What is Big Think?  

We are Big Idea Hunters…

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.

Big Think Features:

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Big Think’s contributors offer expert analysis of the big ideas behind the news.

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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.

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Rightly Understood Posts

A conservative take on the world

Rightly Understood

Back to "Please Give"

Peter2
over 2 years ago

So, in the wake of the boring--yet annoying--Golden Globes,  I've been asked what movies of last year I'd recommend that the foreign correspondents slighted.  Let me say, to begin with, that my list of last year's bests probably wouldn't include the award-winning The Social Network.  How ...

Rightly Understood

Science and Our Proud Human Future

Peter2
over 2 years ago

BIG THINK displays a large number wonderful accounts of how science today is transforming our lives--appealing to our hopes, our pride, and, occasionally, our humility.  I thought I'd share with you somethng I wrote along those lines in one of the most illuminating scientific journals around--The ...

Rightly Understood

Alexis de Tocqueville's Relevance Today

Peter2
over 2 years ago

Most of you won't believe this, but I've actually gotten several requests to say more about Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America, rightly called the best book ever written on America and on democracy. This two-volume study, written by a French aristocrat on the basis of his journey to our ...

Rightly Understood

The Best Speech of His Career

Peter2
over 2 years ago

Here's the most thoughtful conservative appreciation of the President's speech.  And here are some points I want to emphasize: 1. The president did not blame the shooting on "inflammatory rhetoric." There's no evidence whatsoever that political rhetoric or tone was the cause of the act of a ...

Rightly Understood

Our Classy President

Peter2
over 2 years ago

I thought I'd call attention to one conservative appreciation among many of the President Obama's speech in Tuscon. From Peter Wehner's post on the Commentary magazine blog "Contentions": The president resisted the temptation to offer simplistic explanations for the existence of evil or how ...

Rightly Understood

Darwinian Larry Responds...

Peter2
over 2 years ago

The leading Darwinian conservative has done me the honor of responding to my previous post, including the excellent comment by Brendan Foht.  According to Larry, the criticism of him for rejecting the idea of eternity of the human species is misguided. The basis of the objection comes from the ...

Rightly Understood

Being "Country Strong"

Peter2
over 2 years ago

Country Strong hasn't been taken seriously by film critics. I'm not going to review what they've said or speculate on why they said it. I'm just going to explain why I enjoyed this very thoughtful film.   The four major characters---two men and two women--are all extremely attractive. The women ...

Rightly Understood

Darwinian Conservatism?

Peter2
over 2 years ago

There's a lot of talk on BIG THINK about evolutionary explanations of this or that human behavior.  They're all pretty fascinating, although far from completely convincing. Darwinian explanations, for what its worth, usually strike me as pretty conservative.  In fact, the best Darwinian ...

Rightly Understood

The Idea of the American University

Peter2
over 2 years ago

Three books showed up this week with chapters by ME in them.  Even without those chapters, each would still be a fabulous (although somewhat diminished) book.  So as not to test your patience, I will feature them one at a time. Bradley C. S. Watson edited The Idea of the American University.  ...

Rightly Understood

Being Old These Days

Peter2
over 2 years ago

The good news is, of course, is that the old are living longer and healthier than ever.  But, as I explained, the news in not all good for us old guys in a techno-world full of preferential options for the young.  Here's the first half, for those who aren't up to clicking: The standard of ...