A year after the Fukushima nuclear crisis, surveys show that more people around the world oppose nuclear power than ever before. Yet industry is pushing ahead. Who will prevail?
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So we read in THE WALL STREET JOURNAL and elsewhere that one in four divorces now separate people over fifty. The divorce rate as a whole has plateaued or has […]
Human irrationality is an important and fascinating subject, especially when it’s pitted against the assumption that people are rational, which still dominates modern life. Sometimes though evidence of human irrationality […]
“It is a sentimental error, therefore, to believe that the past is dead; it means nothing to say that it is all forgotten, that the Negro himself has forgotten it. […]
As long-time readers know, except on rare occasions, I don’t write about my personal life on this blog. This isn’t because I’m trying to be mysterious; I just don’t think […]
U of Mass Psychology PhD Tony McCaffrey advises us to seek the obscure in finding a creative solution to a vexing problem. What does he mean exactly? It is a two part process…
Given that the brain’s synaptic components last but a short time, it has been a mystery to scientists how the brain stores memories, which can last nearly an entire lifetime.
When people recall how virtuously they have acted in the past, they are more likely to permit themselves self-destructive or anti-social behavior, says new research on the dark side of goodness.
According to the University of Southern California, fMRI brain scans show that both sides of the brain are involved in completing creative tasks. One more brain myth bites the dust.
The first post in a series looking at John Stuart Mill and the defence of individual liberty. The great English philosopher and thinker John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) regarded himself as […]
Research shows that children who attend preschool are less likely to be arrested later in life and more likely to graduate from high school. Preschool is the best leveler of the achievement gap.
International schools are often on the cutting edge of technology use in their schools. In fact, when I think of innovative schools, I often think of international schools. When I […]
After more than two years of writing this blog, I still haven’t learned how to predict how people will respond to my writing. The posts I am most proud of—and […]
A new meta-analysis of research performed in the 60s and 70s shows LSD treated alcoholism significantly better than placebos. Scientists are taking another look at how psychedelics treat disease.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine have found that an HIV vaccine could work in conjunction with antiretroviral therapies, prepping the immune system to eliminate HIV-1 viruses.
Article 1, Section 8, Clause 11, U.S. Constitution: “The Congress shall have Power To declare War” Rep. Ron Paul in the U.S. House of Representatives, October 3, 2002: “The process by which […]
BY @Jason_Silva “He who speaks in primordial images speaks with a thousand voices; he enthralls and overpowers, while at the same time he lifts the idea he is trying to […]
Even though AI systems are no substitute for interactions with a real human, they do have the potential to improve our quality of life.
Based on medical standards alone, female birth control should be made available over the counter, says author Virginia Postrel. Not to mention reducing American political invective.
Scientists have engineered an aspirin whose novel chemical compounds have proven effective at shrinking tumors while leaving the healthy cells around it unharmed.
Technological advances on several fronts are quickly bringing down the cost of sequencing a person’s genes. One day, personal genome tests might become as essential as blood tests.
Danny Strong appeared LIVE on Big Think the day before the premiere of his controversial new HBO film Game Change, which dramatizes the decision by the McCain campaign to add […]
What is the Big Idea? While the folks in Congress duke it out over birth control, International Women’s Day served as a good reason to create new dialogue on other […]
Serial entrepreneur Gurbaksh Chahal says the best way to become a company that is one day over taken is to have a new idea. Witness the history of Kodak and Blackberry, he says.
Might we someday use fetal stem cells, harvested from blood or organs, to boost the brain, treat cancer and neurodegenerative diseases, and reverse the ravages of age?
Within any woman who has ever been pregnant, some of her baby’s cells may live for as long as she lives.
Modern communication technology could be harnessed to give the very best teachers to every classroom. Though teleconferencing, we could become a nation of life-long learners.
What’s the Big Idea? For corporations, growth is a quarterly concern — a hope maybe, but not a necessity. For small businesses and nonprofits, stagnation isn’t an option: it’s grow […]
We all know the standard script surrounding divorce. A young person learns his/her parents are divorcing and their fantasy of a happy family is shattered. Falling into despair they under-perform […]
What’s the Big Idea? There’s a revolution going on in neuroscience, says science writer Kayt Sukel, and it’s happening on two fronts. One way the science is changing: researchers are […]