All Articles

Given that drugs like Ritalin and Adderall raise productivity indiscriminately, shouldn’t everyone be using them? Dr. Harold Koplewicz, one of the nation’s leading child psychiatrists, thinks ADHD—like the drugs that are used to treat it—is “highly misunderstood.”

When fine fragrance perfumer Christophe Laudamiel, a recent Big Think guest, saw our video interview with filmmaker John Waters—in which Waters divulged his affection for a deadly work of contemporary […]

More than 3 billion pizzas are sold in the US each year, with the majority coming from takeout and delivery. Unfortunately, most pizza boxes are made from standard cardboard. Add […]

The latest episode of Sci Fi Science, as usual, has generated e-mails from viewers that I would now like to address: Question One: You discuss evil aliens that might want […]

Big Think interviewed an array of luminaries in a variety of fields this week, including several world leaders and giants in the arts. Bolivian President Evo Morales, in New York […]

The official version for the delay in a key conference – likely to decide the future leadership of North Korea – of the ruling Workers Party, is that widespread and […]

Social philosopher William Powers and scientist Gary Small say distractions in the digital age come at the cost of sustained, deep attention. 

Here at the end of busy week, we have some news that Eruptions readers have been following on Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean. Piton de la Fournaise, the active […]

This week, the global cities of Bogota, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, and Milan celebrate “Social Media Week,” with events and seminars focused on the use of digital media for building […]

“It is really just a few decades since human rights became the world’s preferred vocabulary for talking about justice.” Slate reviews a new book on the history of human rights claims.

“Eat your heart out, Wolverine. The X-Men superhero won’t be the only one with with metal fused into his skeleton if a new titanium foam proves suitable for strengthening bones.”

“Advances in laser technology and the field of quantum information science have allowed researchers to demonstrate Einstein’s theories at much more ordinary scales.”

“For millions of addicts around the world, Alcoholics Anonymous’s basic text—informally known as the Big Book—is the Bible. And as they’re about to find out, the Bible was edited.”

“The world will soon get to know a lot more about the low-profile billionaire, or at least Hollywood’s version of him.” A film based on Mark Zuckerberg opens Friday in New York.

“If you adjust for inflation and income, Americans have never spent less on food than they have in recent years. And yet many feel we’ve also never paid such a high price.”

“It has been the defining style of our era, but now it’s in retreat. Intelligent Life’s Stephen Bayley works out whether less will soon be no more.”

“The frontal cortex isn’t fully formed until late adolescence which means that the ability to concentrate is just beginning to solidify in babies. The result is that little kids struggle to focus.”

“Now management science looks set for a thorough, biology-inspired overhaul. Expect plenty more lab coats in business-school corridors.” The Economist on behavioral science.

“Economists may think of growth as endless, but the fact is that the Earth is finite, and sooner or later, as the human population soars towards nine billion, limits will be reached.”

The modern view of the American soldier at war is invariably shaped by television. Beginning with the Vietnam War, the first war brought literally into the living rooms of private […]

Tomorrow, the Republicans plan to roll out their “Pledge to America” outlining what they plan to do if they regain control of Congress. The platform is an updated version of […]

Some news! Get it while it is hot! Neanderthals and volcanoes: A recent study by Naomi Cleghorn and others that appeared in Current Anthropology lays the blame for the extinction […]

The results of Labour’s leadership election will be known officially at 4.30pm on Saturday 25th September, as delegates to the party conference assemble in Manchester, Northern England.  The contest has been […]

Philosophy and physics are not often thought of together in academia. While physicists develop calculations and models to describe the world around them, philosophers are more interested in the fuzzier […]

In 1889, three-hundred Parisian workers completed assembling 18,000 pieces of iron that comprise the Eiffel Tower.  The structure, intended to only stand 20 years, was initially received with great criticism, […]

The open access Journal of Science Communicationhas published several outstanding commentaries authored by a diversity of European, UK, and U.S. scholars assessing growth and trends in the academic discipline of […]

“Why does spicy food taste ‘hot’? After all, a chili pepper at room temperature will still ‘burn’ our tongue and cause us to sweat.” The Frontal Cortex on the physiology of taste.

“Extreme inequality in the U.S. is the result of tax-cutting ideology, which showers largesse on the GOP’s deepest-pocketed supporters.” Yale and Berkeley political science professors weigh in.

“With her latest show of edgy work on view in Berlin, Yoko Ono proves she can still pack a punch.” Intelligent Life reviews the artist’s show, Das Gift.

“Nations laid out their claims to territory in the polar North yesterday and the vast untapped mineral wealth that lies under the Arctic Ocean.” The Independent reports.