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As a physician-assisted suicide bill sits before committee in the California state legislature, Ira Byock, MD, urges a critical examination of the way supporters draw attention to their cause.

Because International has made shoes that can grow up to five sizes in five years, so no child has to go without.

Concerns over the amount of carbon dioxide released by drilling for natural gas could be eased by a new material created from inexpensive asphalt, the same substance used to pave roads.

Google and Fidelity, an international investment firm, will invest $1 billion in Space X in an effort to extend the reach of Google’s Internet services and mapping imagery literally into outer space.

Student achievement is higher in classrooms where digital technology delivers lectures and grades assignments.

Why are video gamers so obsessed? Because playing gives people a sense of purpose, and winning them makes them feel heroic. “There’s this kind of transfer of our confidence, of our creativity, of our ambition” from game-playing “to our real lives” says game designer Jane McGonigal. And there are organizational benefits as well: studies have shown that we’re more likely to cooperate with someone in our real lives after we’ve played a social game with them that involves a cooperative mission. In this lesson from Big Think+, McGonigal walks you through the ways in which gaming can lead to positive outcomes in the workplace. By the end of it, you may just want to integrate gaming into your break space design or your next corporate retreat!

Public apprehension about the health effects of mercury FAR exceeds the actual danger. Why, and what are the health impacts of that fear!?

Racism causes physiological as well as psychological harm, and babies of pregnant mothers experience those harms in utero, according to research recently completed in New Zealand.

A “speculative” theory no more; it’s had four of them confirmed. “Scientific ideas should be simple, explanatory, predictive. The inflationary multiverse as currently understood appears to have none of those […]

Former Professional Wrestler Diamond Dallas Page returns to Big Think to share how yoga rescued his career in 1999 after a debilitating back injury nearly killed it.

Annual checkups cost the nation billions while yielding virtually no health benefits, argues Ezekiel J. Emanuel.

Researchers find a technique to help encourage self-critical people to accept their successes and build confidence.

Airlines make a lot of money by creating miserable flying accommodations and then charging customers “convenience fees” to avoid them.

Could everything we’ve put together about science turn out to be wrong? “Revolutions are something you see only in retrospect.” –Alan Greenspan We’re always on the lookout for the next […]

You’d think divorce lawyers would be making a killing over something like this. Apparently not.

“Companies really want inclusion but they often predicate that inclusion on the surrender of various forms of diversity that people bring to the table. So the idea is that if you modulate your outsider identity to adopt mainstream behaviors then you’ll be included. And so it puts people to this tragic choice between their identity and inclusion.”

The more out of control a couple’s wedding budget grows, the shorter their marriage will tend to last, according to a new study by two Emory University economics professors. 

Checking your email too often could be stressing you out, even if you don’t feel like your inbox plays a significant role in your wellbeing.

Different people have very different dreams, but even across widely different cultures, the subjects we dream about are remarkably similar—and mostly very disturbing.

You may not be aware of it, but certain judgment calls by you or your managers may be holding some of your best people back. In this lesson, management expert Jennifer Brown, a diversity training consultant who works with leading companies, explains the pitfalls and strategies for dealing with unconscious bias.

Over a 22-year career at Goldman Sachs, Robert S. Kaplan had the opportunity to run various businesses and to work with or coach numerous business leaders. He says that successful leadership is less often about having all the answers—and more often about asking the right questions. In Part 1 of The Leadership Challenge, Kaplan explores three strategic key questions that leaders need to ask themselves.

Psychologists and behavioral therapists have begun integrating cooking into their treatment strategies, extending the benefits of meal preparation far beyond satisfying hunger.

Is “nudge theory” Big Brother running our lives, or just the medicine we need? 

As Malcolm Gladwell – author of numerous New York Times bestselling books – points out, mastery and popularity are sometimes linked, but often they are not. If your goal is to become masterful at what you do, the formula is really quite simple: stay focused and do your time. This is the theory behind the 10,000 Hours Rule that Gladwell made famous. Worrying about whether you’re being recognized for your efforts, i.e. popularity, is a product of the ego, not to mention a distraction. . . . So get over yourself and get to work! In this lesson, Gladwell teaches you how.

Businesses that make their employees feel young for their age get more out of their workforce.

When eating a vegan, sugar-free, gluten-free diet becomes a lifestyle, the medicinal benefits may outpace those offered by strong prescription painkillers.

The greatest difference in opinion over abortion rights exists between women at opposite ends of the political spectrum, not between men and women as is often supposed in popular culture. 

With three spatial dimensions, the possibilities are tremendous. But only one answer fits what we see. “Never erase your past. It shapes who you are today and will help you […]

There were two periods of exponential expansion in the Universe: one today and one long ago. Are they related? “What is wild cannot be bought or sold, borrowed or copied. […]

Today’s the 78th anniversary of the bombing of Guernica. The only reason you probably don’t know that already is because this isn’t the event’s 75th or 100th anniversary, because we as a society value some numbers over others.