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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.
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Big ideas in the news from around the web
“Hours after two TSA agents served a civil subpoena on blogger Steven Frischling last week to uncover the anonymous source of a leaked document, an unusual message appeared on the blogger’s Twitter account. ‘To the gentleman who sent Flying With Fish the TSA Security Directive … Thank You! Can you ...
A spill of diesel fuel in China’s second-longest river has been “effectively” contained by barricades according to the China National Petroleum Corp. “CNPC has erected two barriers across the Yellow River at Sanmenxia city in the central province of Henan to prevent contamination of a reservoir ...
An exhibition of naturally sculpted rock from China’s Qing Dynasty opens in London this week – baffling onlookers will displays of elaborately eroded stone on wooded plinths. “What would you call it, if you had to call it something? An especially unruly, indeed, a raving, cabbage? A storm-riven sky ...
The tallest building in the world, Dubai’s new Khalifa Tower, is “a frightening purposeless monument to the subprime era” writes The Telegraph’s Stephen Bayley. “’Less is only more where more is no good.’ I wonder how many guests squinting into the Gulf's blue skies before the sublime, coruscating ...
US secretary of state Hillary Clinton has warned that Yemen poses a global threat and has pledged American support in the Yemeni government’s fight against al-Qaeda. “Hillary Clinton's comments came ahead of news on Tuesday that the US had reopened its embassy in Sanaa, Yemen's capital, closed days ...
“Solar physicists attempting to unlock the mysteries of the solar corona have found another piece of the puzzle by observing the sun’s outer atmosphere during eclipses. Ground-based observations reveal the first images of the solar corona in the near-infrared emission line of highly ionized iron, or ...
NASA’s new planet-hunting telescope has found two mystery objects that are “too hot to be plants and too small to be stars” – neither of which fit any definition of known astrological objects. “The Kepler Telescope, launched in March, discovered the two new heavenly bodies, each circling its own ...
A “cocktail” of different nanometer-sized particles which can be used to target and kill cancerous tumours have been developed by researchers in California and Massachusetts. “’This study represents the first example of the benefits of employing a cooperative nanosystem to fight cancer,’ said ...
Amid fears of further terrorist attacks the Yemeni government has ordered an “unprecedented” number of troops into the region controlled by Al Qaeda. The move comes as both the US and Britain closed their embassies in the capital Sana yesterday after reported threats. “The Obama administration ...
Dubai is set to open the world’s tallest building today, although many of the offices are unfinished, as the emirate tries to re-establish hope amid the financial crisis. “The Burj Dubai, built by about 12,000 labourers and standing at a reported height of 818 metres, will open on Monday amid tight ...
“Malaysians are flocking online to debate a contentious court ruling that allows local Roman Catholics to use the word Allah as a translation for God. The editor of Malaysia's ‘Herald, The Catholic Weekly’, Father Lawrence Andrew, shows a Holy Bible written in Arabic to members of the media as he ...
“The US has lifted a 22-year immigration ban which has stopped anyone with HIV/Aids from entering the country. President Obama said the ban was not compatible with US plans to be a leader in the fight against the disease. The new rules come into force on Monday and the US plans to host a bi-annual ...
Nearly 800 people have set themselves the challenge of self improvement by joining the One Hundred Days to Make Me A Better Person campaign. “It asks followers to carry out one self-edifying act, once a day, for one hundred days. The project began at the beginning of December and is the brainchild ...
Scientists are warning that deadly animal diseases are poised to begin infecting humans as environmental disruption lowers the human-animal species barrier. “At least 45 diseases that have passed from animals to humans have been reported to UN agencies in the last two decades, with the number ...
A brilliantly preserved skeleton of the extinct dodo bird, found in Mauritius in 2007, could provide valuable DNA information which could lead to the genetic resurrection of the species. “The new dodo skeleton is particularly exciting because it was found in a cave, which helped to preserve the ...