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Both biology and economics are in the “productivity selection” business. But self-interest in evolution differs greatly from self-interest in economics. Comparing them shows that excessive self-maximization has become a systemic risk.

Food writer Michael Pollan explains how the history of barbecue in America is one that includes all kinds of people working together in an integrated effort to produce the best possible meal.

While other sports were slow to integrate both on and off the field, David Stern and the NBA led the way in hiring African-American head coaches and general managers.

The Science Guy explores the social lessons to be learned from evolution. Paramount is that race, both as a classification for humans and dogs, is not a natural construct.

The murder of a dozen Charlie Hebdo employees in France by Islamic extremists brings back memories of the unrest surrounding Muhammad cartoons published in a Danish newspaper in 2005.

Losang Samten: Be Mindful. Be Kind. Be Patient. The Venerable Losang Samten, a renowned Tibetan scholar and a former Buddhist monk, stresses the virtues of being mindful, kind, and patient. […]

To avoid increased scrutiny at airports, the CIA recommends its covert operatives have simple and plausible responses to the questions most frequently asked at airport screenings.

In this day and age, we and our gadgets are limited by the archaic ways we store our power. Tech guru Brad Templeton explains that a breakthrough in battery technology would spark an exciting wave of innovation and enable the future of computing to be realized.

Somewhere between Guitar Hero and the do-it-yourself ethos of Rock ‘n’ Roll sits Rock Band Class, a ten-week course offered to anyone who wants to test their big dreams in front of a live audience.

How many times have you heard a colleague preach about the importance of achieving a healthy work-life balance? For a lot of self-helpers, achieving an equilibrium between the personal and […]

Who will care for you in old age? Given dramatically lower fertility rates and population aging, combined with the high cost of caregiving, the future of eldercare and senior housing may be in for a big change. Can you imagine a future where robots provide care to older adults? Whether you think it cool, or creepy, the future may begin on July 17th when the Henn-na Hotel in Japan opens with a mostly robotic staff — is senior housing next?

Knowing how to pitch a tent, cook over a campfire, and sell cookies door-to-door are fine community-building skills to have, but so is knowing how to be a digital entrepreneur. 

During a recent bout with depression, comedian Ruby Wax took time off from her career to pursue a Master’s degree in Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy from Oxford University.

At Big Think,we take pride in helping you develop the leadership skills you need to succeed. It’s why we created Big Think+, our unique online learning platform, which features exclusive […]

Biographer Walter Isaacson discusses his new book The Innovators and why Steve Jobs was a prickly teambuilder. 

ABC News Correspondent Dan Harris explains why someone who tells you they’re a good multitasker is lying. In fact, what we perceive as multitasking is really just “doing many things poorly”

Bestselling author Daniel H. Pink explains that just because fewer people occupy job positions called “salesperson” doesn’t mean members of the workforce are doing any less selling.

Banks and credit unions have found a new way to lure customers: for each deposit made, enter them in a lottery that pays out cash prizes. 

Even the dead stars still shine today, and will for a long time. But they, too, will fade to black. “As the blackness of the night recedes so does the […]

The Twitter discussion about Ferguson is as polarized and entrenched as the online discussion of Israel and Palestine, according to statistician Emma Pierson.

We’re a sitting culture. We sit in cars, at work, in theaters and waiting rooms. Our sedentary lives are making us unhealthy and irritable. If you can’t dedicate yourself to a robust fitness plan, the least you can do is try standing more.

Scientists concluded that forty percent of our motivation to be proactive is derived from our genes and sixty percent is derived from environmental circumstances. 

To be a more virtuous person, surround yourself with emblems of higher moral standards.

More than 20 years ago, the sitcom Seinfeld went “meta” and joked that it was “a show about nothing.” But 20 years before George Costanza’s epiphany, artist Richard Tuttle was staging shows about nothing featuring works such as Wire Piece (detail shown above) — a piece of florist wire nailed at either end to a wall marked with a penciled line. But, as Jerry concludes, there’s “something” in that “nothing.” A new retrospective of Tuttle’s art at the Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia, Both/And: Richard Tuttle Print and Cloth, dives into the depths, and widths, of this difficultly philosophical, yet compellingly simple artist who takes the everyday nothings of line, paper, and cloth to create extraordinary statements about the need to be mindful of the artful world all around us.

To have original ideas, you don’t need to be cantankerous. But having a disagreeable personality can help you get your ideas implemented, according to a new study of workplace psychology.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is giving away free bitcoin as a way to encourage wider use of the software-based currency. 

Environmental Strategist Andrew Winston visited Big Think this week to discuss how the business world can play a major role in dealing with climate change. “Often what people call sustainability… the things that fall under that that are environmental or social challenges – there’s this assumption in business that trying to tackle these issues will be expensive… There’s a sense that green was somehow not good for business. It wasn’t out of nowhere but that’s really a dated view. We now have a situation where the challenges are so vast and the world is changing so fundamentally that the only path we have forward is to manage these issues.”

People who can identify moments of emotional expression in others tend to earn a higher salary, according to a new study conducted by the Department of Psychology at the University of Bonn.

Economist Larry Summers explains that there’s no better time than now for the U.S. to reinvest in its crumbling infrastructure. 

The takeaway is that to live a better life, one that is fuller and more richly human, we need not rely on having concrete reasons for our behavior but rather ideals which inspire our decisions.