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

"More Than a Miracle"

January 24, 2010, 7:28 AM
International rescue crews in Haiti rescued a man who survived beneath rubble on crackers and beer for eleven days just hours after search-and-rescue operations were officially halted. “A man was dramatically rescued tonight after spending 11 days under the rubble of a hotel in Port-au-Prince, hours after the Haitian government declared search and rescue operations over. The survival of 22-year-old Wismond Exantus Jean-Pierre was hailed as ‘more than a miracle’ by international emergency teams who had been at the point of leaving Port-au-Prince. ‘I was hungry,’ Jean-Pierre said from his hospital bed. ‘But every night I thought about the revelation that I would survive.’ He survived initially by diving under a desk when the rubble started to fall. Trapped in such a small space, he had lie on his back and survived by drinking cola, beer and cookies. ‘I would eat anything I found,’ he said. ‘After the quake I didn't know when it was day and when it was night.’”
 

"More Than a Miracle"

Newsletter: Share: