Culture & Religion

Luck doesn’t receive enough credit. 

Forget everything you think you learned on your favorite crime scene drama.   

Between 1990 and 2003, the world saw the completion of one of the biggest international scientific collaborations that led to the creation of the The Human Genome Project. Now, another […]

Here are this week’s top comments on Big Think content from across the Web.

Microchipping humans may be common in the future. The prospect of constantly being tracked and online raises some major ethical concerns. Futurist and humanist Gerd Leonhard provides insight into where we’re headed.

No one yet knows what challenges will confront humans living in deep space.   

The cognitive boost of taking testosterone supplements has not been substantiated — but let’s face it, most men aren’t seeking a better memory when popping testosterone pills. 

Spontaneous talk on surprise topics. Turkish-American writer Elif Batuman on truth in fiction, how language shapes us, and more. 

Rachel Carson effectively stopped the usage of DDT. This has led to disastrous consequences, writes Paul Offit in his new book, Pandora’s Lab. 

The 24/7 nudge economy is emerging. Once-quiet appliances that waited for you to push their buttons are now pushing yours.

Virtual reality and psychedelics are paving new paths for treating mental health. 

Spontaneous talk on surprise topics. Philosopher of mind Daniel Dennett waxing wise and wicked on consciousness, dolphins, and more. 

Guy Garcia tackles the future of technology in his new novel, Swarm.

In his new book, Atlantic senior editor Derek Thompson argues for more disfluent feeds in our social media diet. 

Compelling evidence makes the case for both the Steppe and Anatolian Hypotheses.   

Bottoms ups! A Southern Calfornia brewery is taking its beer from toilet to tap. San Diego’s Stone Brewing has started making Full Circle Pale Ale using treated sewage water and recently held a tasting. While Bill Gates has shown that drinking “poop water” is perfectly fine, will consumers chug down this beer?   

In March 2017, the New Zealand government made history by passing the Te Awa Tupua Bill.

A new study reveals the positive effect being vegetarian can have on the production of greenhouse gases.

Percy Shelley’s 1811 essay, “The Necessity of Atheism,” still speaks volumes today.

Stand up comedians are twice as likely to die younger than dramatic actors. And according to at least one published medical study, the funnier you are the earlier you could die young. 

Is it luck? Is it a numbers game? Science suggests that it may be a delicate mix of both. 

Spontaneous talk on surprise topics. NY Times bestselling author George Saunders on cyborgs, ghosts, ego and loving your enemy. 

As John Hopkins, Duke, Yale, and others integrate yoga and acupuncture, will it harm or help patients? 

NASA has turned to the internet for help in naming the newly discovered Trappist-1 exoplanets.

Yuval Noah Harari warns that the constant pursuit of happiness is neurotic—and technology isn’t helping. 

Is AI a job booster or job killer? 41% of Americans fear getting replaced by AI, automation, and digitization, according to a new survey by SelectHub. What does this mean for the future of work? The survey also found that Gen Xers were most likely to be concerned and that certain industries were more worried than others. 

Talking about politics in the office is stressing people out and hurting their productivity. Many discussions are erupting into full-blown arguments, and millennials are particularly likely to witness political escalations in the workplace.

How likely are you to help a stranger? What if you were in a war zone? If you think that the desperation of conflict really brings out the worst in people, you might be surprised.

The moment we divided the world into opposites, we opened the gates of hell.

In a 2012 study, participants used a Ouija board to get in touch with their “second intelligence.”