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:

12,000+ Expert Videos

1

Browse videos featuring experts across a wide range of disciplines, from personal health to business leadership to neuroscience.

Watch videos

World Renowned Bloggers

2

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

Go to blogs

Big Think Edge

3

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.

Find out more
Close

Think Tank Posts

Big ideas in little doses

Think Tank

How to Read Your Own Body With Data

Med
3 months ago

How effective are fitness-tracking devices and apps? The first time I used one I felt transformed into a machine. Not only was I tracking my own bike ride but I had synced up the app to all the social media platforms I use. There would be absolutely no letting up. I pushed myself to not only ...

Think Tank

Will the Next Pope Be Black?

Cardinal_tukson
3 months ago

Some time in March a puff of white smoke will rise over St. Peter's Square. Will it signal a black Pope from Africa? After the surprising resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, there is speculation that Ghanaian Cardinal Peter Turkson is an early favorite. Nigerian Cardinal Francis Arinze is another ...

Think Tank

A Guide to Understanding Nothing

Nothing
4 months ago

How could the universe be created out of nothing? This question has so perplexed mankind that we have come up with a fantastic assortment of myths to explain the how and the why of existence.  The stories that tend to resonate with us employ metaphors that are based on human scale, or the ...

Think Tank

War Games: North Korea Destroys U.S. City (Video)

M_warfare
4 months ago

"The nest of wickedness is ablaze," reads the caption in a newly released video from North Korea's official website, Uriminzokkiri. The video, which features a chilling misappropriation of "We Are the World," is a dream sequence in which a North Korean man is launched into orbit in a space shuttle ...