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Pain makes sense from an evolutionary perspective. What’s puzzling is why so many of us choose to seek out painful experiences.

For centuries, the only way to travel between the Old and New World was through ships like the RMS Lusitania. Experiences varied wildly depending on your income.

Stress-busting soundtrack or placebo effect?

In-depth research suggests BDSM practitioners can experience altered states of consciousness that can be therapeutic.

AI systems can carry on convincing conversations, but they have no understanding of what they’re saying. Humans are easily fooled.

These core teachings make an ideal starting point for exploring Buddhist philosophy.

Is there such a thing as a heroic personality type?

His grandfather, a member of Oppenheimer’s atomic bomb team, foresaw the potential of nuclear energy to power cities — not destroy them.

The relationship between these two ways of thinking about the world deserves deeper exploration.

Zen masters often have strikingly different ideas about how to live and attain enlightenment.

“She understood me and I understood her. I loved that pigeon.”

The meaning of the cryptic text has eluded scholars for centuries. Their latest efforts include computational analyses seeking new insights into the medieval enigma.

It is all too easy for humans to fall into the cognitive trap of thinking that an entity that can use language fluently is sentient or intelligent.

Brain-computer interfaces could enable people with locked-in syndrome and other conditions to “speak.”

The German artist painted death as it appeared in life – omnipresent and hidden in plain sight.

Moments of social anxiety around truth tend to be accompanied by similar “fool the eye” pop culture phenomena.

Take a trip through these master-crafted fantasy societies and ask yourself: Could I actually live there?

Archaeologists turn to other scientific fields to fill in the picture of how victims lived and why they died.

When was the last time you spent some quality time with yourself?

“Don’t tread on me” is a slogan of the deep sea, too.

What you can learn about media by parodying it from the print era into the digital age.

Digital nomads can fully immerse themselves in their surroundings while advancing their career and stimulating the local economy. But there is one potential downside.

Ryan Condal, who worked in pharmaceutical advertising before Hollywood, talks with Big Think about imposter syndrome, “precrastination,” and Westeros lore.

From machines to animals, there are many kinds of possible minds.

Our economy is dominated by middlemen, including huge companies such as Walmart and Amazon. There are many benefits to going direct instead.

An interview with filmmaker Jason Sussberg about his new film about Stewart Brand and the importance of culture in achieving progress.

Prison is an unreliable method of punishment. Let’s do better.

Gradualism rejects the idea of a “bright line” in the abortion debate.

Scott Dikkers discusses comedy, the creative process, and life lessons learned playing peekaboo.

Creativity and achievement require balancing hard work with the restful power of calm.