When confronting a challenge, people with an optimistic outlook persist at trying to overcome that challenge about 20 percent longer than those with less optimism.
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Emotional intelligence is a double-edged sword: It helps us avoid common misunderstandings that result in hurt feelings, but in the wrong hands, it can become a tool of manipulation.
A psychiatrist has made headlines claiming smartphones are making children “borderline” autistic. Here’s why that’s rubbish:
News coverage of risk that plays up how scary things sound and plays down or leaves out anything that moderates the fear does real and serious harm.
Should we get vaccinated? Fluoridate our water? Fight global warming? Believe in evolution? The Big Bang? Dark matter? Find out. “Those who know that the consensus of many centuries has […]
A team of researchers has found how the placebo effect can change the chemistry of the brain itself.
Our successes and failures are similarly linked to others, though we may feel their effects only personally. Every choice you make, every behavior you exhibit, and even every desire you have finds its roots in the social universe.
A recent study reveals how we can use peer pressure to encourage more sustainable travel.
When a loved one dies, would you buy a perfume of their scent? Katia Apalategui would like to think so — after all, smell is a powerful thing.
Govert Schilling’s new book deserves a place in everyone’s life. “Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it we go nowhere.” –Carl Sagan Imagine the […]
When we think about future events in days, rather than years, we’re able to better connect with our future selves.
Does dropping a few brain-related words into an argument cause people to lose the capacity for critical thought?
Self-promoters should avoid humblebragging, lest they want to come off as inauthentic and obnoxious.
Researchers suggest that loneliness may trigger a hormone in healthy women that causes them to eat more — even when they’re full.
The innovative design of a Tokyo kindergarten fosters physical activity, learning, play, autonomy, and the feeling of community.
Google’s team of fashion data scientists recently released a report mapping the hottest clothing searches for the spring.
Some people require a guiding light to help urge them toward tidying their personal space. One ancient philosopher in particular would suggest letting context and pragmatics serve as that light.
The world is improving when it comes to preventing deaths during natural disasters. Unfortunately, those improvements aren’t felt in poor countries like Nepal.
A scathing critique of antidepressant medication, just written by a psychiatrist in Wales, UK, is making waves across Britain and you can expect ripples to reach the U.S. in the coming days.
Letting kids take control of their summer reading may help boost test scores and prevent the “summer slide.”
Researchers make a case for why you should go to the movies alone. They say you’ll have just as much fun as if you went with a group — don’t miss out on life just because you can’t find someone to go with you.
Babies as young as six months understand how to use a smartphone. But is there some risk in this kind of early media exposure?
With Hubble, Spitzer and Chandra combined, we get a view like no other. “But I see it differently now. There has to be a middle. Without it, nothing can truly […]
Today’s the 78th anniversary of the bombing of Guernica. The only reason you probably don’t know that already is because this isn’t the event’s 75th or 100th anniversary, because we as a society value some numbers over others.
Professor Douglas Melton takes a look at the basis for regenerative medicine, the human body’s ability to divide, grow, and specialize cells.
We’re halfway through our rollout of The Floating University here at Big Think. It’s some of the most vital, timely, and mind-changing video content anywhere on the Web. Here’s number six of 12 on our list, featuring Yale psychologist Paul Bloom.
After seeing these pictures, you’ll switch to raising your own. “People speak sometimes about the “bestial” cruelty of man, but that is terribly unjust and offensive to beasts, no animal […]
A serial litterer who made a habit of tossing books out his car window the past few months has been identified and cited by police in Boulder, Colorado.
More than 200,000 children are hospitalized each year in the U.S. for playground-related injuries. What researchers want to know is how many of these disasters could be averted by parents putting down their smartphones?
In the 10 years since it went public, YouTube has been a hot topic for cultural critics and experts on innovation. We take a look at the site’s past and the promises for its future.