–Guest post by Ezra Markowitz, doctoral candidate at the University of Oregon. The moral judgment system—the set of cognitive, emotional, social and motivational mechanisms responsible for producing our perceptions of […]
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Once upon a time, we were taught that people are basically rational—at least when they have to be, at the stock market, the voting booth, the courtroom, the hospital, the […]
Human evolution is puzzling. Around 45,000 years ago, for no obvious reason, our species took off. Our technology rapidly progressed, populations thrived and we started painting and crafting instruments. All […]
Most Americans not only misperceive currently levels of income inequality, says Joseph Stiglitz, they underestimate the tectonic changes that have occurred in the last ten years.
Surprisingly relevant career advice from the Viennese master.
What can be done to stop the unrealistic representation of men’s and women’s bodies by visual and print media? Are government regulation and media literacy classes sufficient?
Any day now, the Supreme Court will release its ruling on the individual mandate in President Obama’s healthcare reform. It will inspire pontification about how far the government can “interfere” […]
A childfree friend of mine once memorably wondered why moms are so “judge-y” toward each other. I’m loath to reinforce the rhetorical overkill of calling this judge-y state the “mommy […]
American citizens adopted 13,407 fewer international children in 2011 than they did in 2004 – a 60% decline from that peak year. The biggest decrease has come from the adoption […]
The future is mysterious, but not entirely. It is tangible in the promises that a person makes and in the unspoken responsibility one has to others. However much a person […]
All of the ways we currently measure happiness are filled with errors, says University of Illinois professor Deirdre McCloskey, who argues today’s society is not especially consumerist.
Judging by what I’ve beenreadingonline, BBcreams, an all-in-one treatment/moisturizer/makeup/sunscreen mashup that first gained popularity among Korean actresses and starlets and is now used by almost every other gal in North […]
Famed biologist EO Wilson argues that war is an unfortunate inheritance left to us by our ancestors. Science writer John Horgan replies that culture can help us overcome violence.
Whether its finding mates, raising children or making meals, we have given many areas of our once-communal lives over to the marketplace, says UC Berkeley sociology professor Arlie Russell Hochschild.
Last month I asked if Whistler’s Mother is the greatest Mother’s Day painting ever, so it only seems fair to pose a similar question on Father’s Day. Although Mother’s Day […]
Singapore is the smartphone king of the world. With a staggering 62 per cent penetration rate for smartphones of all kinds (well in reality mostly Apple ones), it stands to […]
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 […]
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.