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

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

Watch videos

World Renowned Bloggers

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

Go to blogs

Big Think Edge

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

Transcript

Question: Is it the president's job to resolve moral issues?

Bill Richardson:

Well a president should lead. You know you can’t have individual states and individual movements deciding issues affecting the country. A president has to set a tone. And when it comes to abortion, I believe that . . . in a woman’s right to choose. But as president, I would do everything I can to stop unwanted pregnancies – to push for adoption, and sex education, and family planning. But at the same time, when it comes to gay rights, I think we should be a country that honors the fact that we shouldn’t discriminate on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation. As a governor in a red state, as I say, which is a conservative state, I had fought . . . I have fought against those that want to discriminate against gays. And I have got the most gay . . . pro-gay, lesbian record in the country. Not because it’s politically popular – actually it’s a very conservative state – but because it’s the right thing to do. I would try to lead in those areas as President. Not impose my will, but take strong moral stands. Those are value stands. You know we should be a nation of values. And values are not just religious values. Other values that we should emphasize is the right to have healthcare; the right for a child to be able to go to school; the right for anybody to pursue the American dream. So I would expand the definition of what constitutes a value.

Recorded on: 11/20/07