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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.
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Big ideas in the news from around the web
“It began life during the last ice age, long before man turned to agriculture and built the first cities in the fertile crescent of the Middle East. It was already thousands of years old when the Egyptians built their pyramids and the ancient Britons erected Stonehenge. The Jurupa Oak tree first ...
“Signs of movement in music service Spotify’s aim to break America. After pushing back a hoped-for launch from Q3/Q4-2009 to Q1/Q2-2010, global business development head Faisal Galaria is now hiring for New York-based business development execs. Reasons for the delay actually aren’t totally clear ...
“As the current decade draws to a close, relatively few Americans have positive things to say about it. By roughly two-to-one, more say they have a generally negative (50%) rather than a generally positive (27%) impression of the past 10 years. This stands in stark contrast to the public’s ...
“President Obama, looking back on 2009 and his first year in office, told the Washington Post, ‘the most important thing we did this year was to ensure that the financial system did not collapse.’ That Obama would make such a definitive statement is raising eyebrows, especially in the midst of the ...
“From beetles to barnacles, pikas to pine warblers, many species are already on the move in response to shifting climate regimes. But how fast will they -- and their habitats -- have to move to keep pace with global climate change over the next century? In a new study, a team of scientists including ...
“Senior Obama administration officials tell Fox News the move to impose sanctions against Iran for its feared pursuit of nuclear weapons will begin in January, but it will take time to gain speed and specificity. The move will come after the expiration of the Dec. 31 deadline imposed by President ...
“‘The new generation of Iran's national satellite called Toloo (Dawn) will be unveiled in February,’ Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi was quoted as saying by the governmental Iran paper. The satellite has been designed by Sa Iran, also known as Iran Electronics Industries, an affiliate company of the ...
“Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, the U.K. bank majority-owned by the government, said it may sell works from its in-house art collection that is worth as much as 15 million pounds ($24 million). The lender, which has received 45.5 billion pounds in state aid in the world’s most expensive bank ...
“A suicide bomber has killed at least five people and injured many more in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar, after detonating explosives near an army and police checkpoint, police say. The blast occurred on Thursday on the city's busy Mall Road, home to government offices, banks and private ...
“Democrats are already outlining a strategy to achieve a final compromise that can satisfy the more liberal House without upsetting the painstakingly assembled coalition of 60 Senate Democrats and independents. Central to those talks, House leaders said, will be the search for an acceptable ...
“In Nashville, Tennessee, Bad Santa has struck, holding up a bank at gunpoint. Dressed seasonally in bright red with white gloves, white beard, red and white hat and dark sunglasses, he pulled a gun and threatened the bank staff that if they put dye bombs on the cash, to make it traceable, he would ...
“Copenhagen was a disaster. That much is agreed. But the truth about what actually happened is in danger of being lost amid the spin and inevitable mutual recriminations. The truth is this: China wrecked the talks, intentionally humiliated Barack Obama, and insisted on an awful ‘deal’ so western ...
“Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner looks like any other airliner, so it might be hard for anyone but an airplane geek to get so excited about its inaugural flight. But the energy-efficient airliner is a bold step forward for Boeing, and for aviation. As much as the 787 Dreamliner looks like the jet that ...
“The average low-income person loses 8.2 years of perfect health, the average high school dropout loses 5.1 years, and the obese lose 4.2 years, according to researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. Tobacco control has long been one of the most important public health ...
The latest astronauts to reach the International Space Station have kicked off a Space-based Christmas by arriving wearing Santa hats, elf costumes and clutching a Christmas tree. “The latest three astronauts to reach the International Space Station, have brought with them some festive cheer. Oleg ...