Megan Erickson
Associate Editor, Big Think
Megan Erickson is an Associate Editor at Big Think. Prior to Big Think, she taught reading and writing to ninth and tenth graders in NYC public schools and tutored students of all ages at the Stuyvesant Writing Center, which she helped launch. In her spare time, she worked in the communications department at the Center for Constitutional Rights and served as a mentor at the Urban Assembly, where she designed and led an extracurricular civics course on grassroots community action. She’s written on education, small business, and the arts for CNNMoney, Fortune Small Business, and The Huffington Post. Megan received her master’s degree in Education from Teachers College. You can reach her at [email protected].
In honor of that award, we're republishing a segment from our October interview with Abed, in which he talks about what women and girls can teach the world.
The next Scientific Revolution is already underway. And it may make it possible for you to celebrate your 150th birthday, says Sonia Arrison.
Unemployment among those aged 16-29 is at its highest rate since WWII. “Follow your passion,” while hard to argue with, is clearly an inadequate career plan.
Margaret Cho, the "Patron Saint of Outsiders" reveals the secret to overcoming barriers.
We now have the power to map the brain, peering into the human mind to decode words from silent thoughts. But what will human consciousness look like, if we ever finally catch a glimpse of it? Neuroscientist Joy Hirsch kicks off the debate.
"It turns out we’re not the only species that assembles ourselves into networks," says sociologist and physician Nicholas Christakis.
Yes, we know our laptops know more than us. Now what will we do at work?
Tara Sophia Mohr has a challenge for working women. “You’re brilliant and thoughtful, but could you move a few more inches in the arrogant idiot direction please?” Be an arrogant idiot is rule #5 of Mohr's 10 Rules for Brilliant Women.
The winner of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize will be announced this Friday, October 7th. Last week, a former Norwegian prime minister ignited speculation about this year's winner by announcing, "It will be an interesting and very important prize ... I think it will be well-received."
If we want to change our society, we need to focus our attention on our women, says Sir Fazle Abed, founder of one of the most efficient microfinance organizations in the world.
Empowering girls to become fearless women starts with "a changed paradigm about how we see young people in general... as leaders, as change agents who are moving our culture forward."
More women than ever are choosing to pursue a life in science, but high-ranking positions are still held disproportionately by men. What does it take to rise to the top - and why do so few make it?
If 19th century relationships were about forming alliances, and 20th century relationships about passion, how will the relationships of the 21st century be defined?
If we could talk to the animals, we might gain insight into what it means to communicate with an extraterrestrial species.
While some inventions will remain forever confined to the pages of science fiction novels, much of what we've dreamed up in books - warp drive, star gates, portals through space and time - will one day make the leap in to living rooms everywhere.
Cities symbolize opportunity, but the same practicality that is prized during boom times can come to seem opportunistic following a tragedy. When do we move forward? And how often should we look back?
Symphonic music has been written off by a generation as cloistered and irrelevant. Can the classically-trained musician ever return to mass appeal?
Ryan Blair, CEO and author of Nothing to Lose, Everything to Gain: How I Went From Gang Member to Multimillionaire Entrepreneur, argues that independent employees are good for business.
"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.
If what you do is repetitive, then your job is doomed, says physicist Michio Kaku. If your work involves creativity, imagination, experience, leadership, hey… there’s a bright future for you.
We live in a culture that valorizes over-busyness. In so many workplaces, the hero is the one who is putting in the long hours. Why isn’t the hero the person who can get amazing work done and leave at a reasonable time?
In the global quest for superpower status, who represents you? Delphi Fellow Parag Khanna argues that in the future, we will all be diplomats.
The adrenaline rush we all experience when our bodies go in to “fight or flight” mode is an asset if we’re up against a physical threat. But in every day life, how do you overcome fear?
More than half of all U.S. companies have banned employees from using Facebook at work. Dylan Taylor argues that on-the-job socializing is essential to the success of the modern enterprise.
With the cost of genotyping falling at a rate faster than Moore's Law, genetics could be used to answer some of the burning questions of the social sciences.
Tara Sophia Mohr has a challenge for working women. “You’re brilliant and thoughtful, but could you move a few more inches in the arrogant idiot direction please?” Be an arrogant idiot is rule #5 of Mohr's 10 Rules for Brilliant Women.
Motivational psychologist Scott Rigby explains why we can't stop playing.
Fertility clinics can now identify and prevent the implantation of embryos with known genetic defects. For the first time we have the technical ability to determine whether or not certain babies will be born and what characteristics they’ll be born with.
How can you most effectively communicate given the 140-character limit of Twitter? Who better to ask than the former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky.
Put your optimism on hold, says John Gray. Times of progress can be deceptive because history is actually cyclical.