Guest Thinkers — August 17, 2011

We’re #1: TIME Rates Big Think Top Site for News & Info

Lindsay Beyerstein

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Yesterday, TIME named Big Think 2011’s top News & Information website!

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

An older man with white hair and a suit receives a document from another man in a robe during an event, as several people look on in the background. In the age of viral misquotes, capturing such moments accurately becomes ever more crucial.

High Culture

Einstein didn’t say that: How viral misquotes evolve and replicate

From Einstein to Twain, Garson O’Toole investigates the truth behind your favorite — and often misattributed — quotes.

The Future

“Mad King” behavior: A prediction for how 21st-century nuclear war would unfold

“We are not our grandparents. It’s time to start thinking differently,” journalist Annie Jacobsen told Big Think.

High Culture

How the internet changed news, according to The Onion

What you can learn about media by parodying it from the print era into the digital age.

A collage of speech bubbles containing randomly oriented text, scribbles, and abstract shapes on a black background. Some bubbles feature words like "news" and "missed" partially visible.

The Present

Hugo Mercier says we’ve been misinformed about misinformation

In “Not Born Yesterday,” author and cognitive scientist Hugo Mercier makes the case that misinformation is overrated — and other human foibles are underrated.

Kahneman wearing a suit, rests their chin on their hand while looking thoughtfully ahead.

Business

How “fast” and “slow” thinking can help us handle technostress

Cognitive systems famously posited by psychologist Daniel Kahneman (1934-2024) may hold the key to a more productive and focused work environment.

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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 […]