bigthinkeditor
“The passive-building standard is only now getting off the ground in the United States—despite years of data suggesting that America’s drafty building methods are wasteful.”
“Tariq Ramadan says [the Ground Zero Islamic Center] should be built elsewhere. He debates Mustafa Bayoumi, an associate professor at Brooklyn College.”
“Historians say it is time to radically rewrite America’s slavery story to include its buried history in New England. More than we like to think, the North was built on slavery.”
“The philosophy that became known as ‘Tolstoyism’ was essentially a form of Christian anarchism based on the doctrine of non-resistance.”
“Now that twentysomethings cling on to adolescence and adults live in perpetual kidulthood, Susie Mesure finds sociologists need a new lexicology for adults.”
“The process of death can damage organs, rendering them useless for others. Ethicists now debate whether transplant surgery should begin before the heart stops.”
“New energy technologies blossom when oil gets expensive. We can raise the price of fossil fuels again without hurting consumers—if we implement a fee and rebate system.”
“In the future, the computational module of a brain coprocessor may be powerful enough to assist in high-level human cognition or complex decision making.”
“Stop economic growth in its tracks, start living locally, at a slower pace, and share more—that was the remarkable demand yesterday at the beginning of the Sustainable Planet Forum.”
“Women’s relatively rapid rise seems to have become unexpectedly entwined with patriotism—proof of this country’s belief in fairness, equality, upward mobility.”
“Congress wants to weaken the buck against China’s currency, and a broader devaluation could help the Federal Reserve stave off deflation pressures.”
Is human nature selfless? The conclusion of many biologists that life is a series of fierce competitions for resources is put in doubt by the seemingly selfless behavior of many species.
“The case for natural wines has always been philosophic and aesthetic.” Slate’s Mike Steinberger says the word ‘natural’ is meaningless in the wine industry.
“Intellectual property law should protect businesses, but too often can be used to stifle the spread of ideas.” The Mises Economic blog on copyright sensibility, or lack thereof.
The beat goes on: “Andvinyly, a UK-based outfit, has this offer: after you die, you can have some of your cremated ashes pressed into a vinyl record.”
“We think of terraforming as something we’ll do in the future to other planets, but we have thousands of years of experience changing the shape of our own planet in profound ways.”
“Efforts to make education more ‘relevant’ to black people can be both patronising and harmful. The western literary canon should be taught to everyone.”
“Various efforts are underway to find a cheap, efficient and scalable way to recycle the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide back into the hydrocarbons that fuel civilization.”
When fine fragrance perfumer Christophe Laudamiel, a recent Big Think guest, saw our video interview with filmmaker John Waters—in which Waters divulged his affection for a deadly work of contemporary […]
Big Think interviewed an array of luminaries in a variety of fields this week, including several world leaders and giants in the arts. Bolivian President Evo Morales, in New York […]
“It is really just a few decades since human rights became the world’s preferred vocabulary for talking about justice.” Slate reviews a new book on the history of human rights claims.
“Eat your heart out, Wolverine. The X-Men superhero won’t be the only one with with metal fused into his skeleton if a new titanium foam proves suitable for strengthening bones.”
“Advances in laser technology and the field of quantum information science have allowed researchers to demonstrate Einstein’s theories at much more ordinary scales.”
“For millions of addicts around the world, Alcoholics Anonymous’s basic text—informally known as the Big Book—is the Bible. And as they’re about to find out, the Bible was edited.”
“The world will soon get to know a lot more about the low-profile billionaire, or at least Hollywood’s version of him.” A film based on Mark Zuckerberg opens Friday in New York.
“If you adjust for inflation and income, Americans have never spent less on food than they have in recent years. And yet many feel we’ve also never paid such a high price.”
“It has been the defining style of our era, but now it’s in retreat. Intelligent Life’s Stephen Bayley works out whether less will soon be no more.”
“The frontal cortex isn’t fully formed until late adolescence which means that the ability to concentrate is just beginning to solidify in babies. The result is that little kids struggle to focus.”
“Now management science looks set for a thorough, biology-inspired overhaul. Expect plenty more lab coats in business-school corridors.” The Economist on behavioral science.
“Economists may think of growth as endless, but the fact is that the Earth is finite, and sooner or later, as the human population soars towards nine billion, limits will be reached.”