George Washington Carver (1861 or 1864-1943), who most people know for discovering 100 different uses for the peanut, was an American scientist and inventor. Born into slavery during the Civil […]
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Open-plan workspaces with minimalistic designs have become the standard for companies looking to avoid distraction and increase productivity. Yet these kinds of offices can actually reduce productivity.
More than an economic reality, the sharing economy is a sign of the times, suggesting that the individual consumerism that has powered the American economy may be shifting.
Rachel Carson (1907-1964) was an American biologist, conservationist, and author. She is most famous for her landmark 1962 book Silent Spring and her influence on the environmentalism movement. She succumbed to […]
Created by physicists at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory near Chicago, a machine called the Holometer will determine if the universe is merely a series of bits or if a more substantial material reality exists.
If you’re feeling a bit sleepy, a coffee nap could be just the thing. Half coffee, half nap, having a caffeine drink just before a nap gives you a little shuteye followed by the full benefits of caffeine.
What happens when an artist decides to share her sketchbook with her four-year-old daughter? Image credit: Mica & Myla Hendricks, via their (fully funded) Kickstarter page. “If you can’t share, […]
After following 634 couples over nine years, researchers at the University of Buffalo found that partners who smoked marijuana together were consistently less violent toward each other.
Today’s children are spending an average of seven hours a day on entertainment media, including televisions, computers, phones and other electronic devices. Studies have shown that excessive media use can […]
A bill recently passed by California legislators would establish standards for “affirmative consent” with regard to sexual activity on college campuses. “Yes Means Yes” could be influential to other states’ legislators if it survives initial litigation.
Should homeless Americans be entitled to 24/7 access to restrooms? An increasing number of advocates are pushing the issue to the forefront of homeless-rights discussions.
Data matters. It’s important to harness data to find more efficient ways to operate. But making data a higher priority than your workforce is extremely unwise.
Rather than maintain its landlines, the university is opting to subsidize cell phones for employees at its new online learning initiative.
If we came to be just a few billion years earlier, we’d never know. Image credit: Jean-Charles Cuillandre (CFHT) & Giovanni Anselmi (Coelum Astronomia), Hawaiian Starlight. “After all the ‘Universe’ […]
Neuroscientists fascinated by the teenage psyche have come together to publish a series of studies on what makes juveniles tick. Their findings reveal why teenage boys in particular act in such a risk-averse manner.
While you can’t prevent your financial institution from being breached by hackers, you can still protect your information by not falling into their traps.
Everyone knows there are two things you never bring up in conversation—politics and religion. In this secular age chock full of wars fought over one faith or another, many never […]
In my post last week I linked to some work by Evan Selinger, a philosopher at the Rochester Institute of Technology who has been thinking hard about the ways seemingly […]
There are six cardinal rules that can determine if your viral campaign will be successful or not: clarity, ease, immediacy, multiplicity, versatility, and the ability to make participants feel good about themselves for having taken part.
Sometimes the best way to combat stress is to examine it not as a mysterious toxin but as a tangible, solvable equation.
Bill Nye, everyone’s favorite Science Guy, recently visited Big Think to talk SpaceX, NASA, and the budding space tourism industry. Would Bill jump at the chance to visit space? You […]
“Companies that model best practices, that model the most upstanding principles, end up as the most profitable. It’s not a trade of profits versus principles.” –Philip Zimbardo, Professor Emeritus at Stanford University and Founder of […]
“Sometimes I think that a parody of democracy could be more dangerous than a blatant dictatorship, because that gives people an opportunity to avoid doing anything about it.” Aung San […]
This photo was snapped by Marco Belluci in Kalabougu, Mali. His description: Kalabougou is a village located across the Niger river from Ségou (Mali). The village is known for its […]
August 30, 1984: the Space Shuttle Discovery launches from Kennedy Space Center on its maiden voyage. STS-41-D was NASA’s 12th Space Shuttle mission. One mission’s crew members was Judith Resnik, who […]
It’s not looking good in the Golden State right now: According to the U.S. Drought Monitor (shown below), the entire state is currently experiencing at least “moderate drought,” with 95% […]
What every middle-to-high schooler should know. Image credit: Bayside STEM academy, via Stanford at https://ed.stanford.edu/news/new-design-thinking-curriculum-targets-middle-school-students. “Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time […]
Not only are supercomputers able to perform research at a quicker pace than scientists, their processes offer a unique approach to culling information. Because of this, supercomputers are capable of making discoveries that scientists can’t.
Beyond the simple advice of “start putting more away,” optimizing when you start collecting social security can help you save more in the long run.
From 1974 through 1981, Haruki Murakami ran a jazz club in Tokyo, Japan, and wondered what direction his life would run. After long soul searching, his life ran in the […]