What’s the Big Idea? For some of us, it was Spock. For others, a humiliating performance as a pilgrim in the kindergarten musical. For me, it was William Blake’s relentless […]
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Reuters reports that “leftists” in Mexico City’s assembly are contemplating a two-year, term-limited marriage. They argue that it would spare the city’s married residents—half of whom split, and most within […]
There’s nothing inherently wrong with stereotypes. In fact, cognitive psychologists argue that we need them in order to survive.
Radical futurist Ray Kurzweil says the pace of innovation will only continue to accelerate because exponential evolution is built into the very nature of technology.
New online exchanges aim to turn computer capacity into a globally traded commodity. Already there’s a new crop of startup companies called “cloud brokerages.”
Nissan is said to be working on a charger that could juice up an EV in just 10 minutes. It’s the kind of thing that could move EVs from the fringe squarely into the mainstream.
Apple’s new voice-driven artificial intelligence system, Siri—integrated into the company’s new iPhone—could be the biggest deployment of human-like AI the world has seen.
The U.S. is historically a Christian country. It’s not just that 3 out of 4 Americans identify themselves as Christian. It’s that the colonists who fought in the American revolution […]
Five tech breakthroughs helping level the playing field in developing countries: inexpensive tablets, laptops, and mobile phones; affordable solar panels and nanotech toilets.
Men and women of the American armed forces are on patrol today in the ancient cities of Kabul, Herat, and throughout Afghanistan. Our soldiers come in the footsteps of so […]
September 21, 2010 marked the 2501th anniversary of the Battle of Marathon. Of course, probably every day somewhere in the world people commemorate Marathon by running a 26 mile Marathon […]
I got this e-mail from a reader, which I was asked to pass along in the hope of getting some advice: I was raised in an Evangelical household and most […]
Continuing with our first week of posts (and getting all the particulars out of the way – posts will get more substantive soon), we would like to tell you who […]
Psychologist Dan Ariely says Zappos’ policy of offering potential customer service employees $3000 not to take the job is money well spent.
For almost 2000 years, Western Art has groped about in the darkness, laboring under the Ptolemaic misconception that Earth (and humankind) is at the center of all things. Until now.
While the Obama Administration was busy foiling yet another terror plot yesterday, the GOP presidential candidates at the debate sponsored by Bloomberg TV and the Washington Post looked like they […]
Today, I don’t want to write about Kahneman’s work or his invaluable contribution to the study of decision making and the workings of the human mind, but rather, about something much more general: his approach to research.
For all their apparent differences, the Occupy Wall Street protestors and the Tea Party are far more alike than either side, or the punditocracy, would like to admit. There […]
By @jason_silva and @notthisbody Hybrid Reality Institute Fellow Jason Silva will be speaking at the Singularity Summit in New York on October 15th. Here is Jason’s latest video inspired by […]
When news hit the press that some tiny bits of matter traveled faster than light speed, scientists decried the results and the public erupted in speculation. Is that good science?
American, British and Russian exploration teams are racing to make first contact with long-lost lakes deep beneath Antarctica’s ice in search of new life forms and climate change data.
A new collection of case studies describes how cities can successfully implement “green infrastructure” to process rainwater in ways that make urban environments more habitable.
Using the powerful Herschel Space Telescope, scientists have found evidence that the water in Earth’s oceans could have been delivered by comets rather than asteroids.
While space exploration was once a field for engineers and physicists, psychologists are playing an ever bigger role. A new book reviews how the human psyche copes in space.
Last month the Boston Red Sox dropped out of playoff contention, losing their wild-card berth to the Tampa Bay Rays after leading them by nine games three and a half […]
Tara Sophia Mohr has a challenge for working women. “You’re brilliant and thoughtful, but could you move a few more inches in the arrogant idiot direction please?” Be an arrogant idiot is rule #5 of Mohr’s 10 Rules for Brilliant Women.
Looking forward to the end of the world requires a divorce not only from reality, but from the awe that our infinitesimal place within it inspires.
Every Wednesday, Michio Kaku will be answering reader questions about physics and futuristic science.
Tonight’s Republican Presidential Debate at Dartmouth College will feature a pre-debate panel discussion, exclusively co-sponsored by Big Think and Dartmouth College. This discussion will stream LIVE right here at 5pm […]
Business reporter Spencer Soper of The Morning Call has won the October Sidney Award from the Sidney Hillman foundation for his expose of Dickensian conditions in Amazon.com’s warehouse in Pennsylvania. […]