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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.
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Big ideas in the news from around the web
Established by the British in 1920, the Baghdad Equestrian Club has been one of the most stable institutions in Iraq since the invasion. "The crowd in the stands rose to their feet shouting and gesticulating in tense excitement as the horses rounded the final bend and thundered down the home ...
Jackie Kennedy's wit and style suits a British actress such as Rachel Weisz who will play the role in an upcoming film, writes The Independent. "It is not the first time that the role of Jackie Kennedy has gone to a Brit. She was famously played by Jacqueline Bisset in America's Prince and less ...
Scaling back Bush's promised manned moon landing left Obama in the cold of deep space, but now compromises are being made with NASA. "Human travel to Mars is now back on America’s space agenda. It is just one of many course-corrections that President Obama will likely be forced to make to his ...
A volcanologist speaks with Scientific American about the rare case of Iceland's disruptive volcanic eruption and how long it might last. "Fire and ice have created a doubly dangerous and disruptive volcanic disaster in Iceland that is being felt around the world as locals are evacuated and ...
A columnist at Bloomberg News cannot see how Goldman Sachs will escape its SEC fraud charges or rebuild its tarnished reputation. "It’s hard to imagine an allegation by the government that could be more damaging to Goldman’s reputation. This wasn’t the American public at large that Goldman ...
The Palestinian Authority is boycotting goods sold in new Israeli settlements, but the new policy is merely a cosmetic change, writes one Guardian contributor. "It looks as though the Palestinian Authority (PA), sick of being slated as an Israeli puppet, is trying to reinvent itself as the People's ...
Oceanic absorption of CO2 is good for the air but turns the water acidic branding it climate change's "evil twin". "The sexiest way to put it is that 'ocean acidification' is the 'evil twin' of climate change. While much research has gone on in regards to carbon dioxide's (a major element of ...
Steve Chapman of the Chicago Tribune writes that non-physicians, like nurse practitioners, should be given more authority to treat patients. "What people with medical problems need is medical care, but you don't always need a physician to get treatment. You might also see a different sort of trained ...
Aerosol pollution has sharply declined since the '80s, but the pollutant's effects were to cool a now-warming the earth. "You're likely to hear a chorus of dire warnings as we approach Earth Day, but there's a serious shortage few pundits are talking about: air pollution. That's right, the world is ...
Clicking "Like" on a Facebook page won't meet the challenges that face our times, quips an editorial in The Christian Science Monitor. "To confront rogue nations, terrorists, energy issues, soaring debt, and other urgent problems that threaten America’s security, the Facebook generation has made ...
Columnist Gail Collins asks what makes us prefer lawyers as politicians even though the story often ends the same way: with failure. "There is something about attorneys general that makes everybody want to nominate them for higher office, even though it almost always ends badly. In New York, our ...
Tim Rutten at The Los Angeles Times writes that the Tea Party has no manifesto as such and is only the rebranding of the "Angry While Male". "One of the things journalism teaches you over and over again is that nothing ruins a good story quite like the facts. Consider, for example, this week's ...
Generation Y's selfish desire for instant gratification has created political apathy and kept them from even the simplest gesture of completing the census form. "The adoption, or co-option, of marketing and consumer products into the lifestyle of the new hipster is why the movement has been accused ...
Garrison Keillor writes that plain and simple virtues like honesty and modesty are considered naive in politics but are still crucial to a peaceful earthly existence. "For all the talk of political polarization and the anger of the right wing, you don't see this in everyday life as you gad about the ...
Bill Clinton compares today's anti-government rallies to the nation's attitude during his Presidency at the time of the Oklahoma City bombing. "'There's the same kind of economic and social upheaval now,' he told CNN's Wolf Blitzer in an interview to air Friday on 'The Situation Room.' 'Then, you ...