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

1 57 62

Think Tank

Introducing Your New Mobile Supercomputer

Iphone
about 2 years ago

What's the Big Idea? Computer storage and software are already migrating to the cloud, and soon processing power will go virtual as well, making our mobile devices as powerful as supercomputers. What's the Breakthrough? Much of your computing already takes place on the cloud, and you ...

Think Tank

How Puzzles Can Change Your Life

Crossword
about 2 years ago

"We're faced with puzzles every day in life," says Will Shortz. He should know—he's the only person to hold a degree in enigmatology, the study of puzzles. He's also been The New York Times's Crossword Editor for almost 20 years.  "With a crossword or Sudoku or any other kind of human-made ...

Think Tank

Speak Up, and Say Unpopular Things

Raise_hand
about 2 years ago

Big Think spoke to The New York Times chief theater critic, Ben Brantley, about the present and future state of journalism and online criticism.  Big Think: Generally speaking, what do think the state of journalism is right now? Ben Brantley:  Journalism is frontier land right now. I don’t ...

Think Tank

Big Idea: Technology Grows Exponentially

Gears
about 2 years ago

What's the Big Idea? The doubling of computer processing speed every 18 months, known as Moore's Law, is just one manifestation of the greater trend that all technological change occurs at an exponential rate.  Why Is It Groundbreaking? For the vast majority of human existence, it was safe ...

Think Tank

Meet the Wayward Ambassadors

Jon_huntsman
about 2 years ago

It's been a difficult week for governments--both dictatorships and democracies alike--to keep their ambassadors in line. Libya's Ambassador to the U.S., Ali Ojli, urged international action to stop the violence in Libya:  Meanwhile, a separate international incident centered around the U.S ...

Think Tank

Pearl Square: the New Tahrir Square?

Pearl_square
about 2 years ago

Pearl Square in Bahrain's capital Manama is the setting for the latest round of clashes between autocratic Arab leaders and protestors emboldened by other successful Arab revolts. But unlike the revolts in Egypt and Tunisia, which were largely secular, the tenor of the debate in Bahrain is ...

Think Tank

What Do All Innovators Have in Common?

Malcolm-gladwell-af
about 2 years ago

In his 15 years as a staff writer for the New Yorker, bestselling-author Malcolm Gladwell has profiled a host of what he calls "minor geniuses"—innovators or pioneers usually from a niche field or discipline. In talking with dozens of these trailblazers, Gladwell tells Big Think that he noticed ...

Think Tank

Your Refrigerator Has Become Self-Aware

Refrigerator
over 2 years ago

The rise of the machines is upon us—the rise of machine-to-machine connectivity, that is. The next stage of the Internet's development is the "Web of Things." Simply put, this means that the normal, everyday things—appliances, buildings, cars—will be hooked into the web and able to transmit and ...