On 18 September, Scotland voted to stay in the UK by 55% to 45%: a wider margin than most expected, but still close enough to warrant the constitutional re-think promised […]
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Dollar A Day enables its subscribers to support a different non-profit organization every day — automatically. Subscribers are charged $30 each month (all tax-deductible) and the money is distributed evenly to a portfolio of non-profits registered in the U.S.
The High Fidelity and Fever Pitch author recently told Cheltenham Festival attendees that no one should have to pridefully trudge through highbrow novels or force children to labor through books they find boring. Doing so sets a bad precedent.
Data and tech are invading sports arenas at a relentless pace with major emphasis being placed on advanced metrics. On one hand, incorporating new information can help revolutionize a sport. On the other, invasive testing could instigate a conflict between executives and athletes.
We are stardustWe are goldenAnd we’ve got to get ourselvesBack to the garden Oh, how those words from Joni Mitchell touched me in the Woodstock days. Listening to her sweet […]
There are countless opportunities in this world for one to give of him- or herself. And doing so, says WuDunn, helps more than just the receiver, even if it’s not immediately apparent.
Facebook recently announced that it will display warnings beside satirical content. In this post we look at the flaws and implications of recent research on the spread of false information on Facebook.
“What is a scientist after all? It is a curious person looking through a keyhole, the keyhole of nature, trying to know what’s going on.”
Earlier this year, doctors at the Wake Forest Institute of Regenerative Medicine successfully implanted lab-grown vaginas in four patients with underdeveloped sex organs. Now the team is looking to replicate that success with men via lab-grown penises.
Modern workers subscribe more and more to the axiom “time is more valuable than money.” How will the business world acclimate to accommodate this trend?
With a planetary nebula, over 80,000 stars and a distance of only 10,000 light-years, it’s one of the most rewarding globulars of all! Image credit: R. Columbari, via http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?t=31833. “I […]
Whether it’s berries or mushrooms or any other sort of free-growing food, the most important thing to learn is which types are safe to eat and which ones are better left alone.
Perel, a world-renowned psychologist and relationship expert, defines the division between sexuality and eroticism as similar to the difference between animals and human beings.
In my motley career I have had long conversations with heads of state and Nobel Prize winners. I have hiked north of the Arctic Circle and watched humpback whales amble […]
Make the world a better place — fighting disease and poverty while helping move science forward — with your computer’s spare time! Image credit: The Charity Engine, via slideshare.net. “While we do our good […]
There are many misconceptions about the nature of stress. Perhaps most notable among these misconceptions is that stress is always bad for you. In fact, some research suggests that a little stress in one’s life leads to greater health.
Arika Okrent of The Week recently shared eleven facts about everyone’s favorite Germanic diaeresis.
The rise of smartphones and social media has made it easier for people in committed relationships to maintain contact with old flames, have emotional affairs, and keep a spare close by in case things don’t work out.
The malware — called BadUSB — doesn’t attack devices’ memories, but rather takes advantage of a fundamental structural flaw in how they operate. Everything from USB keyboards to iPad chargers are susceptible.
To be successful in whatever you do, you’ve got to be good at failing. To be good at failing, it helps to be optimistic about taking the next step.
“The first step — especially for young people with energy and drive and talent, but not money — the first step to controlling your world is to control your culture. To model and demonstrate the kind of world you demand to live in. To write the books. Make the music. Shoot the films. Paint the art.”
“A skateboarder’s way of thought is so different that I feel if somebody had some sort of dilemma in their life you could ask a skateboarder for an outside opinion.You may get something that is absolutely ridiculous or you could get something that’s absolutely brilliant.”
-From his recent Big Think interview
“I was the conductor of the Underground Railroad for eight years, and I can say what most conductors can’t say — I never ran my train off the track and I never lost a passenger.”
“The world and our perceptions have changed a lot, even since the ’70s, but there are lingering stereotypes. If you ask an 11-year-old to draw a scientist, she’s likely to draw a geeky guy with a pocket protector. That’s just not an image an 11-year-old girl aspires to.”
“We don’t have to save the world. The world is big enough to look after itself. What we have to be concerned about is whether or not the world we live in will be capable of sustaining us in it.”
There’s five times as much dark matter as normal matter in the Universe. But how much of that matters for black holes? Image credit: NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope collaboration. “A […]
According to TwoFold CEO Alison McMahon, a leader who doesn’t care (or can’t pretend to care) about his or her employees isn’t much of a leader at all.
Spanish firm Opbrid recently introduced designs for the Busbaar V3, an automated vehicle charger capable of powering buses at 650 kW. Three prototypes will be tested in Sweden later this year.
Former Professional Wrestler Diamond Dallas Page returns to Big Think to share how yoga rescued his career in 1999 after a debilitating back injury nearly killed it.
Several scientists share their thoughts on why big athletes sometimes come up short in high-pressure situations. The basic gist: stress causes them to overanalyze.