Guest Thinkers

2011 is the summer of the “hand heart” as everyone from sports figures to politicians to rock star wannabes press thumbs and fingers together to communicate “I love you!” to […]

Political scientists David Campbell and Robert Putnam published an op-ed in The New York Times this week arguing that the common idea about where the Tea Party comes from and […]

“When All-American Girl was cancelled, I was devastated. I thought that was my only shot at show business.” Margaret Cho opens up about fame, letting go, and how life’s biggest setbacks can actually be a step forward.

When President Bashar al Assad was elected (unopposed) in 2000, many in the West heralded this as progress. Assad’s father in law, Fahwaz – who I came to know – […]

Here’s the information on our final conference of  three funded by the University of Chicago: 2pm THURSDAY will feature a high successful and stunningly philosophical transplant nephrologist (kidney doctor) defending, based […]

What the world needs now – and just might be able to listen to – are humanitarian ambassadors like Sophal Ear, who have experienced atrocity and devoted their lives to doing something about it.

Long Beach photographers beware, Police Chief Jim McDonnell is a harsh critic: Long Beach (Calif.) Police Chief Jim McDonnell is defending his officer who detained a Long Beach Post contributor […]

It is a busy Friday, so it seems that today would be a great day for a new Mystery Volcano Photo. If we think back to the last MVP, #39, […]

Climate change campaigns in the United States that focus on the risks to people in foreign countries or even other regions of the U.S. are likely to inadvertently increase polarization […]

The new experimental “brain chips” developed by researchers at IBM and DARPA represent a fundamental breakthrough in computing power. If these brain chips are ever commercialized, they would make possible what are essentially thinking, artificial brains. 

BY JASON SILVA Physicist Freeman Dyson has spoken of a new “Age of Wonder” centered on computers and biology.  He has artfully articulated that in the near future “a new […]

BY JASON SILVA “We are enraptured prose-beings raised to the highest power”. – Walter Benjamin, On Hashish Timothy Leary and Buckminster Fuller called themselves “performing philosophers”, using the power of […]

I ask the above question at least halfway in earnest, and also as an excuse to write about Mad Men. (The season premiere has been delayed by contract disputes, so […]

You know that I am a huge fan of technology that merges the real world with enhanced information layers like QR codes and Augmented Reality. The third technology worth mentioning […]

In a previous post, Teddy Zareva wrote about a biodegradable urn made by the Spanish designer Martin Azua that turns you into a tree when you die. Big Think readers […]

I can’t lie. Every polysyllabic word like “maximalist” that President Obama uttered on his Ground Force One tour this week grated on my nerves. And yet, despite using the type […]

There are hundreds of intelligent things that computers are doing that are part of our everyday lives that used to require human intelligence.

So here’s some more on THE HELP. My first post dealt with the film’s display of the middle-class racist tyranny, mainly of women, in Jackson, Mississippi in1963. My opinion is […]

Now that my rage over losing the post yesterday afternoon has subsided, it’s time for me to try to recreate it (but that lost post was most definitely the best […]

Yesterday, Republican politician, conservative advocate and definitely not-a-witch Christine O’Donnell “walked out” on an interview with CNN’s Piers Morgan. She was there to promote her new book, Troublemaker, when she […]

The recent controversy in Manila over local artist Mideo Cruz’s Kulo exhibition raises the question of how far an artist can go in terms of religious art in a religious […]

Over the coming months, I will be blogging regularly on the topic of polarization, highlighting research and trends on the nature, causes, and possible solutions to the nation’s political paralysis.  […]

OMG. I better tweet this. Or post it on Facebook. Or click that oh-so-tempting like button. Maybe tumblr? Stumbleupon? Some other sharing service that I’m too slow to have noted, […]

Britain’s Opposition leader, Ed Miliband has emerged from two national crises with flying colours. He may have been a little late coming to the first – the Murdoch hacking scandal – but […]

The Sidney Hillman Foundation announced Tuesday that Tom Gogola has won the August Sidney Award for excellence in socially conscious journalism for his story, “Bycatch 22: As a twisted consequence […]

Harvard University product Mike Fucito scored two clinical goals last night for the Seattle Sounders in their 4-1 victory over CONCACAF Champions League opponent Comunicaciones of Gautamela.  Fucito was a […]

Yesterday, TIME named Big Think 2011’s top News & Information website! [Photo credit: Lindsay Beyerstein, all rights reserved.]

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal suggests that technology and, more specifically, time spent online might actually be helping people be friendlier, more empathetic, and in general, just […]

Pet owners are a unique breed. Even those that hadn’t wanted a pet often find themselves enthralled once they join the ranks of proud possessors of a furry (or not […]