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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.

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

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New World Order

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New World Order

Punk Rock Girls Against Putin

Photo_1327603344579-1-1
over 1 year ago

It's not easy to take on Vladimir Putin. Just ask Nikolai Maksimov, who was thrown in prison, or Boris Berezovsky, who was forced into exile. Both men are billionaire tycoons who didn't play by Putin's rules.   On the other hand, if you have an $18 billion fortune and apparently promise to play ...

New World Order

The State of Our Rebellious Union

Rebellion2
over 1 year ago

From Tea Parties to Occupy Wall Street, regular American citizens are sick and tired, and just can’t take it anymore. I am a proud tea partier, which means that I am fighting for fiscal responsibility, constitutionally limited government, and free markets. Those three goals make up the core of our ...

New World Order

The Humble Beginnings of China's Economy

Shanghai
over 1 year ago

What is the Big Idea? It turns out that ground zero for China's economic boom was in Xiaogang, a small, rural farming village in the Anhui Province. On the night of Nov. 24, 1978, farmers from 18 households in this village drafted and signed a secret document that changed the way their ...

New World Order

The Cyberspace Conundrum

Hackers%20edit
over 1 year ago

China and Russia made the news recently for their relentless cyberattacks on US cyber systems. Earlier this month, viruses originating from these countries are blamed for the theft of personal banking information belonging to students and faculty members at the City College of San Francisco ...

New World Order

Dancing with the Stars in Afghanistan

Afghan-star-1024
over 1 year ago

What's the Big Idea? The U.S. involvement in Afghanistan has dragged on for over a decade now, making it the longest war in U.S. history, and one of the costliest. However, it should be some measure of consolation to know just how much has changed since the Taliban were removed from power. Under ...

New World Order

Technology for a Cause

Embrace
over 1 year ago

The XO 3.0 tablet was one of the most talked about gadgets at this year’s Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas. The tablet has a hand cranked accessory that powers the device which can run on Linux or Android. This is helpful for children living in rural areas of developing countries where ...