Human behavior is controlled by a lot of neural wiring and chemistry, and an incredible range of cognitive shortcuts and instincts, over which we have practically no conscious control. A […]
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“Follow the Money,” the informant known only as “Deep Throat” told Woodward and Bernstein during their investigation into the Watergate Scandal that they titled All the President’s Men. Follow the […]
http://bigthink.com/dollars-and-sex/why-were-still-single-part-i
What is the Big Idea? The LIBOR scandal may be breaking now, but industry insiders told The Economist that the rate fixing goes back much further than that. “Fifteen years […]
Boston, with its rich university resources and innovative start up incubators, stands to have the smartest creativity infrastructure in the world outside of Silicon Valley, says Dr. Boyd Cohen.
Will the natural gas boom revitalize the U.S. economy and provide us energy for 100 years?
Market-based reforms are helping to create a service and manufacturing-based African middle class. As a result, populations are more likely to demand fairer government rule.
World leaders have pledged $16 billion in foreign aid over the next four years, but observers say past money has been poorly spent and that many businesses don’t even have electricity.
Notre Dame moral philosopher Gary Gutting asks whether, morally speaking, an American president could acquiesce to another country’s policies that harm US citizens in the name of some greater good.
Technology has fomented a new global protest movement, spanning from the Middle East to the West. But the ease of online activism also threatens any lasting power groups can gain.
A Q&A With Dr. John L. Casti, author, X-Events: The Collapse of Everything Dr. John L. Casti is a complexity scientist. This is one of those job descriptions I would […]
I’m home again, safe and sound. As I mentioned, this weekend I was in Columbus, Ohio at the 2012 Secular Student Alliance Leadership Conference, having a blast with some of […]
By understanding what causes shifts in how we experience consciousness, neuroscientists will be able to understand more fully what underpins our connection to the external world.
The omnipresence of instantaneous technology has made us more likely to make snap decisions and judgements, often with bad consequences. Scientists have found a solution, though.
A new meme is emerging in the blogosphere: Obama as the “imperial president.” From the left, Tom Egelhardt claims Obama “has the powers previously associated with the gods” while Steve […]
So this astute and classy article by James Patterson explains why so many conservatives wrongly took the side of the Board of Visitors against University of Virginia President Teresa Sullivan on […]
Searching for a job is almost inevitably stressful, but it can also be mentally draining: worrying about how you’ll pay the rent or whether the wording on your resume will […]
In the past year, there have been a few studies that suggest that volunteer work is as healthy for the aging body and brain as exercise and the right diet. […]
The demographic of “Ph.D.-holding, football fiend women who listen to their local call-in sports shows” is probably small. So I wasn’t the intended audience for theDr. Pepper 10 commercial that […]
University of Chicago researchers have found that words in our native tongue carry more emotional impact than words in a second language, influencing how we make important decisions.
Biomedical gerontologist Aubrey de Grey likens the human body to a VW bug. In the future, medicine will enable us to replace our aging parts, extending life far beyond current limits.
The psychological phenomenon known as fundamental attribution error describes our tendency to locate the cause of mistakes outside ourselves yet blame others personally.
Researchers have found a way to unclog obstructed blood vessels, leading to heart attacks and strokes, by the use of a low-dose drug delivery system.
Through a collaboration of studies researchers have identified a parasite they believe is linked to suicide in women.
What’s the Big Idea? My brother-in-law, a tenured professor at Osgood law school in Toronto, sent me an article yesterday. “This will interest you. Anne-Marie is a rockstar academic!” The […]
I can’t shake this feeling that access to online dating is actually making it more difficult for men and women to find love. I know that sounds counterintuitive, especially from […]
Genetic engineers have penned a report on why genetically-modified food is dangerous.
Anxiety rates have risen in our country for the last four decades. Sociologists blame the increased number of choices we have and the failure of the mythical American meritocracy.
A recent study indicates social networks such as Facebook and Twitter can effect health behaviors in humans.