One of the things that most struck me at the Netroots Nation conference last week was how surprisingly little of a presence the Obama reelection campaign had there. (Michelle Goldberg […]
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SSA Week is ongoing, as atheist bloggers come together to raise money for the Secular Student Alliance. At the time this post was published, we’ve come roaring back to blow […]
What is the Big Idea? Religion and science have long been been at odds with each other, that is, until Buddhism came along. In fact, some might even say that […]
Today it’s apparently big news that many Democrats now fear that the president won’t get reelected. I’m staying with my prediction based on common-sense political science that the election will […]
The questions in this quiz are adaptations of items from research studies from the 1960s to the 1980s, initiated by Daniel Kahneman and his late research partner, Amos Tversky.
What’s the best single piece of advice for grads in a fragile job market? Take the poll, then find out what other Big Think readers are saying.
Following in the footsteps of urban bicycle sharing programs, a folding car originally designed at MIT in 2003 may finally reconcile the long dispute between the city and the car.
One of the great mysteries of art is why it exists. Although our desire to create and enjoy art is so widespread that it appears as natural as eating or […]
Recognizing that technology is here to stay, and that how we live online is increasingly how we live, a new kind of theater company in Philadelphia is trying to translate the danger, intimacy, and intensity of offline experience to cyberspace.
The stereotype of Sweden as a liberal utopia of robust sexual health was somewhat complicated recently in the American imagination by the biker gangs, neo-Nazis, and serial killers that populated […]
This morning Ibrahim Mothana, an incredibly smart and funny young Yemeni, has an op-ed in the New York Times on Drones, Yemen and blowback. I would encourage you all to […]
This morning Noah Shachtman and Spencer Ackerman have a thought-provoking piece on US military involvement – yes, lets call it a war – in Yemen. At the end of their […]
A Japanese design studio has created a coordinated artificial organ system that conserves the body’s stores of water, necessitating that humans drink just 0.1 cups of water per day.
MIT researchers have created a silicon-based chip that uses the body’s own glucose energy to power tiny neural implants, which could help patients recover from spinal cord injuries.
Researchers at an English university have created a robot that learns language like an infant. The achievement represents a major advance in the creation of artificial intelligence.
Can President Obama’s re-election campaign use the new FEC ruling on political donations via text message to help them regain the fundraising crown next month? Small donors have only given […]
Say “nationalism,” and most minds immediately think “war.” Word association games aside, nationalism comes in all shapes and sizes, but the most dangerous form historically has led to armed conflict […]
SSA Week is ongoing, as atheist bloggers come together to raise money for the Secular Student Alliance. At the time this post was published, they’ve collectively raised $61,250 out of […]
Struggling with a foreign language is practically the definition of mental strain: what is the word for “screwdriver” again? did I produce that “ĥ” sound correctly? are they laughing with […]
Nearly two decades ago, I walked into my first Abnormal Psychology class. Given the course title, I thought I had a pretty good handle on what the subject matter would […]
The Mars rover Curiosity will be given more time to look for signs of life when it lands on the planet this summer thanks to NASA scientists’ ambition to better define the rover’s landing site.
According to a Pew survey, there has been a huge spike in the number of Millennials — those Americans under 30 — who doubt the existence in God. According to the […]
The space agency is set to launch the world’s best black hole-hunting telescope in a novel way by strapping the satellite to the underbelly of a jet, firing it into orbit from a high altitude.
Ahead of a major physics conference in mid-July, scientists at Europe’s Large Hadron Collider have concluded analyzing data which may finally confirm the existence of the Higgs boson.
Weber Shandwick and Powell Tate, with KRC research, is releasing an interesting report this week on “Civility in America 2012.” Sixty-three percent “believe we have a major civility problem […]
Humanity is on the threshold of disturbing half of the Earth’s landmass. Scientists say that could represent a crucial tipping point beyond which the planet’s biology would drastically change.
Seth Shostak, senior astronomer with the SETI Institute, advises Hollywood on the science of extraterrestrials. He says aliens would be vastly stronger than us and far more intelligent.
Jonah Lehrer’s post at The New Yorker details some worrying research on cognition and thinking through biases, indicating that “intelligence seems to make [such] things worse.” This is because, as […]
I remember going to bed one night when I was 11, seriously afraid I would not be alive in the morning. It was October, 1962, and the frightening cold […]