Nuclear weapons do horrific widespread damage. Nuclear radiation, even at high doses, does not. But fear of radiation does. We have the survivors of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to thank for these lessons. We should honor their suffering by remembering both.
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Carter said he was “surprisingly at ease” when he received his diagnosis. Perhaps part of that serenity comes from the knowledge of the good works he has done in his life.
If Americans get a “D” in science, what should the A-students do? “It is worthwhile, too, to warn the teacher that undue severity in correcting faults is liable at times […]
Catch MIT scientist Sara Seager take you to the cutting edge and into the future, with a live blog (plus commentary) right here! “Hundreds or thousands of years from now, […]
Without dedicated devil’s advocates, groups are doomed to make poorly informed and sometimes dangerously bad decisions.
Scientists at UC Santa Barbara have created the most high-tech solution to teenage anxiety yet: a treatment for acne that uses a combination of ultrasound, gold-covered nanoparticles, and lasers.
David Walsh has found that sports help people cope with big life changes — it acts as an outlet and allows us to have a sense of community. So, how would sports help in the transition to retirement?
There are lots of wrong reasons out there, but only one that matters. “The scientist does not study nature because it is useful; he studies it because he delights in […]
What if we could find one single equation that explains every force in the universe? Professor Michio Kaku explores how physics could potentially shrink the science of the big bang into an equation as small as E=mc².
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According to economist Thomas Piketty, the debate over whether it’s better to raise or lower taxes is pointless if a government does not invest in growth and infrastructure.
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Is everything astonishingly simple, though? Or is this a grandiose claim that falls flat when confronted with the evidence? “My main interest is the problem of the singularity. If we […]
When vaccine skeptics are presented with statements about the benign nature of vaccines, they double down on their skepticism rather than softening their bias.
Even though we can’t see individual galaxies past a certain point, we know they’re there. Here’s the first evidence. “Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some […]
Why do Vermeer’s paintings fascinate us so? Perhaps the reason lies behind a revolution in seeing in both art and science rooted in Vermeer’s 17th century Holland.
Birds can differentiate empty peanut shells from full ones — without even cracking them open.
Dr. Tesia Marshik who is an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse walks us through the extensive evidence that learning styles don’t exist, before looking at why the belief is so widespread and why the belief is such a serious problem.
Your Facebook feed is a virtual echo chamber. It serves the same purpose as Fox News or MSNBC.
Architect (and Big Think expert) Marc Kushner argues our current age of architecture will be remembered for experimentation and technological influence.
A study suggests that long-term depression can more than double one’s chances of suffering a stroke.
A terrific story about the physical threat of a major earthquake in the Pacific Northwest fails to explain why people don’t seem alarmed. That lack of alarm puts the public at risk as much as the shaking Earth itself, and should be part of the story.
Does dropping a few brain-related words into an argument cause people to lose the capacity for critical thought?
If you’re learning, you’re being taught, no matter who is doing the teaching or where the lesson is taking place (and conversely, if you’re not learning, you’re not being taught).
Worldwide, there is an annual net loss of 11 billion trees. Despite all reforestation efforts, this loss reflects the fact that while deforestation is a mechanized, rapid, and highly efficient process, reforestation, mostly done by hand, is a tiresome, laborious, and highly inefficient one.
A leftover glow unlike any other — of neutrinos — has finally been seen. “When you see how fragile and delicate life can be, all else fades into the background.” –Jenna Morasca Seventy years […]
Researchers have found that there are people who can recall their lives down to the last detail, and there are people who sit on the opposite side of that spectrum.
Personal and professional growth should not be treated as a chore. Instead, derive joy from your betterment efforts by treating them as play.
Why is it that in the face of a total lack of evidence for their effectiveness, so many people feel so much affection for quacks?
How do you win a cyberwar against an Internet-savvy enemy like ISIS? One prominent researcher has suggested a troll-based battle strategy. That’s right: internet trolls. Could World War III be fought with memes?
Our reliance on technology is hurting our memories — we load names, dates, and numbers into our smartphones that we cannot recall on our own. However, this offloading of information allows us to free up cognitive space to learn more.
Journalists often hype the most alarming aspects of the news. In the process, they sometimes create and reinforce common fears that far exceed the actual danger.