Words of Wisdom — January 9, 2014

Simone de Beauvoir on Change

“Change your life today. Don’t gamble on the future, act now, without delay.”- Simone de Beauvoir (born on this date in 1908)

bigthinkeditor

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

“Change your life today. Don’t gamble on the future, act now, without delay.”
– Simone de Beauvoir (born on this date in 1908)

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Close-up of a human eye on the left, and a blurred image of a person without clothing on the right, depicting themes that border on pornography.

Thinking

The “Triple-A Engine”: How the internet changed porn and how porn changed us

Everyone has to learn about sex somehow. Today, billions of people are learning about it from porn.

A deep space image showing numerous galaxies of different shapes and sizes scattered across a dark background, with many stars and cosmic objects, including the ancient Methuselah star, also visible throughout.

Starts With A Bang

Is the “Methuselah star” really older than the Universe?

The Universe is precisely dated at 13.8 billion years old, but astronomers claim the Methuselah star is 14.5 billion years old. What gives?

The Present

How to get Mars life-detection missions back on track

The case for why NASA should pivot to searching for current — not ancient — signs of life.

a man and a woman holding hands in front of an orange background.

Thinking

The 2 pitfalls of love, according to Simone de Beauvoir

The existential philosopher argued that an authentic and meaningful life is measured by choice.

Starts With A Bang

NASA’s Habitable Worlds Observatory to finally answer the epic question: “Are we alone?”

NASA has finally chosen which flagship mission, like Hubble and JWST, will launch in ~2040. Detecting alien life is now a reachable goal.

Up Next

Starts With A Bang

The Stellar Story of Us

How the Universe made the elements and atoms that make up you and me, and everything else on Earth. “Things are the way they are because they were the way they […]