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.
Browse videos featuring experts across a wide range of disciplines, from personal health to business leadership to neuroscience.
Big Think’s contributors offer expert analysis of the big ideas behind the news.
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.
Laurent Bonnefoy, a bright young French scholar, has a new article out on the Varieties of Islamism in Yemen. I respect Laurent's opinion, but I don't agree with everything he says here, which is fine because I know he doesn't agree with everything that I say. First, I'm not a huge fan of ideal ...
In the upcoming Judd Apatow film Funny People, Adam Sandler, referring to his mother, says “I sent her an email and she tried to email me back on a toaster.” If that's so hilarious, then why are seniors now reshaping the technology industrial complex? It was the Nintendo Wii that launched the ...
Image courtesy of AVO/USGS, taken 3/23/09 I don't have many details, but the largest eruption so far in this eruptive stage at Redoubt occurred at 9:24 AM (Alaska Time), producing a 65,000 foot / 20,000 meter ash column! Yes, you read that right, a 20-km ash column! This is by far the largest ...
If only al-Shabab read Waq al-waq they would have realized that it would be a huge mistake to mess with qat. The 26th of September, an authoritative source on security matters or at least an authoritative source on what the Yemeni government wants people to think about security matters, is ...
Yemen has announced that it has arrested 6 of the 12 potential suicide bombers that were on the loose. There is little information about when, where or how. Such is the Ministry of Information under al-Masri. Also, buried in this very good article by a very good reporter on Islamists issues in ...
The reigning American casino havens, Las Vegas and Atlantic City, are feeling the pinch in this frosty economic climate. So why does the rest of the normal world want to legalize gambling? Generally, American states are allowed to set their own gambling policies and the boost to state coffers ...
Image courtesy of AVO/USGS. Taken by Cyrus Read Based on the current levels of seismicity over the past 36 hours, AVO has returned Redoubt to Orange/Watch status from Red/Warning. This doesn't mean that the eruption is over, just that things have settled down a bit. Flights to and from ...
No, no- this isn't going to discuss the breathtaking architecture, the astonishing, fascinating history or the diverse and beautiful culture of Yemen. Don't be absurd. Greg and I have analytical diodes where our hearts should be. If you want to read about the above, Tim Mackintosh-Smith has you ...
Its been a busy week for volcanoes between the headline capturing Tongan and Alaska eruptions. Catch up on what you might have missed with the latest SI/USGS Weekly Volcano Report (for 3/18-3/24). Highlights (beyond Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai and Redoubt) include: Galeras, Colombia has settled down ...
The center where al-'Ujayri, the Shibam suicide bomber, was reported to have studied is denying any links to him. Al-Alimi is denying in public what some claim he reported in private, namely that elements of al-Qaeda had penetrated Yemen's security services. Personally, I have a difficult time ...
Redoubt seems to be setting its pattern for this part of the new eruptive period. There was another small explosion this morning that produced at 15,000 foot / 5,000 meter ash column that moved to the NNW. The seismicity has settled down since the early morning eruption today (3/25) as well ...
Although the first hundred days of President Barack Obama's term haven't ended yet, this seems like a good time to examine his record in office so far and see how it's lived up to his own campaign pledges and to freethinkers' expectations. These past few months have been a roller-coaster ride ...
One of the things (out of many) that we here at Waq al-waq have neglected to cover over the past few weeks is the elections of officers for the Yemeni Journalist Syndicate, but now Muhammad al-Qadhi of the National has a very good report to bring us up to speed. The story quotes Said Thabit, who ...
Anyone else having problems with al-Falluja (not spelled that way in the address)? Of course, this is the problem with following jihadi forums, as the loss of al-Ikhlas last September showed us all. Speaking of al-Ikhlas, I was listening to NPR yesterday and heard this report by Dina Temple-Raston ...
Mauna Loa fire fountains in 1984 For those of you looking for some non-Redoubt-related volcano news, you can take a look at the 25th anniversary of the last eruption at Mauna Loa (there is some nice video footage provided by KHNL if you follow the link). By no means is this volcano "dormant ...