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Research into the health effects of cannabis have yielded a mixed bag (so to speak) of results. Predictably, studies that have looked for harmful effects have found them. But there […]
In the market for an engagement or wedding ring? Don’t just drop by your local jewelry store. Go on this journey with our friends at VSauce who hunt down the […]
Our opinion leaders and policy makers seem to have been genuinely surprised that Putin has invaded a part of Ukraine (mostly but not only Crimea) and will likely invade more.  […]
“Those who fear the imagination condemn it: something childish, they say, something monsterish, misbegotten. Not all of us dream awake. But those of us who do have no choice.” – Patricia […]
Big Think interviewed producer and film scholar Jonathan Taplin to discuss the current state of Hollywood. As much as we get caught up in the glitz and glamour, it’s easy […]
So Professor Jacob Stoll defends the study of the humanities with the thought that all the great economic thinkers from Aristotle to Locke to Adam Smith to Karl Marx to […]
In the closing days of World War II, America recruited scores of German scientists that became the bulwark of our space effort. These scientists of course had shady pasts and […]
Alan Alda recently challenged scientists to explain this simple question to 11-year-olds in less than 300 words. Could you do it? “You can’t get there by bus, only by hard work […]
Are reason and emotion sworn enemies? Many expert reasoners feel they are. But these supposed opposites overlap, emotions have logic and reason often blunders. Plato’s chariot and the anti-Freud can […]
Your high school teachers had the best intentions, but they likely featured educational illustrations on the walls of their classrooms that weren’t telling you the whole truth.  Our friends at […]
Did you know that your favorite dinosaur in kindergarten, the brontosaurus, never existed? This and 49 other misconceptions about science are pulled out of your head and replaced with facts […]
Which cologne or perfume makes big cats go absolutely wild? Researchers refuse to say, because they don’t want humans testing it out and encroaching on the natural habitat of wild […]
Heroin addiction continues to receive media attention following the death of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman. His tragic overdose introduced America to the fact that heroin addicts do not fit any […]
Witnessing a double-rainbow in nature may seem like a mystical experience, according to the famous video shot in Yosemite where the cameraman yells out in bliss: “What does this mean!”  […]
Over 3,000 different ethnic groups eat 1,400 different species of insects. Not eating insects? Check out what you are missing from this insect buffet filmed by the Smithsonian. The National […]
The tiny pistol shrimp should be a character in the video game Street Fighter. When it goes hunting for prey, it shoots water that’s as hot as the surface of […]
You knew the movie was hilarious, but did you also know that Caddyshack essentially features science in its pivotal plot points? Those explosions meant to rid the course of that […]
Though we are still trapped by the grueling clutches of winter, we can still dream that summer is around the corner. And with the eventual start of a new season […]
Is it a music video or a catchy way to remember the elements? BoingBoing produced this fun animation featuring They Might Be Giants singing (and teaching us) about science. Why […]
The Dalai Lama is a busy man traveling the world meeting with world leaders and members of the Tibetan diaspora. Now you can keep up with his journeys by following […]