With jobs legislation floundering in the Senate, Starbucks is creating a pool of cash for microlending to small businesses. The company claims every $3,000 represents a new job.
All Articles
Nobody is born with entrepreneurial skills, says Eric Ries, Harvard’s entrepreneur-in-residence. What’s important is learning the science behind managing risk and failure.
Bruce Bueno de Mesquita sees key messages of Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party movement – as two misguided responses to the powerlessness many Americans feel.
In most circumstances, narcissism doesn’t go over well. But there’s one big exception to the rule: leadership.
William Ackman, CEO of Pershing Square Capital, is an expert at making money. In his Floating University Lecture, Ackman says to be a successful investor you have to be able to avoid the natural human tendency to follow the herd.
Entertainer turned entrepreneur, M.C. Hammer presented his newest Internet search technology at last week’s Web 2.0 summit in San Francisco. Hammer is a Bay Area native.
Having won eight division titles and one World Series in his time in St. Louis, Tony La Russa possesses dual talents that make a leader great: adaptability and durability.
Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Richard Branson all dropped out of school before becoming huge successes. They are exceptions, to be sure, but should we reconsider the value of higher education?
The micro-lending revolution, which made it possible for community-based lending institutions to bundle together micro-donations of $25 into loans for entrepreneurs in emerging markets, is making its way to your […]
I debated the excellent libertarian author Ronald Bailey over this question at Wheaton College in Massachusetts. Ron has already responded to me here. Before I respond to him, I thought […]
I am optimistic for the economic and social outlook for the United States! During the next four or five years we will, once again, shift into gear. “Occupy Wall Street” […]
Robots are usually designed with very specific tasks in mind. But the “foambot”, though it looks ungainly, lets you decide on the task and build on the spot.
The Italian Renaissance remains one of those amazing hinges of human history where civilization made a great leap that continues to be felt today. For German art historian Hans Belting, […]
In a previous post, Big Think speculated about what Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s death would mean — for the Arab Spring, for the price of oil, for President Barack Obama, etc. […]
A woman recently shared with me the secret to finding a husband. She told me to write a list of qualities that my ideal man would have and tape it […]
This paper, published online yesterday in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, introduces a new term to neuroscience: The FBN, or “Facebook number.” Your Facebook number is, of course, […]
How do you bring technology to countries underserved by the Internet and other tech the U.S. takes for granted? An SMS social network & a slate that converts handwriting to data.
What are five disruptive cleantech innovations that could enable large-scale change? 3D printing, energy harvesting, energy storage, fuel cell technology, and smart meters.
Light field technology is the key to a new camera allowing you to be re-focus images minutes, days or even years after the shot, or to view them in 3D.
The prototype of a hydrogen fuel cell tram has been built in Spain. The emission-free tram can carry 20-30 passengers at up to 20 kmh and should enter service next year.
I’ve been having a high old time the last couple of weeks watching both Republican presidential candidates and TV political pundits squirm whenever the phrase “9-9-9” is uttered. Nevertheless, Herman […]
Why didn’t humans become as peaceful as we are today tens of thousands of years ago?
Charities that depend on donations and fund-raising to survive have it hard enough in the best of times. But in this depressed economy, it must be more difficult than ever. […]
My friends, I have to confess an unpardonable lapse of judgment. I have some very bad news to deliver, and what’s worse, I forgot to tell you until now, when […]
Deb Roy has created a machine that connects TV show impressions to expressions in social media. This has extraordinary implications for advertising, and also promises to “rewire how our democratic process works in the future.”
Ethan Philbrick performs one of the first pieces of music ever written for solo cello, by J.S. Bach.
The former Senate Majority Leader says whatever system we choose, whether it is Obamacare, Clintoncare or Nixoncare, has a relatively small impact on how long we live as compared to behavior and genetics.
As tuition costs continue to skyrocket, parents and students are demanding answers to this question: what am I getting as the return on my $50 thousand annual investment that is college tuition today?
In his book Blind Spots, Professor Max Bazerman of Harvard Business School argues that the Challenger fiasco exploited inconsistencies in the decision-making mechanisms of the brain.
A new study has deepened the mystery of dark matter, that evasive substance that keeps entire galaxies together. The standard cosmological model may be wrong as a result.