The Present #3: Earth at 2° hotter will be horrific. Now here’s what 4° will look like. | Top 10 2019 Third on the Big Think 2019 countdown reveals this is what the world will be like if we do not act on climate change. ▸ 7 min — with David Wallace-Wells
Thinking Five philosophers on the philosophy of sex Philosophy can focus on some dull topics. Luckily, some thinkers have spent lots of time on the philosophy of sex
Starts With A Bang Ask Ethan: Could “heavy light” be the missing dark matter? Our Universe requires dark matter in order to make sense of things, astrophysically. Could massive photons do the trick?
Thinking The surprising philosophy behind Dungeons and Dragons Role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons offer a valuable insight: Life is about shifting labels.
Starts With A Bang Will time run backward if the Universe collapses? Ever since the start of the hot Big Bang, time ticks forward as the Universe expands. But could time ever run backward, instead?
The Past Modern society is as unequal as 14th century Europe As bad as this sounds, a new essay suggests that we live in a surprisingly egalitarian age.
The Present #4: What makes someone gay? Science is trying to get it straight. | Top 10 2019 Taking the fourth spot on Big Think's 2019 top 10 countdown is the question: Evolutionarily speaking, is being gay still something of an enigma? ▸ 10 min — with Alice Dreger
Starts With A Bang 42 really is the answer to these 5 fundamental questions Although we still don't know the question, we know that the answer to life, the Universe, and everything is 42. Here are 5 possibilities.
Health Elon Musk’s Neuralink successfully implanted chips in pig brains "It's kind of like a Fitbit in your skull with tiny wires," Musk said.
Life Nature’s “zombies”: the disturbing science of neuroparasitology An emerging field studies parasites that take over the nervous system of a host.
Health Reading the mind with machines Brain-computer interfaces could enable people with locked-in syndrome and other conditions to "speak."
Starts With A Bang Attoseconds aren’t fast enough for particle physics 2023's Nobel Prize was awarded for studying physics on tiny, attosecond-level timescales. Too bad that particle physics happens even faster.
Smart Skills Live! These improv skills can supercharge your career Improv isn't just an art, it's a business tool. ▸ with Bob Kulhan
13.8 Earth is where matter meets purpose. Are humans serving a good purpose? We cannot afford to dream about living on other worlds while we continue to destroy ours.
The Future 3 rules for robots from Isaac Asimov — and one crucial rule he missed Robots must identify themselves.
Neuropsych Believe in astrology? You might score high in narcissistic traits Or you might just be a Leo.
Hard Science Genius Series: Why Schrödinger’s cat is the ultimate reality check Big Think has just launched its Genius Series of tees, sweatshirts, posters and more! Buy here.
Thinking What sort of ethics would aliens practice? If aliens are driven mostly by biological imperatives, humanity could be in big trouble if we ever meet technologically advanced beings.
Neuropsych 3 rules to catch a liar In a world where we assume people tell the truth, liars prosper. To stop them from exploiting others, here are three rules to catch a liar.
Leadership Leadership, diversity and personal finance in the COVID-19 era Sallie Krawcheck and Bob Kulhan will be talking money, jobs, and how the pandemic will disproportionally affect women's finances. ▸ with Sallie Krawcheck
Hard Science Have we gotten dark matter all wrong? Physicists have yet to pinpoint the hypothetical matter that keeps galaxies from flying apart. Now they have a new focus.
The Present How Russia’s strange cultural mindset led to Vladimir Putin’s great miscalculation The Russian mindset is characterized by cynicism and distrust.
L&D strategy The skills gap is real. Here’s what to do about it As the skills gap grows, learning and development can help ensure the viability of an organization’s talent well into the future.
Thinking Atheist churches find meaning in the “sacred flower of cannabis” Many Americans aren't rejecting spirituality, just practicing it differently.
Thinking How not to be a phony: Kierkegaard on the two main ways people lose their true selves People can lose their authentic selves when they don't honestly confront life's potential, according to the philosopher Soren Kierkegaard.
Starts With A Bang What was it like when the very first stars died? The first stars took tens or even hundreds of millions of years to form, and then died in the cosmic blink of an eye. Here's how.
The Past Would we still see ourselves as “human” if other hominin species hadn’t gone extinct? It’s all well and good to discuss how our humanity evolved – but what even is humanity?
High Culture Here’s the innovative writing tool you’ve been waiting for WhiteSmoke Grammar Checker keeps your spelling and grammar issues at bay while also working as a translator.
Starts With A Bang Never tell a scientist it’s “just a theory” When the average person has a "theory," they're just guessing. But for a scientist, a theory is the pinnacle of what we can achieve.
Sponsored What makes a piece of art worth $450 million dollars? The value of art does not lie in the artwork itself but is instead determined by curators, collectors, critics, and other participants in the modern-day art market.