekend-long science, technology and design pop-up expo at 201 Mulberry Street, New York City. Here we will spotlight those ideas, communities and devices that integrate into our lives, capitalize on our unique strengths, and amplify ...
Alan Turing was an English computer scientist, linguist, philosopher and code breaker widely credited as being the "father of artificial intelligence (AI)" and inventing the computer. 100 years after the birth of Alan Turing, we take stock of his most interesting idea, The Turing Test. Alan ...
What's the Big Idea? Cogito ergo sum. I think, therefore I am. That is how René Descartes famously differentiated humans from other creatures. And yet, that statement might eventually be in need of an update or at least a strong qualifier, as computers are advancing rapidly from animal-like ...
It isn’t as if the real world has vanished. Many of us are spending an awful lot of time staring at screens, updating our Facebook status, etc., but we’re not (yet) hardwired into virtual reality, unable to remember the feel of human touch. At the same time, there’s a growing anxiety in the ...
I marvel at Radiolab when I hear it. I feel jealous. Its co-creators Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich have digested all the storytelling and production tricks of everyone in public radio before them, invented some slick moves of their own, and ended up creating the rarest thing you can create in any ...
When you look at the best healthcare systems in the world -- that is, the ones that provide the best care and are the most efficient -- you will find a high number of primary care doctors. The United States, on the other hand, is the land of the specialists, and sub-specialists. Not only does ...
What's the Big Idea? On May 20, Pakistan shut down Twitter for eight hours after the microblogging site refused to remove tweets that linked to a page encouraging people to post pictures of Muhammad. The move backfired: rather than diverting eyes from the offensive content, the government turned ...
What's the Big Idea? Jane McGonigal argues that games are not a waste of time. In fact, she argues, "we need to look at what games are doing for gamers, the skills that we’re developing, the relationships that we’re forming, the heroic qualities that we get to practice every time we play ...
Across the world, technology has transformed the relationship between consumers and businesses. The opportunities it provides to connect with each other instantly are changing how we do business and how we live our lives. By putting power in the hands of billions of consumers, new technology has ...
What's the Big Idea? Is the Internet making us stupid? Will our capacity for contemplation be fried by the minute-to-minute updates of Facebook, Twitter, and instant messaging? Actually, no, says James Gleick, author of The Information: A History, A Theory, A Flood. The Internet has ...
It blew my mind back in 2003 when I read that Dr. Miguel Nicolelis at the Duke Center for Neuroengineering had enabled monkeys to control a robot arm with their thoughts. Nicolelis published his report in the Public Library of Science Biology , which was a smart move. The media attention his ...
What’s the Big Idea? Facebook shares start trading today, at a price that will value the company at close to $100 billion, or roughly the 2011 GDP of Sudan. The difference between this and other comparably enormous initial public offerings is that Facebook's product, or service, is free. Its ...
What's the Big Idea? Up up down down left right left right B A start. Press these buttons in succession while playing any one of the more than 60 video games which recognize it and heavenly rewards will rain down upon you, from extra lives to infinite ammo to full-on God mode. Originally ...