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What do “Yesterday,” “Satisfaction,” “My Generation,” “The Sound of Silence,” “California Girls,” and “Like a Rolling Stone” all have in common? They were all hits in 1965, the year author Andrew Grant Jackson calls “the most revolutionary year in music.” In 1965: The Most Revolutionary Year in Music, Jackson weaves a fascinating narrative of how popular music and social change influenced one another to create a year memorable not only for great music, but also for great progress in American culture. In this whirlwind tour of multiple genres of music as well as multiple pressing political issues, Jackson states a compelling case for 1965 as a key turning point in American music and society as well as provides a mirror for how music and society interact today, 50 years later.

Hide this study from your parents. Recent research suggests that the connection between video games and enhancing cognitive abilities is “weak to nonexistent.”

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg recently implied that the company’s success with providing marketing tools for small-to-medium businesses could precede an eventual shift toward competition with TV advertising.

A new study suggests people who play wind instruments possess an advantage over the rest of the population in avoiding obstructive sleep apnea. 

The most important lessons about Earth come from looking outward. “We came all this way to explore the Moon, and the most important thing is that we discovered the Earth.” […]

Forums and their members get a bad rap. It isn’t the outdated, troll-happy online cesspool you think it is. It’s a place to find community and support. You may even walk away feeling like a more productive member of society. 

Author Lily Tuck wrote last week in The New York Times that she hopes her readers read her work with imagination. Is it vital that good literature stokes the flames of imagination?

How a liberal community recently voted for reason over emotion and values-based decision-making on two hot-button environmental issues.

There is no direct evidence about what proceeds human consciousness, but there are stories from people who have been pronounced clinically dead.

Professor Michio Kaku delivers a glimpse of where science will take us in the next hundred years, as warp drives, teleportation, and time travel converge with our scientific understanding.

In the United States, the FDA has the power to fine drug companies $10,000 a day for failing to publish clinical trials, yet most clinical trials still never see the light of day.

Researchers have found that gazing into your pooch’s eyes can raise both the pet’s and owner’s levels of oxytocin — otherwise known as a social-bonding hormone.

Food-journaling apps are a great way to log your eating habits, but so many people stop using them in the first week. Why? Divided social support and calorie counters that favor fast food over a home-cooked meal.

Warning: You might not want to watch this at the dinner table (it gets political), but in the name of having great discussion over important issues, we hope you will!

The ability to send an emotion — a feeling — to someone a world away may not be a thing of the future anymore. Researchers have found they can stimulate different emotions by blowing air onto certain parts of your hand. 

An innovative shoe that adjusts and expands protects kids from soil-transmitted diseases.

The Second World War was a moral and societal nadir. The conflict’s incomparable horrors ensure its continued relevance in art, storytelling, and the general cultural zeitgeist.

“You get more joy out of the giving to others, and should put a good deal of thought into the happiness you are able to give.”

“All I insist on, and nothing else, is that you should show the whole world that you are not afraid. Be silent, if you choose; but when it is necessary, speak — and speak in such a way that people will remember it.”

While Americans are more likely to vote for a gay candidate than an atheist, there has been an uptick in the percentage of those who say that their presidential choice’s faith plays no role in their decision — about six out of 10 Americans currently take that view.

Have you ever emerged from the supermarket and wondered why you bought so many things not on your list? Congratulations, you’ve likely been manipulated!

Does God give believers a mental health boost? Two psychologists argue that it’s just not so — atheists are just as emotionally stable as those with religion.

Can a website’s design help persuade readers of the page’s message? Researchers think so, and they say it’s all about how readers interact with the site.

Students may need to sleep on a lesson before they are able to fully comprehend and apply the new information they’ve learned.

How much does a free app cost users in memory, data usage, and battery life? Turns out the ads within those free apps can consume 16 percent more energy and 22 percent more memory, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

What sort of greenery are these galaxies smoking? “The illegality of cannabis is outrageous, an impediment to full utilization of a drug which helps produce the serenity and insight, sensitivity […]

As yoga reaches the mainstream, there are many who seek to use it as a control device, says author Shahram Shiva. He argues that young people are usually smart enough to see through the ruse.

As Sesame Street Head Writer Joey Mazzarino notes, every parent should have a puppet. It’s important for moms and dads to be unafraid of sometimes being silly.

By equipping chefs with sensor-fitted gloves, robots can easily learn the specific ways they prepare meals, opening the door to professionally prepared home meals.

We’re thrilled to be bringing The Floating University to Big Think. Here’s number two on our list, featuring Harvard linguist Steven Pinker.