The infrared reveals stars — and a surprising population of failed stars — we’ve never seen before. “…innumerable stars, thousands of double and multiple systems, clusters in one blaze with their tens of thousands of […]
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NASA has given its Mars rover Curiosity the ability to “decide” which rocks to zap with its laser in the recent AEGIS software update.
How do we know governments and hackers aren’t surveilling our smartphones? The answer is we don’t. Edward Snowden is here to fix that.
Several studies confirm that 2016 is shaping up to be the hottest year ever.
Modern detective work reveals the haunting story behind one of the most important rock records ever: Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel.”
Modern terrorism has roots in a mythical sect of assassins from the time of the Crusades.
It takes a certain ability to shut off the outside world if you want to write more than a few sentences. John Irving sums it up in just over 1 minute.
Think Again – a Big Think Podcast With Experimental Philosopher Jonathon Keats on Buckminster Fuller, Vicarious Sex, Taboos and How to Get Around Them
If everything is relative, as Einstein says, then how do cosmologists measure these quantities in ways everyone can agree? “A human being is part of a whole, called by us the […]
An old fight between philosophy and science has flared up again. Fortunately we have Rebecca Newberger Goldstein to help us sort out what’s going.
Doctors ran a typical a brain scan on an epilepsy patient. As they were watching, the patient saw God. Here’s what happened next.
Studies confirm that having experiences makes us happier than material possessions.
Why, even with infinite magnification, we’d never view the first stars. “Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.” –Marcus Aurelius Imagine the […]
Neil deGrasse Tyson compares our actual progress in space to what was predicted in the 1968 movie 2001: A Space Odyssey.
The last Japanese manufacturer of VCRs stop production, marking the end of a technological era.
A new study examines the behavior of seven species of marine animals around the dead.
Having studied the ancient philosophers and their ideas of the virtues required to be an ideal man, Benjamin Franklin created his own list of thirteen virtues.
AI theorist Eliezer Yudkowsky once wrote, “The AI neither hates you nor loves you, but you are made out of atoms that it can use for something else.”
From Greek myths to hot air balloons to Elon Musk’s Space X, people have always dreamed of ascending to the clouds.
Why we’re positive the Universe isn’t all there is, and what the different possibilities for a Multiverse are. “Go, then. There are other worlds than these.” –Stephen King When you […]
Neuroscientists create the ultimate map of the brain, greatly advancing our understanding and leading to potential new cures.
Saudi clerics see Pokemon Go as anti-Islamic and full of forbidden symbols and ideas (like evolution!), so have renewed their 2001 fatwa on it.
Scientists may be able to unlock the potential of a compound found in a common fruit, whose interaction with a certain gut bacteria helps ward off aging.
Sleeplessness and fatigue getting you down? Turns out the trick is respecting that big star in the sky.
Philosopher Alva Noë explains why neuroscientists assume the answer to an old philosophical question that really can’t be resolved.
While nobody was paying attention, Germany took over a bit of Czech territory
A new idea links the Standard Model’s most elusive particles with the zero-point energy of the Universe. “If you’re puzzled by what dark energy is, you’re in good company.” –Saul […]
A Kentucky photograph appears to show a soul leaving a body. Why do our brains assign metaphysical meaning to blurs?
If you thought the Kuiper belt was just icy worlds of various sizes orbiting like Pluto, think again. “There have only been two true planets discovered since ancient times, and this […]
Sotheby’s will auction off 380 pieces from Bowie’s collection later this year. The collection is “eclectic, unscripted, [and] understated,” according to Sotheby’s European chairman Oliver Barker.