Perception Box Are psychedelics really the key to expanding our consciousness? James Fadiman PhD, who has 60 years of experience in the field, believes they are. ▸ 6 min — with James Fadiman
Starts With A Bang How to make galaxies with the wrong amount of dark matter Almost every large structure in the Universe displays a 5:1 dark matter-to-normal matter ratio. Here's how some galaxies defy that rule.
The Future Install open-source AI in a commercial robot and it’ll clean your room Meta and NYU’s robot can navigate and clean rooms it’s never seen before.
Health Scientists stole a mutation from cancer and used it to kill tumors They call it “Judo T-cell therapy,” and it’s 100 times more potent than regular CAR-T cells.
Strange Maps Westarctica: The micronation with a real-world purpose The Antarctic Treaty of 1959 prohibited nations from making new land claims on the continent. But it never mentioned claims from private individuals.
High Culture Animation may be entering a new renaissance. Here’s why. Big Think spoke with animator and animation historian Tom Sito about the cyclical evolution of animation.
Business Beyond Spinoza’s “conatus”: How to disrupt workplace inertia and thrive We were not born to stagnate — the point of life (and work) is to go somewhere.
Starts With A Bang Ask Ethan: Why does nature always follow a Bell curve? Almost everything we can observe and measure follows what's known as a normal distribution, or a Bell curve. There's a profound reason why.
Neuropsych How does the brain keep time? It may rely on the body Research suggests you can influence your sense of time by changing the “embodiedness” of your daily habits.
Business 6 ways leaders can excel with a “fear-embracing mindset” The management of fear is a core leadership skill in today’s globalized world — and the task is not as daunting as you might expect.
Starts With A Bang What was it like when Venus and Mars both died? In the early stages of our Solar System, there were three life-friendly planets: Venus, Earth, and Mars. Only Earth thrived. Here's why.
The Future Are fictional dystopias blocking us from better futures? Do grim sci-fi scenarios crush our hopes for real-world growth? Author Michael Harris looks elsewhere to unblock the road to a better future.
The Learning Curve 4 virtuoso strategies for handling your bad boss We can’t always change our horrible bosses — but we can transform the ways we interact with them.
Starts With A Bang How far away are the stars? For thousands of years, humanity had no idea how far away the stars were. In the 1600s, Newton, Huygens, and Hooke all claimed to get there.
Neuropsych Everyone is wrong about “Love Languages.” Here’s why. Big Think spoke to the author of "The 5 Love Languages" about the popular relationship theory — and its lack of scientific support.
Strange Maps CERN proposes accelerator 3 times as long as Large Hadron Collider The $21.5-billion project could involve tunneling hundreds of feet under Lake Geneva.
Business Why EI is the quintessential leadership skill Emotional intelligence (EI) is much more than a trending C-suite buzz phrase — it’s the anchor attribute of every great leader.
Starts With A Bang The true reason why Einstein was history’s greatest physicist Although many of Einstein's papers revolutionized physics, there's one Einsteinian advance, generally, that towers over all the rest.
Business Effective machine learning needs leadership — not AI hype Practical ML can radically improve business operations, but there’s a deployment issue.
The Past The mysterious origins of Peru’s oldest indigenous people The Uros of Lake Titicaca live on floating islands made from reeds. How did they get there?
Perception Box How Jack Osbourne survived fame and addiction The Osbournes was MTV’s biggest show – and it almost cost Jack Osbourne his life. Here’s how his family’s reality TV fame stole his childhood, and how he’s been able to heal since. ▸ 6 min — with Jack Osbourne
Starts With A Bang How has the cosmic distance record progressed over time? Beyond the planets, stars, and Milky Way lie ultra-distant objects: galaxies and quasars. Here's how far back we've seen throughout history.
Life “Insane” new type of virus-like organisms found in human gut We don’t yet know if these strange “obelisks” are helpful or harmful.
Neuropsych To be a top performer, you need to rest at your best It may seem as though top performers are always on, but the secret to their success is taking the time to recharge.
The Past New DNA testing reveals who made ancient stone tools The study suggests that human ancestors expanded across Europe faster than previously thought.
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.
13.8 Have we created a society that’s too complex to survive? Human civilization has always survived periods of change. Will our rapidly evolving technological era be an exception to the rule?
Starts With A Bang Ask Ethan: How does Hawking radiation really work? It's not about particle-antiparticle pairs falling into or escaping from a black hole. A deeper explanation alters our view of reality.
Life 1.63-billion-year-old fossil may rewrite the history of multicellular life The discovery suggests that the "Boring Billion" period of evolution on Earth wasn't so boring after all.
The Future Will EVs match the cost and convenience of gas cars? Not anytime soon. A $30,000 electric vehicle with 400 miles of range that charges in under 10 minutes remains a pipe dream over the near future.