Guest Thinkers — February 16, 2011

Sparking some school board discussion

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Apparently I sparked a little discussion by a local school board! You’ve got to give them credit for asking the right questions and also being willing to experiment publicly with what to them were new technologies…

The most surprising and impactful new stories delivered to your inbox every week, for free.

A digital illustration showing a glowing blue particle on the left, evoking cosmic inflation, transitioning into a geometric, grid-like structure on a purple background on the right.

Starts With A Bang

Ask Ethan: Does cosmic inflation violate energy conservation?

A few physical quantities, in all laboratory experiments, are always conserved: including energy. But for the entire Universe? Not so much.

A woman, resembling a paranormal investigator, holds a rectangular glass dish above her eyes, which are illuminated by light shining through the dish in a dark setting.

Big Think Books

Why don’t Americans trust experts? Just ask a paranormal investigator.

For his new book, “The Ghost Lab,” Matt Hongoltz-Hetling spent time with paranormal investigators to understand their relationship with science and society.

A hallway with multiple closed doors and one open door, creating a repeating pattern that extends into the distance. The image has a blue tone.

Smart Skills

The hidden cost of chasing clarity

Clarity driven by anxiety rarely lasts.

A worker in protective gear operates machinery in an industrial facility, with a partial overlay of solar panels and geometric patterns above—hinting at the innovative spirit found in stellar societies.

The Long Game

The Tony Seba and James Arbib interview: Why the future belongs to “stellar societies”

The cofounders of think tank RethinkX are convinced that humanity is undergoing civilizational phase change.

Black-and-white portrait of Steve Hanke, an older man in a suit and glasses, centered on a background with graph lines and dotted patterns.

Business

The Steve Hanke interview: “Writing a tweet is the endgame of the Feynman Technique”

The veteran economist joins Big Think to unpack the new rules of social media, explain tariffs, and recount his adventures in Albania.

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Guest Thinkers

My computer setup

I don’t blog about technology tools too often, but I thought I’d share my computer setup at home (my setup at work is quite similar): I have no data files […]